# Third farthing

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Third_farthing
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Third_farthing.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_farthing
> Source revision: 1295365109
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Former piece of British coinage

Third farthing United Kingdom Value £0.0003472 0.083d Mass (1827–1844) 1.5–1.6 g (1866–1913) 0.9–1 g Diameter 16 mm Composition (1827–1844) copper (1866–1913) bronze Years of minting 1827, 1835, 1844, 1866, 1868, 1876, 1878, 1881, 1884, 1885, 1902, 1913 Obverse Design Profile of the monarch (George V design shown) Designer Bertram Mackennal Reverse Design Various (Crown-and-oak-wreath design shown) Designer Leonard Charles Wyon Design date 1866

The **third farthing** was a [British coin](/source/Coins_of_the_pound_sterling) worth 1⁄2880 of a [pound](/source/Pound_sterling), 1⁄144 of a [shilling](/source/Shilling_(British_coin)), or 1⁄12 of a [penny](/source/Penny_(British_pre-decimal_coin)). It was minted in copper in 1827, 1835, and 1844, and in bronze in various years between 1866 and 1913. While exclusively authorised for use in the [Crown Colony of Malta](/source/Crown_Colony_of_Malta), third farthings are catalogued as British coinage because they are fractions of British currency, and Malta otherwise used standard coins of the pound sterling.[1]

## History

When [Malta became a British protectorate](/source/Malta_Protectorate) in 1800, the local monetary standard was the [Maltese scudo](/source/Maltese_scudo) issued by the [Knights Hospitaller](/source/Knights_Hospitaller) in the 18th century, though foreign currencies also circulated. One *scudo* could be divided into 240 *grani*, which were small bronze coins.[2] Colloquially, Maltese speakers referred to a *grano* (and later a third farthing) as a *ħabba*, the Maltese word for a 'grain'.[3] The lowest denomination of British coinage, the [farthing](/source/Farthing_(British_coin)), was equivalent to three grani.[4]

In 1825, the British authorities made British coinage the monetary standard of Malta. On 3 November 1827, a proclamation declared British copper coins the colony's sole legal copper currency[4] and ordered that "a copper coin of less value than the British farthing should be provided for the accommodation of the population".[5] The [Royal Mint](/source/Royal_Mint) issued 1,440,000 third farthings, or "British grains", to replace the older *grani*.[2] Although the third farthing corresponded to the British monetary standard, the coins were exclusively used in Malta and were not legal tender in the United Kingdom.[6]

The Governor of Malta had requested that the coins bear the legend "MALTA - ONE GRAIN", but instead mint officials used the designs as [William Wyon](/source/William_Wyon)'s[5] obverse and reverse for the British farthing. The obverse bore a portrait of [George IV](/source/George_IV) and the date, while the reverse depicted a seated [Britannia](/source/Britannia) with a shield and trident, surrounded by the legend BRITANNIAR: REX FID: DEF:. The 1827 coins were struck in copper and weighed between 1.5 and 1.6 grammes and had a 16-millimetre diameter.[4] Subsequent issues were authorised in copper to the same size and weight standard in 1835 and 1844, bearing William Wyon's[7][8] obverse portraits of [William IV](/source/William_IV) and [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria), respectively.[9][10]

In 1866, third farthings were issued in bronze instead of copper.[6] They had a 16-millimetre diameter and weighed between 0.9 and 1.0 gramme. The obverse bore a portrait of a laureate Queen Victoria, while the reverse was redesigned to include the denomination and date surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves[11] and a royal crown.[12] Both sides were designed by [Leonard Charles Wyon](/source/Leonard_Charles_Wyon), and appeared on subsequent Victoria coins in 1868, 1876, 1878, 1881, 1884, and 1885.[12]

In 1902, the British authorities issued £100 or 288,000 [Edward VII](/source/Edward_VII) third farthings,[13] using an obverse by [George William de Saulles](/source/George_William_de_Saulles)[14] and an updated version L. C. Wyon's crown-and-oak-wreath reverse with an imperial crown.[13] A final issue of £100 or 288,000 third farthings were struck in 1913 under [George V](/source/George_V).[15] The obverse was by [Bertram Mackennal](/source/Bertram_Mackennal),[16] while the reverse reused the design of the 1902 issue with the imperial crown.[15]

Although pre-decimal British coinage remained the Maltese monetary standard until May 1972,[17] the third farthing appears to have gone out of circulation by the 1930s.[3]

In 2015, the [Central Bank of Malta](/source/Central_Bank_of_Malta) issued 2,500 €5 gold bullion [commemorative coins](/source/Commemorative_coin) in honour of the third farthing. The obverse showed the date and emblem of Malta. The reverse was inspired by William Wyon's seated-Britannia design of the 1827, 1835, and 1844 issues.[3]

## References

### Citations

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 391

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BritishEra_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BritishEra_2-1) ["British Era, 1800-1964"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140810131910/http://centralbankmalta.org/site/currency1e.html). *Central Bank of Malta*. Archived from [the original](http://centralbankmalta.org/site/currency1e.html) on 10 August 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-commemorative_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-commemorative_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-commemorative_3-2) ["One-Third Farthing"](https://www.centralbankmalta.org/2015-one-third-farthing). *Central Bank of Malta*. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Museums_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Museums_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Museums_4-2) ["Item NU 14116: Coin - 1/3 Farthing, Malta, 1827"](https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/55373). *Museums Victoria Collections*. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-George4_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-George4_5-1) [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 398

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-fractional_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-fractional_6-1) ["Fractional Farthings"](https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/journal/curators-corner/fractional-farthings/). Royal Mint Museum. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 402

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 415

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Item NU 14119: Coin - 1/3 Farthing, Malta, 1835"](https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/55964). *Museums Victoria Collections*. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Item NU 14124: Proof Coin - 1/3 Farthing, Malta, 1844"](https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/64150). *Museums Victoria Collections*. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Item NU 14125: Proof Coin - 1/3 Farthing, Malta, 1878"](https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/68473). *Museums Victoria Collections*. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Victoria_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Victoria_12-1) [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), pp. 445–446

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Edward7_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Edward7_13-1) [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 500

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 496

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-George5_15-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-George5_15-1) [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 509

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** [Peck 1960](#CITEREFPeck1960), p. 501

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Central Bank of Malta](http://www.centralbankmalta.org/site/currency1f.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202556/http://www.centralbankmalta.org/site/currency1f.html) 2013-10-29 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), The Coinage of Malta

### Sources

- Peck, C. Wilson (1960). *English Copper, Tin and Bronze Coins in the British Museum: 1558-1958*. London: Trustees of the British Museum.

v t e Sterling coinage Decimal system ⁠1/2⁠p 1p 2p 5p 10p 20p 50p £1 £2 £sd system Quarter farthing (⁠1/16⁠d.) (Ceylon) Third farthing (⁠1/12⁠d.) (Malta) Half farthing (⁠1/8⁠d.) Farthing (⁠1/4⁠d.) Halfpenny (⁠1/2⁠d.) Penny (1d.) Three halfpence (⁠1+1/2⁠d.) (Ceylon & West Indies) Twopence (2d.) Threepence (3d.) Brass threepence Fourpence (4d.) Sixpence (6d.) Shilling (1/–) Fifteen pence (1/3d.) (Australia) Florin (2/–) Half crown (2/6d.) Double florin (4/–) Crown (5/–) Quarter guinea (5/3d.) Third guinea (7/–) Half sovereign (10/–) Half guinea (10/6d.) Sovereign (£1) Guinea (£1/1/–) Double sovereign (£2) Two guineas (£2/2/–) Five pounds (£5) Five guineas (£5/5/–) Non-circulating Commemorative 6p 25p £5 £20 £50 £100 Maundy money Bullion Britannia Quarter sovereign Half sovereign Sovereign Double sovereign Quintuple sovereign Lunar The Queen's Beasts Landmarks of Britain See also Sterling (currency) Sterling banknotes List of British banknotes and coins List of British currencies Coinage of William IV Young Head coinage Jubilee coinage Old Head coinage Scottish coinage Coins of Ireland List of people on coins of the United Kingdom

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Third farthing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_farthing) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_farthing?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.