Darkened Farthings
A farthing is worth 1⁄480 of a half sovereign; however, the two coins were similar in size, with the farthing having a diameter of 20 mm, only 0.5 mm wider than the half sovereign, moreover the designs of the coins were the same. This meant that when people claimed newly minted farthings were being mistaken for half sovereigns something had to be done. The response was to alter the appearance of the farthing by chemically turning them black, this was done between 1897 and 1917. An acid gas, sodium thiosulphate was used to react with the surface of the farthings after they had been struck, permanently altering their appearance and making it less likely to mistake them for half sovereigns.
Read more about this topic: Farthing (British Coin)
Famous quotes containing the word darkened:
“Our young people are diseased with the theological problems of original sin, origin of evil, predestination, and the like. These never presented a practical difficulty to any man,—never darkened across any man’s road, who did not go out of his way to seek them. These are the soul’s mumps, and measles, and whooping- coughs, and those who have not caught them cannot describe their health or prescribe a cure. A simple mind will not know these enemies.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)