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1 Farthing - Charles I Richmond issue, mule of types 4 and 3
| Issuer | England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1632 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Sp#3185/4 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central device of an Irish harp with an eagle-headed, hook-fronted neck, displaying five strings, surmounted by a royal crown adorned with nine jewels. The harp is rendered in a characteristic early Stuart style with a curved forepillar. The Latin legend is distributed around the periphery within a beaded border, each word separated by stops. |
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| Reverse lettering | FRA! ET HIB! REX. (Translation: King of France and Ireland) |
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| Additional information |
The Richmond farthings were produced under a royal patent granted to James Stewart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox, in 1625 — a privatized coinage arrangement that effectively farmed out small-denomination copper production to a patentee rather than the Crown directly. This mule, combining obverse and reverse dies from two consecutive types, almost certainly arose from the practical reality of patent coinage workshops: dies were expensive, changeovers were gradual, and mixed pairings were tolerated so long as the flans kept moving.
Stewart died in 1624, meaning the patent passed to his widow Frances before eventually reverting. The administrative turbulence across the patent's lifetime makes precise attribution of transitional pieces genuinely difficult.