1 Farthing - Charles I Richmond issue, mule of types 4 and 3

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.