1 Farthing - William IV

William IV's farthing issues were produced at a moment when the copper coinage was already philosophically obsolete — the Royal Mint and the Treasury were actively debating a shift to bronze, a transition that would finally arrive under Victoria in 1860. These Matron Head coppers were essentially a holding pattern, continuing the machinery and dies of the late Georgian system while parliament argued over decimal proposals that went nowhere for another generation.

The 1831 issue was the first coinage struck in William's name, following a gap in farthing production during the final years of George IV.