Farthing - Dorset Dorchester / Town

Dorchester's farthing tokens emerge from the acute small-change crisis that gripped England after the Civil War left royal coinage infrastructure in disarray and Parliament repeatedly failed to authorize a national copper issue. Traders and municipal authorities filled the vacuum themselves, issuing local tokens that were technically illegal tender but practically indispensable. Dorchester's civic involvement in issuing — rather than leaving the matter to individual tradesmen — reflects the town's unusually organized municipal character, itself shaped by its strong Puritan administration during the Interregnum.

The Dickinson reference numbers 53–56 indicate at least four die varieties for this issue, a detail worth noting when cross-referencing with Boyne-Williamson 38.