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Farthing - Norfolk Norwich / Town
| Issuer | City of Norwich |
|---|---|
| Year | 1667-1670 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 0.5 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | A NORWICH FARTHING 1668 |
| Reverse description | The civic arms of the City of Norwich are displayed within a flat-topped heraldic shield occupying the central field: a lion passant or surmounted by a castle triple-towered argent, rendered in low relief consistent with the engraving conventions of seventeenth-century English trade token production. The shield is presented without external supporters or motto, and the surrounding field is plain. The overall composition reflects the municipal heraldic imagery commonly employed on English town farthings of the Interregnum and Restoration periods. |
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| Additional information |
Norwich was among the most active issuers of seventeenth-century trade tokens in England, a direct consequence of the Crown's persistent failure to supply adequate small change. The city's merchants and civic authorities filled the vacuum themselves between 1648 and 1672, until Charles II's royal copper farthing coinage finally suppressed private token issues by proclamation in 1672. Norwich tokens from this period survive in reasonable numbers, but condition varies sharply — most circulated hard in a busy regional economy before the royal monopoly rendered them technically illegal overnight.