A Farthing for Your Thoughts
The farthing was minted in England from the 13th century – originally in silver, later in copper – through the end of 1960, when it was finally scrapped. Tolled The Economist magazine:
‘Inflation killed the farthing.’
It looks like a mash-up of ‘a far thing,’ but in fact the word comes from the Anglo Saxon ‘feorthing’ – a fourthing – in this case a quarter of a cent.
Before the farthing, tradesmen often had to cut a penny into halves or quarters to make change. Pennies were designed with crosshair lines to guide the cuts – too bad about the king’s effigy being sliced up on the other side of the coin.
Such is the fate of currency and coinage – of cabbages and kings – beginning nobly, soon debased, and finally replaced.
The Roman denarius was first struck in pure silver in 211 BC. (If you ever find a coin bearing the date 211 BC, well, never mind.)
The denarius quickly became the coin of the realm, accepted from England to Persia based on Rome’s pre-eminence and the value of its silver – in that day said to be worth ten asses.
Over the next four and a half centuries, its silver content was repeatedly reduced – ultimately to a fraction of one percent, the rest of the coin in bronze, and its purchasing power had plummeted.
By that time a denarius wouldn’t buy so much as a piece of ass.
No, strike that. This is a serious economico-theological discussion about money, the root of all evil and the sole divinity of unregulated free enterprise.
Under capitalism, it now costs 2.4 cents to make a penny. The Canadians just abolished theirs. It costs 11.2 cents to mint a U.S. nickel. If our quarters were still silver – which they were until 1965 – it would cost $6 to manufacture one.
Governments do better spending a few cents to print $20, $100, or $1,000 bills. And the Fed’s ‘quantitative easing’ turns out mega-billions with a few keystrokes.
At long last, the legendary free lunch — until the day comes when you’re old and ugly and you want a piece of ass, but nobody wants your money.