South Africa Farthing (1/4 Penny) 1923 to 1960

Like all British coins, the reigning monach appears on the 'heads' side. In the case of the South African farthing, Kings George V and George VI appear, then Queen Elizabeth. The back 'tails' side has the two bird pattern on all coins.

The older versions of the coins can command decent collector value, but modern coins are worth very little. Here are some approximate catalog values. Use our Terminology page to properly interpret these values and convert them to actual buy and sell prices.

1923 to 1938:
worn: $3 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $4
well preserved (like our picture): $8
fully uncirculated: $15

After 1938:
worn: less than $1 US dollar catalog value
average circulated: $1
well preserved (like our picture): $2
fully uncirculated: $6

There are a few special dates in this series. In the list below, values are catalog prices in average circulated condition:

1930: $100
1933: $2000
1934: $2000
1936: $1000
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Public Comments & Questions

Roger Fraser | I found an unusual coin in a selection of old South African coins. It is a 1/4 penny and whilst the 1950 1/4 penny is bronze the example I have appears in a nickel or silver colouring. Do you have an explanation - 9 months ago

CoinQuest | Hi Roger .. The most likely explanation is that your coin is normal but it has been discolored by gaseous or liquid impurities. That kind of thing happens all the time, and collectors have a name for it: toning. If the color is uneven across the coin's surfaces, it is probably toning. Toning, unless it is a real eye-catcher, seldom adds value to a collectible coin, although ugly toning detracts value.

Of course, there is a faint possibility that your coin was struck on an erroneous planchet (coin blank). This happens sometimes, and error collectors go bonkers for any off-metal coin. Off-metal strikes are always quite valuable. To be valuable, off-metal coins should be certified as such by a third-party service like PCGS, NGC, ICG, or ANACS.

The way you tell if you have an off-metal coin is to get a precise weight, accurate to 0.1 gram. A jeweler can get an accurate weight if you don't have a scale like that.

So the question is 'how much does a normal bronze farthing (1/4 penny) weigh?' I turned to my trusty Standard Catalog of World Coins and, ugh, they don't have the weight listed for a 1950 specimen. The catalog lists 2.84 grams as the weight of coins struck between 1937 to 1947, 2.70 grams for coins struck between 1951 and 1952, and 2.80 grams for coins struck between 1953 and 1960. Ha! There is no weight listed for coins struck between 1948 and 1950. I looked in some other reference material I have, but no luck ... - 9 months ago

CoinQuest | If your coin weighs between 2.70 and 2.80 grams, it is probably a normal farthing with no special value. If it is outside this range, consider sending it to a third-party service. - 9 months ago

Public comments and questions South Africa Farthing (1/4 Penny) 1923 to 1960
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Coin: 4968, Genre: Colonizers and Colonies, Timeline: World
Created (yyyymm): 201006, Last review: 201503
Appearance: Normal round coin Metallic brown Letters: Latin
Years: sort: 1923, filter: 1923 to 1960
Image: south_africa_farthing_1955.jpg
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