Victorian Farthings featuring the “Old” or “Veiled” Head were only minted from 1895 - 1901. From 1897, the vast majority were “mint darkened” at the mint, this was to stop the public trying to pass the shiny new bronze farthings off as Half Sovereigns! This practice continued until 1925. We recently got hold of a large group of these farthings, they must have been put away for a very long time as they are all around Extremely Fine, but not lustrous as they were darkened. Whatever the catalogue price is, it’s safe to say the 1895 is rarer than the book suggests!