The name came from the British penny and farthing coins, the penny being much larger than the farthing, so that the side view of the bicycle resembles a larger penny (the front wheel) leading a smaller farthing (the rear wheel).

Penny farthings were notoriously difficult to handle, and if a rider ever attempted to stop too abruptly, there was a chance that he or she would “take a header”, which in other words meant “fly headlong over the handlebars and into the ground”.

The first Penny farthing was invented in 1871 by British engineer, James Starley. The Penny Farthing came after the development of the 'Hobbyhorse', and the French 'Velocipede' or 'Boneshaker', all versions of early bikes.

They were all discontinued - because we changed to the decimal system for money. Prior to decimalisation, there were two farthings to a half penny, 12 pennies to a shilling, and 20 shillings to a pound. All of the pre-decimal coins were withdraw from use on 'decimalisation day' back in 1971.