The penny-farthing was the first machine to be called a "bicycle." The name came from the British penny and farthing coins, the former being much larger than the latter, so that the side view resembles a larger penny leading a smaller farthing. Popular in the 1870s and 1880s, it was also called a high wheel or ordinary. The front wheel provided higher speeds since it traveled a large distance for every rotation of the legs and more comfort with greater shock absorption. It became obsolete from the late 1880s with the development of modern bicycles, a/k/a "safety bicycles," which provided similar speed amplification via chain-driven gear trains and comfort through pneumatic tires.