Irish Coins & Tokens
-------->Remember, postage is included<--------
Irish / American (Colonial)
Halfpennies&
Farthings
WI-7126:
1682
Irish-American St Patrick Copper Farthing.
Brass anti counterfeiting plug very much in
situ with excellent detail both sides.
No damage or repairs. Spink 6569. Struck on a large flan (25mm diameter). This is possibly the best grade example I
have ever handled. Collectors of this
issue will be aware that they were struck in Dublin on soft metal and that virtually
all extant examples, and there aren’t really that many in total,
are grim in the extreme. A rare and
desirable coin in any grade but clearly much more so this coin. £785
WI-6648: 1722 Type 1 Irish
American William Wood Copper Halfpenny.
About VF.
Rare in this grade, rarer still being this first
issue. £355
WI-5627: 1760 Irish “VOCE
POPULI” Copper Halfpenny. Type 9. Ex Colin Cooke collection.
£320
WI-5629: 1760 Irish “VOCE
POPULI” Copper Halfpenny. Type 4. Ex Colin Cooke collection.
£325
Irish "Confederate Catholics" Kilkenny Issues
WI-5485: 1642-44 Charles 1st Irish
Confederate Catholics Issue Halfpenny.
Struck in Kilkenny by the Irish
Catholics who remained loyal to Charles 1st. It was a very crude issue (shape, die and
strike) with very few examples surviving due to the nature of the metal. A rare early Irish coin. £425
Irish The Great
Rebellion, Coinages of the Lords Justices Issue - "Ormonde
Money"
Irish James II Civil War Issues - "Gun
Money"
Shillings
WI-5443: 1689 Irish Gun Money
Shilling. Struck
August 1689. After fleeing from England to
France in 1688 – an effective abdication from the English throne – James II
landed in Ireland March 1689 in order to promote his Catholic cause, something
we are perhaps still living with today?!
He had insufficient funds to prosecute this war so the plan was to raise
money by issuing base metal coinage in place of what would previously have been
silver issues. This was a less subtle
example of the Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago. If today’s money had still been based on the
value of the coin in your hand being worth its face value in precious metal,
then the Chancellor in 2009 would perhaps have done something very
similar! This coinage was set up with an
intention for them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had
settled. This never happened. The metal for these coins came from old
cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”. £95
WI-6663: 1689 Irish Gun Money
Shilling. Struck
January 1689. This is the rare
Spink 6581MM – ERA for FRA error. After fleeing from England to
France in 1688 – an effective abdication from the English throne – James II
landed in Ireland March 1689 in order to promote his Catholic cause, something
we are perhaps still living with today?!
He had insufficient funds to prosecute this war so the plan was to raise
money by issuing base metal coinage in place of what would previously have been
silver issues. This was a less subtle
example of the Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago. If today’s money had still been based on the
value of the coin in your hand being worth its face value in precious metal,
then the Chancellor in 2009 would perhaps have done something very
similar! This coinage was set up with an
intention for them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had
settled. This never happened. The metal for these coins came from old
cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”. £135
Sixpences
WI-7382:
1689 Irish Civil
War Emergency Coinage “Gun Money” Sixpence.
Struck in Dublin July of 1689.
The sixpence is a rarer denomination than the shillings and halfcrowns – you seldom see them today. After fleeing from England to France in 1688
– an effective abdication from the English throne – James II landed in Ireland
March 1689 in order to promote his Catholic cause, something we are perhaps
still living with today?! He had
insufficient funds to prosecute this war so the plan was to raise money by
issuing base metal coinage in place of what would previously have been silver
issues. This was a less subtle example
of the Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago. If today’s money had still been based on the
value of the coin in your hand being worth its face value in precious metal,
then the Chancellor in 2009 would perhaps have done something very similar! This coinage was (perhaps) set up with an intention
for them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had settled. This never happened. The metal for these coins came from old
cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”. Very nice grade, the rarer
“no stop after DEI” variety, and benefiting from being ex John Rainey
collection. £145
Irish James II Civil War Issues - "Pewter Money"
WI-7394:
1690 Irish James
II Emergency Pewter Money Penny. Issued as part of the Gun Money Civil War coinage, but very much on
the tail-end when the supply of “latten” or scrap base metal was very in dire
shortage. Things were getting so
bad that a warrant was issued for the coining of two guns (presumably obsolete ones)
from Dublin castle. It then got worse still: writing to Mary of Modena, James II's wife in
France, the duke of Tyrconnell (the lord lieutenant
of Ireland) included in a list of 'things we cannot subsist here without' a
request that 'forty guns may be sent us to coine into
money'. At the same time that brass
latten was becoming almost impossible to source, the
public were coming to the very end of their already thinly stretched patience
with this non-money. Their contempt for
the coins and those who had issued them was unlimited, and they talked of
'their Tinkerly Treasure' and 'their brass imaginary
coin made only valuable by the magic of their priests'. This was never more so than during the Pewter
Money period. In January 1691, the Irish
finally admitted that nothing was going to restore the value of their emergency
coinages. They announced that the brass
& pewter would be withdrawn from circulation on 15 March. Those who had
emergency coinage were to bring them to the treasury where they would be given
receipts which would entitle them to full repayment when James was restored to
his throne. Most people knew that
neither was likely to happen. This
pewter issue, the “successor” to Gun Money, had a copper alloy plug. It was incredibly susceptible to both wear
and corrosion. Very few examples remain
extant and hardly any of them are in anything like this grade. Type II, Spink 6589. Readers may be interested to know that the
rare 1690 pewter money halfpenny in silver is all a later re-strike, probably
done in France some time later. What little precious metals they had at this
time went to pay the troops in France because they refused to accept the
Latten or Pewter coinage. Further, all
silver and gold Gun Money proofs are again later re-strikes using genuine
dies. This coin ex
John Rainey collection. Choice. £2,950
Irish James II Civil War Issues - "Siege of Limerick" Money
WI-6888: 1691 (this coin undated –
read on!) Limerick Besieged Copper Irish Halfpenny. Limerick was besieged in
1690-91 with no fresh metal available to mint coinage. As a result, they gathered in as much of the
large Gun Money shillings (from 1689-90) as they could and over-struck them
with the new "Limerick Besieged" dies. It is interesting to note that the old theory of “large shillings being halfpennies; small shillings
farthings” has been resolved. It would
appear that large Gun Money shillings were still used to make these Limerick
halfpence pieces (evidenced so clearly on this coin) but the supposed Limerick
farthings are actually still Limerick halfpennies but struck on virgin flans
(presumably when they ran out of Gun Money large shillings) that were slightly
smaller in flan, perhaps as a money saving exercise? This coin is the most unusual Limerick
halfpenny I have ever seen:
Obverse:
1.
The central crown of the reverse gun money host coin can clearly be seen,
inverted 180 degrees.
2.
The V is IACOBVS is an inverted A whereas it was a definite V on the obverse
die itself.
Reverse:
1.
The king's hair of the host coin can clearly be seen, again inverted 180
degrees.
2.
There is no date (1691) whatsoever as IACOBVS (and note the V is a V, not an
inverted A) still remains.
3.
The N of HIBERNIA, always inverted on the die, looks more like an A with a
vertical line to the right.
A
truly unique and extremely interesting coin!
Spink 6594.
£465
WSC-7163:
1691 Irish “Limerick
Besieged” James II Copper Halfpenny.
Limerick was besieged in
1690-91 with no fresh metal available to mint coinage. As a result, they gathered in as much of the
large Gun Money shillings (from 1689-90) as they could and over-struck them
with the new "Limerick Besieged" dies. This example having much of the
original host coin still visible – a desirable characteristic.
Spink 6594.
It is interesting to note that the old theory of “large shillings being halfpennies; small shillings
farthings” has been resolved. It would
appear that large Gun Money shillings were still used to make these Limerick
halfpence pieces (evidenced so clearly on this coin) but the supposed Limerick
farthings are actually still Limerick halfpennies but struck on virgin flans
(presumably when they ran out of Gun Money large shillings) that were slightly
smaller in flan, perhaps as a money saving exercise? A most interesting and
historical coin. £185
"Hammered" Coinage
King John
WSC-7162:
Irish King John
Hammered Silver Medieval Penny. Third “Rex” coinage, circa 1208/9 – 1211/12. ROBERD ON DIVE – Dublin mint.
Spink 6228.
Sold with an old cabinet ticket and a detailed
information slip. £195
Henry III
WI-5929: Irish Henry III Hammered
Silver Voided Long Cross Penny. Class 1b, RICARD of Dublin. Spink 6236. A very long reign but actually a remarkably short
issue because the Dublin mint started to issue coinage in
1251 and then in 1253-54, the Dublin mint was closed. You would imagine that Irish coinage would be
for Irish consumption but unusually, large quantities of the Dublin coinage (and Dublin was the only mint in
operation under Henry III) were exported to England and the Continent. The famous Brussel’s
Hoard of 1908 contained a huge 1,600 of these pieces. Choice. £225
WMH-7244:
Henry III
Hammered Silver Irish Penny. Type IIa, RICARD.ON.DIVE – Dublin mint.
Spink 6240.
A very long reign but actually a remarkably short issue because the Dublin mint started to issue coinage in
1251 and then in 1253-54, the Dublin mint was closed. You would imagine that Irish coinage would be
for Irish consumption but unusually, large quantities of the Dublin coinage (and Dublin was the only mint in
operation under Henry III) were exported to England and the Continent. The famous Brussel’s
Hoard of 1908 contained a huge 1,600 of these pieces. This coin would win no beauty contest but it
should be acknowledged that Spink 6240 dies were course in nature. £125
Edward I
WI-5519: Irish Edward I Hammered
Silver Penny. Waterford mint, second coinage, trefoil of
pellets. Good grade.
£129
Edward IV
Sun & Roses Issue
WI-5279: Irish Edward IV Hammered
Silver Penny. Sun & Rose type,
1479 – 1483. Strong
portrait, some legend remaining.
Interesting die flaw on obverse. Burns’ S-2 Dublin.
£225
Cross & Pellets “HEAVY” issue
Pence
WI-6304: Irish Edward IV
Hammered Silver Penny. Standard
cross & pellets issue but the rarer Heavy coinage of 1465-70. Extra pellet in two of the
reverse quarters. DV on reverse
signifies Dublin
mint. It is thought that these coins
were not always heavily clipped, rather they were full
size dies struck on very short flans. This one less short than most. Old,
detailed ticket. A very strong portrait being slightly better than the Spink plate
coin. £145
WI-5866: Irish Edward IV Hammered
Silver Penny. Rarer
Heavy coinage of 1465-70. No
obverse marks. Bust C, likely Dublin mint. £65
Cross & Pellets “LIGHT” issue
Groats
WI-6607: Irish
Edward IV Hammered Silver Groat. Light Cross & Pellets coinage of 1472-78. G on breast (Mint Master Germyn Lynch), Dublin mint. Spink 6366. Incorporating many elements of the earlier heavy issue, perhaps not
surprising as the same dies were often used. However, the Sun initial mark unambiguously
put this as Light Coinage. A lot rarer
than Spink suggest. £295
WI-7204:
Medieval Irish
Edward IV Hammered Silver Groat. Second reign, third “Light” coinage of 1473. Rarer Waterford mint town.
Initial mark Rosette. Spink 6369C – “G” below bust indicating Germyn Lynche (an interesting and
somewhat controversial gentleman) as the moneyer. No extra obverse marks but x2 saltires in the reverse quarters. 25mm, 2.04g. Sold with a collector’s
cabinet ticket along with a detailed auction information slip. Exceptionally nice grade
for issue. £875
WI-7276:
Edward IV
Medieval IRISH Hammered Silver Groat.
A very interesting coin, being to all intents and
purposes a Second Reign, third light cross & pellets issue Dublin mint issue groat
of 1473 only. DNW, Nigel Mills, myself
– we all attributed it as Spink 6366E: a later, Dublin mint issue with pellets in some
spandrels and in two reverse quarters.
However, it is actually a First Reign, first cross & pellets issue
of 1465 only, initial mark Pierced Cross – Spink 6306A The weight is 31.8 grains (2.06 grams) which
is low for this issue (hence the thought it was the later light issue) but
saying that, similar weight Spink 6306A examples do exist. The obverse of this coin is die linked to one
sold by Spink (March 2017, Auction 17004, lot #377). Thank you to David Collins for his expert
knowledge and assessment. £395
Pence
WI-5878: Irish Edward IV Hammered Silver
Penny. Dublin mint, 1470-78 issue. Portrait style
E, Dublin
mint, Burns’ DU-1. £65
WI-5879: Irish Edward IV Hammered Silver
Penny. Dublin mint, 1470-78 issue. Pellets by
neck, Dublin
mint, Burns’ DU-5. £65
WI-5920: Irish Edward IV Hammered
Silver Penny. Light cross &
pellets issue of 1470-78. Burns’ DU-6, Dublin. Spink 6365. £79
WI-5967: Irish Edward IV Hammered
Silver Penny. Light cross &
pellets issue of 1470-78. Burns’ DU-6, Dublin. Spink 6365. An
interesting coin as there is a partial second bust and pellet to the left. £95
WI-6498: Irish Edward IV Hammered
Silver Penny. Light cross & pellets
issue of 1470-78. Burns’
DU-22, Dublin. Spink 6367. An
interesting coin: a Type 22 with x2 mullets by crown but an additional six
pointed mullet (similar to those seen on Alexander III second issue coins) on
the reverse inner beaded circle. Better
grade. £75
WI-7283:
A++ Edward IV
Medieval Irish Hammered Silver Penny.
Second reign, third “Light” cross & pellets coinage of 1473
only. Rarer Drogheda mint.
Pellets by crown and neck would be Burns’ Dr-13 (which, according to
Burns, parallels to Spink 6375, which it clearly doesn’t. The correct Spink reference would be Spink
6374H). HOWEVER, whilst this coin is
certainly Burns’ style E and is certainly Drogheda mint (Dublin is a rounder
face), this coin has an extra pellet on the neck with is completely unrecorded
in both Spink and the acknowledged go-to reference for Irish coins – Irish
Hammered Pennies of Edward IV to Henry VII, fifth issue, by Jasper Burns. There can be no muling
because there is no obverse die recorded with this fifth pellet. 0.52 grams and about "as struck" in
grade - these Irish coins may look clipped but in actual fact were struck on
approximately 50% reduced flans. In a
recent auction, a really nice Edward IV Irish penny (not an unrecorded example
as this coin is) went for a four figure sum, before commission. A rare, unrecorded coin is spectacularly high
grade. Choice. £565
WI-7415: Edward IV High Grade
Medieval Hammered Silver Irish Penny.
Second reign, Third “Light” Cross & Pellets
coinage of 1473. Dublin mint, mullets by
crown, quatrefoil in centre of reverse cross.
Spink 6373K.
0.47g, which on the face of it appears very low. In fact, for Irish coinage (and a lot of
Edward IV English pennies), this is a good weight as these were predominantly
struck on small, very underweight flans, often as a money making initiative by
the officials in charge. English pence
during this period followed much the same path: Lord Stewartby
(English Coins 1180 – 1551 by Spink, 2009) states: “The flow of ill-struck and
often illegible pence from the (English) northern Episcopal mints continued
unabated. (Archbishop) Thomas Rotherham
of York was arrested by Richard in June
1483, but soon released.” The production
of short flan, underweight coins (ie face value one
penny but actual silver content some way below that) would obviously be
financially lucrative for the person doing it.
Archbishop Rotherham would appear to have got away with just that as he
was released with all charges dropped.
The practise continued on through to Richard’s reign in England AND Ireland.
A high grade coin with an excellent portrait, being possibly even better
than the Spink plate
coin – the very best example they could lay their hands on with their vast
black book of contacts. Most rare in this grade and with this much legend. £365
Fitzgeralds of Kildare “Geraldine” Issue (1487)
WI-7012:
Irish Hammered
Silver “Three Crowns” Geraldine Groat.
August to October 1487 only. Struck under the Fitzgeralds
of Kildare,
a powerful family who took control for a brief period after Lambert Simnel’s abortive attempt to win the crown (after Richard
III, preceding Henry VII). Spink 6432. An extremely rare issue in
lower grade and virtually unheard of in this VF grade. Sold with a detailed
information slip. Choice. £1,450
Richard III
WI-7148:
Richard III
Hammered Silver Irish Penny. Cross & Pellets coinage of 1483-5. Dublin mint: [CIVI] TAS [DV]B L[IN]. Annulets by
neck, distinctive Richard III face: Burns DU-17R, Spink 6410 (2020: £3,500
VF). Small of flan, as always - it is thought that these coins were not always heavily
clipped; rather they were full size dies struck on very short flans. A very rare coin indeed. £1,895
Henry VII
WI-7030: Irish Henry VII Hammered
Silver *CHOICE* Groat. Late portrait issue of 1496-1505. Dublin mint – type 1A: arched
crown with bust breaking the plain tressure. Spink 6455. As you will undoubtedly be aware, these
issues are nearly always problematic – double strikes (particularly the
reverses), poor strikes, damages etc.
This is a superb example and easily choice for issue. £795
WI-6912: Irish Henry VII Hammered
Silver “Three Crowns” Groat. 1485-97, this is the earliest type and also
the rarer of the two varieties normally seen – DOMINVS hYBERNIE
both sides. Spink
6415. Further, this coin has the legend
starting at 10
o’clock which is most
unusual. Die linked to an example
illustrated in Medieval Anglo-Irish Coins by Michael Dolley,
p33. Rare. £345
Henry VIII
WI-7266:
Irish Henry
VIII Hammered Silver Groat. Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Jane Seymour. Spink 6473. The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue, 1534-40 but this coin dated 1536-7 in commemoration of
Henry’s marriage. Subsequent wives to
see their names (initials) in lights, or specifically on Harp groats, were Anne
Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Anne of Cleves seems to have been overlooked by Henry and by the
time of Catherine Parr, he seemed to have realised that perhaps the coinage
couldn’t keep up with his marriages.
This issue is at 0.842 silver fineness with
later issues going the same way as that of the English silver coinage, ie downhill. See here for old tickets
– ex Spink, ex Bosworth. Rare. £625
WI-7099:
Irish Henry VIII
Hammered Silver Groat. Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Jane Seymour. Spink 6473. The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue, 1534-40 but this coin dated 1536-7 in commemoration of
Henry’s marriage. Subsequent wives to
see their names (initials) in lights, or specifically on Harp groats, were Anne
Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Anne of Cleves seems to have been overlooked by Henry and by the
time of Catherine Parr, he seemed to have realised that perhaps the coinage
couldn’t keep up with his marriages.
This issue is at 0.842 silver fineness with
later issues going the same way as that of the English silver coinage, ie downhill. This
coin encapsulated (PCGS) and graded VF35.
Rare.
£625
WI-6369: Irish Henry VIII Hammered
Silver Groat. 1540. First (1st) Harp Issue, DOMINVS, “HR”
by harp. Spink 6475. These
groats circulated at 6d during Henry’s reign and were subsequently devalued to
4d during a later reign (those being counterstamped with x4 pellets). Initial mark Trefoil.
With a silver content of 0.758 which although a lot better than the debased
English Third Coinage issues of 1544 onwards, this does illustrate that
debasement of silver was actively in progress in Ireland 4 years before it was
introduced into England. As we all know
for our history lessons at school, Henry VIII led a lavish lifestyle as well as
going to war with Scotland and France.
The country was fiscally challenged and so the idea was to create more
coinage from the same amount of precious metal, resulting in coins often
looking coppery in appearance. Not
really a good way of going about things (although I’m minded of quantitative
easing in recent years!) as the practice led to inflation with the hoarding of
earlier, high silver content coins. The
rarer earlier issue and sold with a very old collector’s ticket (Edward
Watkins). £269
WI-7177:
Irish Henry VIII
Hammered Silver Groat or Fourpence. First “Harp” issue
(1534-40) but right at the very end – Spink 6475 – which is dated to 1540 only. The earlier 1st issue coins were all
dedicated to three wives of Henry but as a pattern was emerging, this practise
stopped, although the change of wives clearly did not. This last 1st issue is the rarest,
being rarer than all the wife issues.
Interestingly, 1st issue coins are at a 0.842 fineness
(typically in the UK we use 0.925 today) but this coin
has all the characteristics of being more like a second issue (0.758 fineness)
silver. Funds were squandered under
Henry’s watch and one of the ways they sought to remedy this was to debase the
coinage. For those interested, the Irish
silver in coinage was “watered down” as follows: 1st issue = 0.842,
2nd issue = 0.758, 3rd issue = 0.833, 4th
issue = 0.666, 5th issue = 0.500and 6th issue =
0.250. The term “Old Copper Nose” was
given under Henry’s reign as the latter silver coins literally had a copper
colour after a bit of circulation, especially around the centre of the bust, ie around the nose area.
Sold with a detailed auction printout. £325
WI-6906: Irish Henry VIII “Harp”
Groat. Second (2nd)
Harp issue, Spink 6479. These groats
circulated at 6d during Henry’s reign and were subsequently devalued to 4d
during a later reign (those being counterstamped with x4 pellets). Initial mark Trefoil.
With a silver content of 0.758 which although a lot better than the debased
English Third Coinage issues of 1544 onwards, this does illustrate that
debasement of silver was actively in progress in Ireland up to x4 years before
it was introduced into England. As we
all know for our history lessons at school, Henry VIII led a lavish lifestyle
as well as going to war with Scotland and France. The country was fiscally challenged and so
the idea was to create more coinage from the same amount of precious metal,
resulting in coins often looking coppery in appearance. Not really a good way of going about things
(although I’m minded of quantitative easing in recent years!) as the practice
led to inflation with the hoarding of earlier, high silver content coins. This coin particularly nice
grade with an old ticket shown here. It would be nice to think you could buy this
coin for the £24 stated but alas, you can’t as this was the price in the
1970’s! £325
WI-6394: Irish Henry VIII Hammered
Silver Groat. 1543. Third (3rd)
Harp Issue, i.m. rose. “HR” by harp. Nice grade.
£225
WI-7397:
Henry VIII Irish
Hammered Billon Silver Groat. Circulating as a Sixpenny Groat. Fifth “Harp” issue,
being 0.500 finesse (fourth issue was 0.666, sixth issue 0.250 - you can see
the direction of travel here). What
makes this coin so collectable is the addition of 37 at the end of the reverse
legend. This was to signify the 37th
year of Henry’s reign, making the exact date on this coin to be 1546. It is absolutely the first dated coin,
through numerals, to be struck in the UK.
Spink 6483A, 2.58g / 8h. A crescent crack a 12
o’clock,
otherwise in remarkably good grade – they are a debased issue and were not the
best even when they were struck. Thus
for issue, this is very good indeed – just look at the state of the Spink plate
coin, which was presumably the best they could find to photograph. Extra
image here. I’ve seen a few
and owned one other – all have had an indifferent 37 and were lower grade. A rare coin. £565 RESERVED (M.H.24-5-22 Lay-Away)
WI-6849: Henry VIII Posthumous
(struck under Edward VI) IRISH Hammered Silver Threepence. In the name of Henry but struck after his
death, under his son, Edward VI. This is
the last issue, type IV, with the Tower bust – it is thought a lot of these
Irish coins were actually struck using dies made in England. Spink 6491. A rarer denomination and a coin in very nice
grade indeed, especially considering this was the billon or “watered down
silver” period (it actually got worse in Ireland in 1552 with some coins being
so debased that they looked like copper coins!). £700 in VF in the very
outdated Spink price guide. £395
Edward VI
WI-6395: Irish Henry VIII Dublin
Hammered Threepence. Actually struck under
Edward VI, 1547-50. Type IV, Dublin mint. Strong detail
on this debased silver issue. £165
Philip & Mary
WI-5778: 1555 Philip & Mary
Irish Facing Busts Shilling. Debased
hammered silver - nice grade for this usually poor issue. £325
WI-5363: 1556 Philip & Mary
Irish Facing Busts Groat. Debased
hammered silver - nice grade for this usually poor issue. £325
Elizabeth 1st
WI-7348:
1558 Irish
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Groat - Choice. Base coinage of 1558 with
0.250 silver fineness. Initial mark Rose, Spink 6504. This first issue was very much a continuation
of the previous base issues - it took until 1561 for the “Fine Silver” coinage
to be issued. This coin is mint state –
virtually “As Struck”, although to the initiated, it may not appear that
way. This is an example of the finest known Irish 1555
Philip & Mary shilling to give you some idea as to how good this groat
is. The billon nature of this coin
defeated my usual camera, although I still include that image here. The main image is via a cheap camera phone in
artificial light. Choice. £1,950
WI-7140:
1558 Elizabeth 1st
Irish Hammered Billon Silver Groat.
First issue, preceding the 1561 fine silver issue, at
0.250 silver content. Spink
6504. Ex
Walter Wilkinson collection, accompanied by all his tickets. The Walter Wilkinson collection was one of
the best collections of Elizabeth 1st coinage ever put
together. Throughout the long life of
the collection, Walter was constantly buying in better grade examples to
improve the collection. This coin is a
superb example which I have certainly not shown through my poor images. It’s a VF coin, regardless of the atrocious
nature of the issue in general and the provenance is as good as it gets. £575
WI-6671: 1558 Irish Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Billon Silver Groat. Base issue of 1558 only.
Spink 6504.
Very good grade for issue. £185
WI-5542: 1601 Irish Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Copper Penny. Initial mark Star and on a generous planchets. Most of these coins come out of the ground
(it is interesting to note that examples have been unearthed from the Jamestown
site in America, along with later James 1st hammered silver coinage)
and as a result the copper corrodes. The entire Third Issue of Irish
coinage, 1601-02 only, was an emergency issue brought about by the need to pay
the large numbers of soldiers who were in Ireland.
Their role was to defeat the “independent and warlike” Irish of the
North, under the leadership of O’Neil, and to expeditiously “Shire” Ireland and bring it under English rule,
basically making Ireland an extension of England.
The Earl of Essex was in command of the English troops but was recalled
to England where he was duly executed. His replacement, Mountjoy,
somewhat motivated by the fate of his predecessor, did a much better job. This is a very nice example with clear detail. £155
WI-5575: 1602 Irish Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Copper Penny. Initial mark Martlet. Most of these coins come out of the ground
(it is interesting to note that examples have been unearthed from the Jamestown
site in America, along with later James 1st hammered silver coinage)
and as a result the copper corrodes. The entire Third Issue of Irish
coinage, 1601-02 only, was an emergency issue brought about by the need to pay
the large numbers of soldiers who were in Ireland.
Their role was to defeat the “independent and warlike” Irish of the
North, under the leadership of O’Neil, and to expeditiously “Shire” Ireland and bring it under English rule,
basically making Ireland an extension of England.
The Earl of Essex was in command of the English troops but was recalled
to England where he was duly executed. His replacement, Mountjoy,
somewhat motivated by the fate of his predecessor, did a much better job. The rarer date. £195
WI-7210:
1601-02
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Struck at the very tail end of the reign in
order to pay the troops England sent over to quell the “warlike”
Irish of the North, led by O’Neill. The
context was England’s desire to “Shire” Irish
land. The Earl of Essex was sent over to
lead the troops but he was recalled to London where he was promptly
executed. The deceased Earl’s successor,
Mountjoy, had a slightly better campaign, based on
the fact that he wasn’t executed upon his return to London.
This coinage was very base, but not as base as the pence of this issue,
which literally contained no silver – a revolutionary action (although Henry
VIII got in there first with his “Old Copper Nose” coins) when you bear in mind
that the entire foundation of currency was based on these coins actually being
worth, in precious metals, what they were circulating as. For example, in medieval times, a penny coin
literally contained silver to the value of one penny. This coin very high grade
for issue. £345
James 1st
WI-5595: Irish James 1st Hammered
Silver 6d. 1604-7, initial mark rose
so 1606 – 1607. An extremely good grade
example of a usually poorly struck obverse issue. £265
Pre 1800 "Milled" Coinage
Charles II
WI-7307:
1681 Charles II SILVER
Proof Irish Halfpenny. Armstrong & Legge’s regal coinage
issue of 1680-84. The coinage was
split into two types: large and small lettering. This is a silver proof for the small letter
1681 issue – the only other silver proof in the entire series is the 1680 large
letter halfpenny. 1681 small letters
(Spink 6575) is extremely rare with, I think, only one example known, which may
well be a copper trial piece using the silver proof dies. Slabbed by PCGS and
grade PR53, which I understand to mean “Proof , about Uncirculated”
– the AU grading system goes down to 50, at which point in becomes “Extremely
Fine”, eg EF45.
At the risk of disagreeing with an American multi national company, this
coin is clearly not uncirculated, although don’t be
fooled by the obverse and reverse flat areas because to a point, these were
built into the dies. It’s a bit better
than VF. Choice. £2,985
WI-7211:
1681 Charles II
Copper Irish Halfpenny. An excellent
grade coin, especially so when you appreciate just how soft the copper
was. Armstrong & Legge’s regal coinage. Interestingly, pre 1680 (the first Armstrong
& Legge date), Ireland had nothing but old (and terribly
worn) hammered coins, small (worn) traders tokens and foreign coins in
circulation. Spink
6574. Sir Thomas Armstrong and
Col. George Legge were granted a twenty one year
licence which was ultimately so successful that it drove out all the old
currency – great at the time but problematic several years down the line when
this coinage was reduced to much worn copper discs. £225
WI-7414: 1683 High Grade Irish
Charles II Copper Halfpenny. Armstrong & Legge’s Regal Coinage,
Spink 6575. Easily
VF for issue (£400 in Spink 2020).
Sold with a detailed information slip. £285
James II
WI-7139:
1685 Irish James
II Copper Halfpenny. The regular issue (before the Gun Money issues), under Sir John
Knox, Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Spink 6576.
Struck with a soft copper alloy which resulted in much
wear through relatively little circulation. You rarely see high grade Irish “regular”
coppers from this period (Irish W&M wear even worse) but this coin is the
exception. Comes with
a detailed information slip which grades at abt VF
for issue. £349
WI-5950: 1686 Irish James II
Copper Halfpenny. Regular
coinage issue (prior to the Civil War).
Nice grade for issue. Spink 6576. £95
WI-6766: 1688 Irish James II Copper
Halfpenny. Regular
coinage issue (prior to the Civil War).
Nice grade for issue and the rarest of the x4 dates, apart from 1687
where virtually non are extant. Sold with old tickets. Spink 6576. £165
William & Mary
WJC-7475: HIGH GRADE and CHOICE 1691
William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee. Circulated at a sixpence. En medaille die rotation. Dublin. An act of Privy Council in August 1691
authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees and
Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in weight or
less per year, but never to be exceeded.
This act carried on when Mary died into the reign of William II, but
effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins to date. Initial mark
Cross of Five Pellets (many people don’t even realise these things have initial
marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!), Spink
5666. Collectors will be aware that you
hardly ever come across Bawbees (of any reign) in VF
– they were from soft metal and simply did not survive the rigours of
circulation. Further, the obverse dies
of William & Mary bawbees specifically were
simply not up to the job as there was too much design to engrave with the
conjoined busts to give a good result.
The trick with these things is to look at the reverse of any coins in
order to gauge the grade as often, as in this case, the obverse side would have
left the mint fairly close to how it looks in this coin, ie
not a patch on the reverse. This coin is
approaching EF for issue. One or two bawbees of this grade recently came up in Heritage Auctions
where they all achieved four figure prices.
I don’t expect to ever have Bawbees of this
quality ever again – they are that rare. 
£695
WJC-7476: HIGH GRADE and CHOICE 1692
William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee. Circulated at a sixpence. 180 degree die
rotation. Dublin. An act of Privy Council in August 1691
authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees and
Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in weight or
less per year, but never to be exceeded.
This act carried on when Mary died into the reign of William II, but
effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins to date. Initial mark
Two Small Trefoils, (many people don’t even realise these things have initial
marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!), Spink
5668. Collectors will be aware that you
hardly ever come across Bawbees (of any reign) in VF
– they were from soft metal and simply did not survive the rigours of
circulation. Further, the obverse dies
of William & Mary bawbees specifically were
simply not up to the job as there was too much design to engrave with the
conjoined busts to give a good result.
The trick with these things is to look at the reverse of any coins in
order to gauge the grade as often, as in this case, the obverse side would have
left the mint fairly close to how it looks in this coin, ie
not a patch on the reverse. This coin is
EF for issue – Spink don’t think any coins in this grade exist for this year,
as evidenced in Spink 2020. One or two
bawbees of this grade, possibly not quite as good as
this one in particular, recently came up in Heritage Auctions where they all
achieved four figure prices. I don’t
expect to ever have Bawbees of this quality ever
again – they are that rare. £895
WJC-7477: HIGH GRADE and CHOICE 1692
William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee. Circulated at a sixpence. En medaille die rotation. Dublin. An act of Privy Council in August 1691
authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees and
Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in weight or
less per year, but never to be exceeded.
This act carried on when Mary died into the reign of William II, but
effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins to date. Initial mark
Cross of Five Pellets, or Rosette, (many people don’t even realise these things
have initial marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be
seen!), Spink 5667. Collectors will be
aware that you hardly ever come across Bawbees (of
any reign) in VF – they were from soft metal and simply did not survive the
rigours of circulation. Further, the
obverse dies of William & Mary bawbees
specifically were simply not up to the job as there was too much design to
engrave with the conjoined busts to give a good result. The trick with these things is to look at the
reverse of any coins in order to gauge the grade as often, as in this case, the
obverse side would have left the mint fairly close to how it looks in this
coin, ie not a patch on the reverse. This coin is EF for issue – Spink don’t think
any coins in this grade exist for this year, as evidenced in Spink 2020. One or two bawbees
of this grade, possibly not quite as good as this one in particular, recently
came up in Heritage Auctions where they all achieved four figure prices. I don’t expect to ever have Bawbees of this quality ever again – they are that rare. £795
WJC-7478: HIGH GRADE, CHOICE &
VERY, VERY RARE 1692 DOUBLE DATED William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee. Circulated at a sixpence.
En medaille die rotation. Dublin. This is the extremely rare 1692 error which
left the mint with the date on BOTH SIDES.
It is the ‘…ET 1692 REGINA’ error under Spink
5666. An act of Privy Council in August
1691 authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees
and Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in
weight or less per year, but never to be exceeded. This act carried on when Mary died into the
reign of William II, but effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins
to date. Initial mark Vertical Line of Three Pellets – unrecorded in Spink –
(many people don’t even realise these things have initial marks as the grade
seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!). Collectors will be aware that you hardly ever
come across Bawbees (of any reign) in VF – they were
from soft metal and simply did not survive the rigours of circulation. Further, the obverse dies of William &
Mary bawbees specifically were simply not up to the
job as there was too much design to engrave with the conjoined busts to give a
good result. The trick with these things
is to look at the reverse of any coins in order to gauge the grade as often, as
in this case, the obverse side would have left the mint fairly close to how it
looks in this coin, ie not a patch on the
reverse. This coin is nearly EF for
issue but there are no better grade examples known for this rare double date
error. One or two bawbees
of this grade, possibly not quite as good as this one in particular, and
certainly not as rare as this variety, recently came up in Heritage Auctions
where they all achieved four figure prices.
I don’t expect to ever have Bawbees of this
quality & rarity ever again – they are that rare. £995
WI-6725: 1692 William & Mary
Conjoined Busts Copper Halfpenny – High Grade. A Dublin halfpence that was struck for only
three years (the English version was only in operation for one year), this one
being the rarest date. Spink 6597. Made from
the softest of copper (the Charles II copper halfpence issue was equally soft),
ie without the “hardening” elements to the alloy of
later years, these coins were notoriously prone to wear through minimal
handling. The Spink plate coin is truly
exceptional, being the best known example and worth well into four
figures. Planchet flaw
– obverse king’s hair. A very nice coin indeed.
£225
WI-6934: 1693 William & Mary
Conjoined Busts Copper Halfpenny – High Grade. A Dublin halfpence that was struck for only
three years (the English version was only in operation for one year). Spink 6597. Made from the softest of copper (the Charles
II copper halfpence issue was equally soft), ie
without the “hardening” elements to the alloy of later years, these coins were
notoriously prone to wear through minimal handling. This one an unrecorded
overdate. Rare. £245
WI-6678: 1694 William & Mary
Conjoined Busts Copper Halfpenny – an unrecorded error. A Dublin halfpence with the MA.RIA error very
clearly displayed on the obverse. Spink 6597, although this variety is completely unrecorded in Spink
as well as the much more comprehensive Peck. There is an argument which suggests that
errors such as these were die sinkers’ identifying markers as nobody else at
the time would notice. We see this a
great deal in the Commonwealth silver series, in the form of missing / extra
pellets and although that was hammered and this is milled, Commonwealth and
W&M were only
30 odd years apart. An
important and rare variety. £155
WI-7340:
1694 Irish
William & Mary *High Grade* Copper Halfpenny. Struck at Dublin during a short
three year run. Near all the copper issues from Charles II
until the Hanoverians, but particularly so this specific Irish W&M issue,
were struck on planchets made from a very soft copper alloy, one that was
really not up to the job. As a result,
these coins quickly deteriorated through initial circulation. What made the W&M coins in particular so
susceptible to wear was the large relief conjoined busts obverse. I’d almost go as
far to suggest that the W&M Irish halfpence wore down through circulation
at a faster rate than the tin issues, and they really did wear down fast! Sold with an old auction
slip stating “Very Fine”, together with an old cabinet ticket. £395
William III
WI-5991: 1696 Irish William III
Copper Halfpenny. 1696 was the only
year William III struck the halfpenny and the halfpenny was the ONLY
denomination issued. This coin is better
than the Spink plate coin (S.6598) which tells you it is extremely good grade
for issue. £225
Post 1800 Coinage
1d’s
WI-5853: Irish 1805 George III
Large Copper Penny. Soho coinage (Birmingham). Much rarer than the halfpennies. £45
1/2d’s
WI-5623: 1805 Irish
Copper Halfpenny. Ex
Colin Cooke collection. £95
WI-6548: 1805 Irish GILT-PROOF
Copper Halfpenny. Plain
edge, EF or better. £265
1/4d’s
WI-5922: 1806 Irish Copper
Farthing. Toned. £29
Irish Communion Tokens
WI-5590: Mid 1800’s IRISH Church
Communion Token. Presbyterian
Church of Ireland. 99.9% of all Communion Tokens are
Scottish. Burzinski 7552. £48
