Irish Coins & Tokens
-------->Remember, postage is included<--------
Irish / American (Colonial)
Halfpennies&
Farthings
WI-8100: 1674 Irish-American St
Patrick Copper Farthing. Brass anti counterfeiting plug very much in situ with
excellent detail both sides. No damage
or repairs. S.R. 6571. Struck on a large flan (25mm diameter) but
still termed “Small Size”. This is the
best grade example I had ever handled, even better than WI-7576 which some of
you may remember. 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. £975
WI-7126:
1674
Irish-American St Patrick Copper Farthing.
Brass anti counterfeiting plug very much in
situ with excellent detail both sides.
No damage or repairs. S.R. 6569. Struck on
a large flan (25mm diameter) but still termed “Small Size”. This was possibly the best grade example I
had ever handled until WI-7576 came my way!
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
Irish The Great
Rebellion, Coinages of the Lords Justices Issue - Money of Necessity - "Dublin Money"
WI-9366: **Choice**
Charles 1st Irish Hammered Silver Dublin Money Crown. Also termed "Money of
Necessity". S.R.6542. The Great Rebellion
of the three kingdoms in Ireland.
Issued by the Lords Justices at Dublin.
In 1642, Dublin and its hinterland was surrounded – it was a siege in
all but name – with Dublin being cut off from the rest of Ireland but still
linked to their political masters in England by sea. The massive influx of the
20,000 soldiers in the “English Army for Ireland” caused economic problems for Dublin – they had to be paid and they
needed to spend money on essentials – and they needed money to do this. Similarly, the Dublin merchants needed coins for
change. There were three separate
emergency issues in 1642 – struck from cut and flattened silver plate collected
in around Dublin by supporters of Charles I on the outbreak of Civil War in
England. The plate was at first donated
(£1,200 worth) and later received in exchange for promissory notes. The Dublin Money issue of 1643 was struck in
crown and halfcrown only. The preceding
1642 Inchiquin Money and the following 1643-4 Ormonde
Money were comprised of crowns down to the smaller denominations. At 29.00g, this issue is just about full
weight - being an extremely rare issue with very few extant crowns, it has been
historically difficult to gauge just how close to the standard 30g this issue
was. NGC have slabbed a halfcrown at
11.25g but there is ambiguity as to whether that coin was clipped or not, even
though it's some way off it's standard 15g. Of that miniscule cohort of Dublin Money full
crowns, this would appear to be the best grade example - clearly that grade is
based predominantly on the small Vs punch, although the actual silver plate
will form part of that overall grade: there is an example with a deep scratch
one side, far away from the stamp, but on the coin never-the-less. The Coincraft plate coin is not as good as
this example and the S.R. plate coin, whilst one side is equivalent to this
coin, has a poorly struck stamp the other (not shown in the reference
guide). From the
outstanding collection of author and member of the Numismatic Society of
Ireland, John Noel Simpson. The
best grade example I can source of one of the rarest Irish coins of any
period. Choice. £8,450
Provenance:
ex
John Noel Simpson Collection, dispersed...
ex
Spink
Irish The Great
Rebellion, Coinages of the Lords Justices Issue - "Ormonde Money"
WI-9363: **Choice**
Charles 1st Irish Hammered Silver Ormonde Money Halfcrown. The Great Rebellion in Ireland.
Issued by the Lords Justices at Dublin and termed Ormond Money due to the
Earl of Ormonde being appointed Lieutenant of Ireland in 1643. This was the final coinage of the rebellion
period to be issued. This issue
demonstrated allegiance to the monarch by incorporating the king’s crown on the
obverse. Issued
1643-1644. Obverse: a large C•R
with a much flourished R, crown above; all within a linear and beaded border /
reverse: a large II with a small S above and large VI with small D above (2
shilling, 6 pence); all within a linear and beaded border. S.R.6545. Very much along the
lines of the English Newark, Pontefract, Carlisle etc siege pieces; the Ormonde
Money was crudely cut from flattened silver plate and hammered with the
die. These dies were not engraved to
anywhere near the quality of regular coinage, resulting in a coin far from what
we might expect a professional moneyer to produce working out of an official
mint. As a result, Ormonde coinage is
usually poor, as ever summed up eloquently and concisely by Coincraft: "This
[halfcrown] issue is scarce but obtainable, although coins are rarely found in
better than Fine condition."
The Coincraft plate coin is not as good as this coin. The S.R. plate coin is a decidedly odd
example with the II and VI bizarrely being of equal height. Very similar to the Baldwin example, even down to the slightly
angled strike creating matching flat areas, which sold for north of £2,000 if
memory serves. The London Coins example
was a lesser grade coin, also being off-struck, which sold for £1,500 after
commissions in 2017. This same coin sold
14 years ago (2012) in a CNG featured auction for $1,950 before add-ons. Choice. £1,975
Provenance:
ex
C.J. Denton, sold to the...
ex Innisfree Collection, sold by...
ex
CNG, January 2012, sold for $1,950 to the...
ex
David Bianchi collection
WI-9365: Charles
1st Irish Hammered Silver Ormonde Money Groat. The Great Rebellion in Ireland.
Issued by the Lords Justices at Dublin and termed Ormond Money due to the
Earl of Ormonde being appointed Lieutenant of Ireland in 1643. This was the final coinage of the rebellion
period to be issued. This issue demonstrated
allegiance to the monarch by incorporating the king’s crown on the
obverse. Issued
1643-1644. Large
C•R; crown above; all within a linear and beaded border / Large IIII; small D
above; all within a linear and beaded border. S.R. 6548. Very much along the lines of the English
Newark, Pontefract, Carlisle etc siege pieces; the Ormonde Money was crudely
cut from flattened silver plate - in this case the person charged with cutting
the blanks or planchets from the silver plate had seemingly lost the will and
had deteriorated into cutting out squares! - and
hammered with the die. These dies were
not engraved to anywhere near the quality of regular coinage, resulting in a
coin far from what we might expect a professional moneyer to produce working
out of an official mint. As a result,
Ormonde coinage is usually poor, especially so the smaller denominations, this
example being a grade or so better than is usually encountered. £425
WI-9035: Irish Charles 1st
Hammered Silver ORMONDE Groat. The Great Rebellion in Ireland.
Issued by the Lords Justices at Dublin and termed Ormond Money due to the
Earl of Ormonde being appointed Lieutenant of Ireland in 1643. This issue demonstrated allegiance to the
monarch by incorporating the king’s crown on the obverse. Issued 1643-1644. Large C•R; crown above; all within a linear and beaded border /
Large IIII; D above; all within a linear and beaded border. S.R. 6548. This was
the final coinage of the rebellion period to be issued. The crude fashion with which this coin has
been cut, together with the rudimentary die-sinking, and the indifferent
strike, is somewhat reminiscent of the Charles 1st besieged issue just across
the Irish
Sea in Carlisle a year or so later. £235
WI-9105:
Charles 1st
Irish Hammered Silver Ormonde Money Sixpence. Issued during the Great Rebellion, this is an
issue of 1643-44. S.R.
6547. Very much along the lines
of the English Newark, Pontefract, Carlisle etc siege pieces, the Ormonde Money
was crudely cut from flattened silver plate and then stamped. These stamps were not engraved to anywhere
near the quality of coin dies and the "stamping" resulted in a coin
far from what we might expect a professional moneyer to produce working out of
an official mint. As a result, Ormonde
coinage is usually poor. This is the
very best example of a sixpence that I have ever handled and possibly even
seen. Rare thus. £695
Provenance:
ex
Alexander Christopher collection
Irish James II Civil War Issues - "Gun
Money"
Crowns
WI-9135:
1690 Irish Gun
Money Full Crown. James
II emergency Civil War coinage of 1689-91. S.R. 6578. Overstruck on the large Gun Money halfcrowns as
by 1690, these were obsolete; replaced by the small size halfcrowns. The obverse of the Gun Money crown (and it is
just the crowns) has similarities to the earlier Charles 1st
halfcrowns and crowns, which I’m sure was far from accidental. It won’t have escaped readers’ attention that
Gun Money coinage is currently riding high in terms of popularity. 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. 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”. The underlying halfcrown detail can be seen
in places, especially around the date which, incidentally, reads 169. £325
Provenance:
ex
John Noel Simpson collection
ex
Spink
WI-9136:
1690 Irish Gun
Money Full Crown. James
II emergency Civil War coinage of 1689-91. S.R. 6578. Overstruck on the large Gun Money halfcrowns
as by 1690, these were obsolete; replaced by the small size halfcrowns. The obverse of the Gun Money crown (and it is
just the crowns) has similarities to the earlier Charles 1st
halfcrowns and crowns, which I’m sure was far from accidental. It won’t have escaped readers’ attention that
Gun Money coinage is currently riding high in terms of popularity. 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. 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”. The underlying halfcrown detail can be seen
in places, especially around the outer areas - see below the horse. A very different metal composition from
WI-9135, which is perhaps not so surprising considering these were made from
whatever scrap metal they could get their hands on at the time. £325
Provenance:
ex
John Noel Simpson collection
ex
Spink
WI-9167: 1690 (and, rarely, 1689)
Irish Gun Money Full Crown. James II emergency Civil War coinage of 1689-91. Struck at Dublin.
S.R. 6578.
Overstruck on the large Gun Money halfcrowns as by 1690, these were
obsolete; replaced by the small size halfcrowns. The obverse of the Gun Money crown (and it is
just the crowns) has similarities to the earlier Charles 1st
halfcrowns and crowns, which I’m sure was far from accidental. It won’t have escaped readers’ attention that
Gun Money coinage is currently riding high in terms of popularity in today's
market. 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. 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 latten:
old cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun
Money”. The underlying halfcrown detail
can be seen in places, but most importantly, the
underlying host date of 1689 is as clear as daylight - in fact the 1689 date is
actually clearer than the intended date of 1690,
something I have never seen before. Even
better, the crown was struck with its reverse on the reverse of the host
halfcrown AND at a near 180 degree die rotation, meaning both dates are side by
side. There is a clear capital letter O
by the OM of DOM which even gives us the month this host halfcrown was struck -
October of 1689. I challenge you to find
a more interesting example of this issue for sale anywhere on the open market
today! A very
desirable and quite probably a unique coin. £435
Provenance:
ex
Spink
Halfcrowns
WI-7675:
1690 (May) James II Irish
Gun Money Half Crown. Small-sized halfcrown.
S.R. 6580c. Limerick bust. 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”. £275
WI-9137: March 1689 Irish Gun Money
Half Crown. A unique example of an
Irish coin dated by year AND month! 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. 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”. £155
Shillings
WI-9276: January 1689 Irish Gun
Money Shilling. A unique example of
an Irish coin dated by year AND month! 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”. Very nice grade, just not that well struck or
perhaps more accurately, struck well enough but the scrap metal just wasn't
good enough, which is no surprise. Interestingly struck en-medaille (ie like
a medal as opposed to a coin). Sold with an old ticket.
£175
WI-9277: December 1689 Irish Gun
Money Shilling. A unique example of
an Irish coin dated by year AND month! 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”. Very nice grade, just not that well struck or
perhaps more accurately, struck well enough but the scrap metal just wasn't
good enough, which is no surprise. Interestingly struck en-medaille (ie like
a medal as opposed to a coin). A pleasing example. £185
Sixpences
WI-7659:
1689 (November) James II
Irish Gun Money Sixpence. Rarer denomination. S.R. 6583f. 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”. £165
WI-7734: 1689 Irish Gun Money
SIXPENCE under James II. Struck January 1689. S.R. 6583H. 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”. The sixpence is a rarer denomination. £195
WI-9067: 1689 Irish Gun Money
SIXPENCE under James II. Struck January 1689. S.R. 6583H. 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”. The sixpence is a rarer denomination. £225
Irish James II Civil War Issues - "Pewter Money"
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!
S.R. 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.
S.R. 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 (as Lord of Ireland)
WI-9118:
John (as Lord) Irish Medieval Hammered Silver
Halfpenny. Listed in reference books as pennies but circulated
at halfpence (the halfpennies duly circulated as
farthings). Second DOM[inus] coinage with the unusual obverse DOM having the D
over an M, which I've never seen before!
Circa 1185/1190 and no later than 1208/9. Dublin mint; Norman as
moneyer. With a cross potent as opposed to a cross pommée reverse,
this is a Group 1b coin, S.R. 6205. Prince John
(his father still being very much alive at this point) was given Lordship of
Ireland in 1177. He finally visited in 1185 which coincided with the
first (excessively rare) issue. This later issue followed on from
that. In 1208, John became king, so heralding the third
"Rex" coinage. An outstanding coin -
choice. £495
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen (his
earlier colour ticket)
WI-9032: John (as Lord) Irish
Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny.
Listed in reference books as pennies but circulated at halfpence (the
halfpennies duly circulated as farthings).
Second DOM[inus]
coinage with obverse legend ending -OM, c.1185/1190 and no later than
1208/9. Waterford mint; Walter as
moneyer. With a cross potent as opposed to a cross
pommée
reverse, this is a Group 1b coin, S.R. 6210. Prince John (his father still being very much
alive at this point) was given Lordship of Ireland in 1177. He finally visited in 1185 which coincided
with the first (excessively rare) issue.
This later issue followed on from that.
In 1208, John became king, so heralding the third "Rex"
coinage. Waterford is a rarer mint for this
issue. £385
Provenance
Ex M.J. McKeever collection
WI-8172:
John (as Lord)
Irish Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny.
Listed in reference books as pennies but circulated at halfpence (the
halfpennies duly circulated as farthings).
Second DOM[inus]
coinage with obverse legend ending -OM, c.1185/1190 and no later than 1208/9. Waterford mint: [+GE]FREI
ON W[--]. With a cross potent as opposed
to a cross pommée reverse, this is a Group 1b coin, S.R. 6210. Prince John (his father still being very much
alive at this point) was given Lordship of Ireland in 1177. He finally visited in 1185 which coincided
with the first (excessively rare) issue.
This later issue followed on from that.
In 1208, John became king, so heralding the third "Rex"
coinage. Waterford is a rarer mint for this
issue. £385
Provenance
Ex M.J. McKeever collection
WI-8173:
John (as Lord)
Irish Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny.
Listed in reference books as pennies but circulated at halfpence (the
halfpennies duly circulated as farthings).
Second DOM[inus]
coinage with obverse legend ending -DOM, c.1185/1190 and no later than
1208/9. Dublin mint: TOMAS [ON D]VV. With a cross
pommée
as opposed to a cross potent reverse, this is the rarer Group 2b coin,
S.R. 6213. Prince John (his father still
being very much alive at this point) was given Lordship of Ireland in
1177. He finally visited in 1185 which
coincided with the first (excessively rare) issue. This later issue followed on from that. In 1208, John became king, so heralding the
third "Rex" coinage. £385
Provenance
Ex M.J. McKeever collection
King John (as King of Ireland)
Penny
WI-8047:
Irish King John
Medieval Hammered Silver Penny - Choice.
Third "REX" coinage, ROBERD as moneyer at
the Dublin mint.
S.R. 6228.
An exceptionally nice grade coin - attractively toned and with much
eye-appeal. £495
WI-7943:
Irish King John
Medieval Hammered Silver Penny - Choice.
Third "REX" coinage, ROBERD as moneyer at
the Dublin mint.
S.R. 6228.
An exceptionally nice grade coin - attractively toned and with much
eye-appeal. £495
WI-9107:
John Irish
Medieval Hammered Silver Penny - Rare Mint.
Third "REX" coinage of 1208/9 - 1211/12. WILLEM ON LIME - Willem on Limerick.
S.R. 6229.
This is the very first Limerick King John penny I have ever seen in the
flesh - they are that rare. Graded VF. £595
Provenance:
ex
Spink
WMH-9347: ** THE BURGHLEY HOUSE HOARD** Irish King John Medieval
Hammered Silver Penny. Third coinage, +ROBEIRD ON DIVE - Dublin mint.
S.R.6228. In
2021, going into 2022, one of the largest hoards of early Plantagenet coinage
was discovered in the grounds of the famous Burghley
House estate - a Grade 1 listed English Country House (resembling a very large
stately home) in Stamford, Lincolnshire. Lord Burghley -
David Cecil, later the 6th Marquess of Exeter -
famously won the gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1928 Summer
Olympics, as depicted in the film, Chariots of Fire, with extensive training
throughout the 1,400 acres of his estate.
He famously got one of his grounds men to lay out his hurdles on the
estate with an upright matchbox on each one, the aim being to not only clear
each hurdle, at full speed, but to just clear each hurdle, at full
speed, and further, to just clear each
hurdle, at full speed, at a specific
point on each hurdle with the leading leg with hopefully all matchboxes
being successfully dislodged and hurdles intact! The hoard consisted of approximately 350 Plantagenet
pennies and halfpennies, ranging from Henry II to Henry III. The hoard deposition is estimated to the very
early 1240's, based on the latest coins in the hoard - class 7c pennies of
Henry III. The find was handed over to
the state via the PAO scheme. After an
inquest, the hoard was eventually disclaimed and returned to the finder. See here for the story in
print. Of those 350 hoard coins,
very few were Irish and of that tiny cohort, this coin wasthe
best grade example. Tickets
here. A
rarer, high grade coin from within a secure hoard context. £475
Provenance:
ex Burghley House 2021/2 Hoard
Halfpenny
WI-7728: John, as King of Ireland,
Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny. Third REX coinage, circa 1199 - 1216. Dublin mint with
ROBERD as the moneyer. S.R. 6231.
I have a lot of time for Coincraft’s
informative and sometimes insightful comments (less so their pricing although
to be fair, it’s an old publication) and they have not let the collector down
on this coin – see what they say here. As presentable an example of this rarer
denomination as you’re likely to find. £285
Henry III
WI-7942:
Irish Henry III
Medieval Voided Long Cross Hammered Silver Penny. Class 1a, RICARD as moneyer
at the Dublin mint.
S.R. 6235.
An unusually nice example from this rarer Irish
monarch. £285
WI-7244:
Henry III
Hammered Silver Irish Penny. Type IIa, RICARD.ON.DIVE – Dublin mint – the moneyer Ricard
thought to be the London moneyer Richard Bonaventure operating in absentia.
S.R. 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. Even though this was such a short mint run, a great
deal of the coinage left Ireland to England and the Continent. The famous Brussels’ Hoard of 1908 consisted of
roughly 64,000 continental coins but also 81,000 English, Scottish and Irish
silver pennies. Of the latter, 16,000
were Irish Henry III – that’s an astounding 20% of all non Continental coinage,
in a hoard found in Belgium of all places, being Irish. This is one of the best examples of an Irish
Henry III penny that I’ve had in a long while.
This coin would
win no beauty contest but it should be acknowledged that S.R. 6240 dies were
course in nature. £125
Edward I
WI-9316: Irish
Edward 1st Hammered Silver Long Cross Penny. Second "EDW"
coinage, late issue of 1297 - 1302, single pellet below bust, class IV. Dublin mint.
S.R.6264. Part
of a small hoard or purse-loss where the coin was in contact in the ground with
the copper surround. £235
WI-9404: Edward 1st Irish Medieval
Hammered Silver Penny. Second coinage, 1297-1302.
Dublin mint.
Small lettering both sides - the very late and final class IVc, S.R.6266, struck just after the turn of the
century. Rarer variety, being the last
penny struck for use in Ireland until the exceedingly rare Henry
VI issue of 1425-6, issued some 125 years later. £225
Edward IV
First Reign
WI-9410: Irish Edward IV Hammered
Silver Penny. First reign, type III
first heavy cross & pellets issue of 1465 only. Initial mark Rose, [EDW]ARD
.DI GR.hYBEN - very rare to see any legend, let alone
an initial mark on these early Edward IV pennies. No extra marks to the obverse. Reverse: Standard long cross, extra pellet in
two quarters, CIVI [TA]S [DVB LI]n - Dublin mint. S.R.6315, Burns Du-1aH
with Style A bust. Allegedly
minted at 7g (I remain unconvinced on that) but surviving examples are nearly
always 5g or less. This
one 0.49g. This very early heavy
issue utilised dies manufactured in England and, as can clearly be seen, were
very English in style. As Irish pennies
go, and particularly Edward IV pennies, this is a remarkable survivor: an
excellent portrait and an even more impressive initial mark. Sold with several tickets - see below. 
£245
Provenance:
ex
metal detecting find - PAS ticket
ex Auction (lot 190) - tickets
Henry VI
Second Reign
WI-9411: Excessively Rare Irish
Henry VI Readeption (Second Reign - Restored)
Hammered Silver Groat. Catalogued in
S.R. as 6356 [6329]: Ireland, Edward IV, Drogheda mint, second reign (1471-1483),
Light "Cross and Pellets" Coinage, Groat, Second Issue, [i.m.] EDVARDVS. DEI. GRA. REX ANGLI, English titles only, rosette stops, crowned
bust facing of local (Yorkist) style, flanked by
trefoils at neck, in tressure with four fleurs,
saltire in spandrel below bust rev.
POSVI + DEVM [x] ADITORE MEVM // : VILLA DROGh : EDA, single and double saltire stops, long cross,
trio of pellets in angles, 1.96g. 10h. My attempt at photography using my
usual setup was a particular low point (it's here for those
interested), hence the slightly different front image. This is researched to be a Yorkist
coin of local dies, most likely struck during the readeption
of Henry VI: current chronology given as November 1470 (Henry VI
restored was October 1470 to April 1471). At some point, and Sovereign Rarities allude
to this in the 2026 edition of their Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands
edition (p.154), this coin will need to be reclassified as being Henry VI
restored. A couple of decades ago, there
were only 4 known examples. John
Stafford-Logan (who has authenticated this attribution) had one of those four
coins back in the day but agrees that more have been recovered from the plough
soil in recent years, particularly around the north of England. The John Noel Simpson example (albeit a
better coin) sold in 2025 at Spink Auction 25021 for over £3,500 after buyer's
commission. The National Museum of
Ireland has but a single example and states, "Only one groat assigned
here, slightly water-worn otherwise toned and on a fuller flan, the critical
legend variety clear, almost very fine, excessively rare, only one other
example identified, an inferior die duplicate..." To summarise, An Irish Dogheda
mint groat with ENGLISH TITLES researched to have been struck in November 1470,
ie during the readeption of Henry VI, but without
altering the regnal name of Edward, as they did for one of the Cork issues. A great rarity. £1,675
Edward IV
Second Reign
Groats
WI-9272: Irish
Edward IV Rare Variety Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. Second reign, type VII -
third Light Cross & Pellets coinage of 1473 only. CIVITAS WATERFORD - Waterford mint.
V on breast - S.R.6369B. This "V on king's breast",
S.R.6369B, is a great rarity. The G on
breast (moneyer Germyn Lynch), L on breast (Limerick) and even the sideways W on breast
(Waterford) coins do turn up but crucially,
not the V on breast coins. I've never
seen one before, let along owned one and indeed, along with everyone else, I
don't even know what the V stands for.
The only reference I can find to this extremely rare variety is by a
gentleman called Aquilla Smith, M.D., who in 1839
published "On the Irish coins of Edward the Fourth. Within that work he states: "...
another has a V on the king's bust, and weighs only twenty-eight grains - Pl.III, fig.64" with a footnote stating: "...
a trefoil is the mintmark of this variety, as appears by the coin published by
Simon, Pl.IV, fig.84". The coin on offer here weighs a comparable
25.6 grains and actually has a Pierced Cross (not a Short Cross Fitchee) as the reverse initial mark, which is seen on
similar coins (althpigh not V coins) of this
period. Some clipping
in the area of the regnal name although the coin is also struck on a short
flan. A great rarity - find
another! £795
Provenance:
ex
G.A. Singer (original early ticket)
ex
Steven W. Damron (ticket)
WI-9274: Irish
Edward IV Rare Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. Second reign, type VIII - issues of the
Ungoverned Mint, 1470-77. CIVITAS
LIMIRICI - Limerick mint. L on breast, rosettes by the neck (and in two
reverse quarters / interspersed within the legends) and with the much rarer Irish
title - S.R.6380B. Coins were
issued outside of the governance of the Pale authorities by just three mints: Limerick, Cork and Wexford, with the first of
those two mints issuing coin autonomously as a result of the Desmond rebellion
by those respective Irish towns. Wexford
was not involved in this rebellion but opportunistically joined in minting their own coinage anyway.
Weight at 2.03g which, bearing in mind the standard weight was around 2g
at the time due to the weight being reduced from that of the previous issue by
25% (these were in reality unofficial issues so it's entirely to be expected
that they would make money this way - indeed, I'm surprised they stuck at 25%),
tells us that this coin was probably struck on the usual short flan and is not
far off what it would have looked like when it left the mint. For issue, and bearing in mind it's not a
clipped coin, overall I'd readily grade this coin as VF (2025 price guide
£1,350). A very rare
coin indeed with the Irish titles.
£1,345
Provenance:
ex
Sovereign Rarities (original tickets)
ex
Spink
Pence
WI-7831: Unrecorded Irish Edward IV
Hammered Silver Penny. Light cross
& pellets issue of 1473-79. Dublin mint. S.R.
----, Burns ----. An
unrecorded coin with Cinquefoils by the crown on the obverse and a Quatrefoil
in the centre of the reverse. Not
recorded in Burns, which is the definitive guide to Irish Medieval pennies,
being now into the fifth issue. Obviously a great rarity, perhaps even unique. £275
Richard III
Henry VII - Early
"Three Crowns" Issues
Pennies
WI-9362: **Excessively
Rare** Henry VII Irish Hammered Silver Three Crowns PENNY. Early "Three Crowns" issue of
1485-87. No mint stated, but it was Dublin.
Also, no monarch's name on this particular issue; instead we have REX
ANGLIE FRANC on the obverse and DOMINVS VRERNI (Lord of Ireland) on the
reverse. The lack of a monarch's name,
on official coinage of a sizeable to take the name (some fractional
denominations had to omit the regnal name for reasons of space, but even they
tended to at least give the monarch's initials) is remarkable. The reason is that in Dublin, Gerald, the Earl of Kildare, held
what was virtually a Royal Court with him as demy-monarch. There is actually a second issue three crowns
penny with the king's name resplendent on the obverse legend meaning, as is so
often the case, size is not an issue here.
S.R.6424. These
silver three crown pennies were struck in miniscule numbers, probably because
there were enough pennies still remaining in circulation from Edward IV's
issue. In many decades of being involved
in this hobby, I don't recall ever seeing one before - they really are that
rare. There were two issues of penny -
the Early Three Crowns variety of 1485-87 and the Late Three Crowns variety of
1488-90. The former has the DOMINVS
legend whilst the latter has the DOMINOS legend. Even though this coin is chipped (and you
rarely, if ever, get the legends anyway), you can clearly see the VS
differentiation here, cementing it into that early first period. Of the greatest rarity. £995
Groats
WI-9361: **Much
Above Average** Henry VII Irish Hammered Silver Three
Crowns Groat. Early "Three
Crowns" issue of 1485-87. No mint
stated, but it was Dublin.
Also, no monarch's name on this particular issue; instead we have REX
ANGLIE FRANCIE on the obverse and DOMINVS HyBERNIE on
the reverse. S.R.6414. The lack of a monarch's name, on
official coinage of a size able to take the name (some fractional denominations
had to omit the regnal name for reasons of space, but even they tended to at
least give the monarch's initials) is remarkable. The reason is that in Dublin, Gerald, the
Earl of Kildare, held what was virtually a Royal Court with him as a
demy-monarch, whereas Waterford did indeed go with the king's name on the
obverse of their coinage as their overseer was very much a supporter of Henry
(and a strong anti-Yorkist) - in fact they were so
pro the king in Waterford than as well as the king's name, they even added an
"H" to the coin below the smallest reverse crown! "Coins are rarely found in better
than Fine condition" - Coincraft.
This is a lovely example, being the best I've seen in many a year. £845
Provenance:
ex Spink, sold for £100 in February 1985 (41 years ago!)
to...
ex David Bianchi collection
Henry VII - Later
"Portrait" Issues
WI-9412: *Choice Grade* Irish Henry
VII Hammered Silver Groat. Late
portrait issue, very much towards the end of the 1496 - 1505 period,
class III, open flat crown, Dublin mint. S.R.6464. Following on from the Henry VII
"Three Crowns" coinage, this issue is very similar in style to the
English counterparts but with the Irish issues being much cruder, and obviously
rarer. This issue was only struck at the
Dublin mint, and occasionally with silver
that was below the standard of the day, which was something of a running theme
with Irish coinage under English control.
The standard weight of the late portrait issues was 32 grains, reducing
to 28 grains after type IIA. This type
III coin is actually above weight at 28.8 grains, highlighting no clipping and
barely any circulation wear. An interesting final Henry VII issue, not to mention a difficult
coin to source in both this weight and this spectacular grade. Choice - just look at the S.R. plate coin and
compare! £885
Provenance:
ex
Studio Coins Feb 1991 - x35+ years ago!!
ex
Lloyd Bennet, March 2025 - ticket
WI-9106:
Henry VII Irish
Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. Late portrait issue of 1496 to 1505. Dublin mint, type 1A
with arched crown breaking the plain tressure.
S.R. 6455.
High grade for issue with excellent provenance. £685
Provenance:
ex
Patrick Finn (early 1990's, ticket price £200)
ex
Steven Damron
ex Tim
Owen
WI-9275: Irish
Henry VII Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. Late portrait issues of 1496-1505. CIVITAS DVBLInIE
- Dublin mint.
Open crown, saltires on all points of the
tressure, type IIC. S.R.6460. Following on from
the Henry VII "Three Crowns" coinage, this issue is very similar in
style to the English counterparts but with the Irish issues being much cruder,
and obviously rarer. This issue was only
struck at the Dublin mint, and occasionally with silver
that was below the standard of the day, which was something of a running theme
with Irish coinage under English control.
The standard weight of the early late portrait issues was 32 grains,
reducing to 28 grains after type IIA.
This type IIC coin is a more than healthy 28.4 grains. An interesting, not to
mention difficult coin to source in this weight and grade. £475
Provenance:
Purchased
Spink, 14th April 1976 (original ticket)
Henry VIII
WI-9413: High Grade Irish Henry
VIII and ANNE BOLEYN Hammered Silver Groat.
The rarer First Harp Issue, 1534-40, S.R. 6472. Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to
Anne Boleyn, the second and probably most famous of his six wives, not to
mention the most sought after of the three wives mentioned on silver
coinage. Spink have Katherine Howard
rarer. It's just not. Dated to 1534-5, in
commemoration of a marriage that lasted three years, produced the future Queen
Elizabeth 1st but ultimately ended in Anne losing her head, quite literally,
because she could not produce a male heir. This issue is at 0.842
silver fineness with later issues going the same way as that of the
English silver coinage under Henry, ie downhill. A rare coin and in exceptional grade for
issue - the reverse "Henry & wife" initials are usually
ambiguous, whereas the initials on this coin could not be clearer. Old
tickets here. Excellent provenance.
£645
Provenance:
ex
Charles Edward Noble collection
ex
Spink
WI-9215:
Henry VIII with
Katherine Howard Irish Hammered Silver Groat. Issued in commemoration of
Henry’s marriage to Katherine
Howard. Spink 6474. The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue, 1534-40 and the rarest of
the three wives mentioned on silver coinage, at least according to Spink. Dated to 1540 only, in
commemoration of a marriage that, in just 18 short months, ended with Katherine
being beheaded. Katherine had
unwisely taken a lover (perhaps the unwise thing was getting found out!) and as
the axe was poised over her soon to be severed neck, she took what little
solace was available to her by (possibly) uttering the now famous line: "
I die a queen, but would
rather die the wife of Culpepper", that being the name of her lover. And what of the infamous
Culpepper? He stood trial and,
rather predictably, was found guilty. He
was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn,
although Henry VIII, oddly enough, commuted Culpepper's sentence to a mere
beheading. There is no contemporary
source illustrating just how grateful Culpepper was at Henry's magnanimous
leniency. Here is a list of all Henry's
wives:
Catherine
of Aragon: Married from 1509 to 1533, her
marriage was annulled.
Anne
Boleyn: Married in 1533, she was beheaded in 1536.
Jane
Seymour: Married in 1536, she died shortly after giving birth to their son in
1537.
Anne of Cleves: Married in early 1540, their marriage
was annulled a few months later.
Catherine
Howard: Married in 1540, she was executed in 1542.
Catherine
Parr: Married in 1543, she outlived Henry and became his widow.
Wives to
see their names (initials) in lights, or specifically on Irish Harp groats,
were:
wife 2 (Anne Boleyn),
wife 3 (Jane Seymour),
wife 5 (Katherine Howard - this coin).
There are
also English Henry VIII hammered gold coins commemorating three of the wives
(numbers 1,2 and 3), but this Irish issue is the only
one to mention Katherine Howard.
Catherine of Aragon (# 1) and Anne of Cleves
(# 4) seem to have been overlooked by Henry on the Irish issues and by the time
of Catherine Parr (# 6), Henry seemed to have finally realised that perhaps the
coinage, both Irish and English, couldn’t really keep up with his
marriages. This Irish issue is at 0.842 silver fineness with later issues going the same
way as that of the English silver coinage, ie downhill. A most historically
interesting coin. £545
WI-9040:
Irish Henry VIII
Hammered Silver Groat. Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Jane Seymour. S.R. 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. £545
WI-6369: Irish Henry VIII Hammered
Silver Groat. 1540. First (1st) Harp Issue, DOMINVS, “HR”
by harp. S.R. 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 practise 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). £289
WI-9054: Henry VIII Second Harp
Issue Irish Hammered Silver Groat. Second
(2nd) Harp Issue, struck 1540-42 at 0.758 fine,
which is an interesting silver content, being firmly sandwiched between the
first harp issue at 0.842 fine and the third harp issue at 0.833 fine! Initial mark Trefoil. S.R. 6479. In my
experience, a bit rarer than the third harp issue. £295
WI-6394: Irish Henry VIII Hammered
Silver Groat. 1543. Third (3rd)
Harp Issue, 1543 only. 0.833 silver
fineness, which interestingly, in view of Henry VIII’s
penchant for progressively reducing the silver content of his coinage
throughout the reign, is actually a HIGHER silver content compared to the
Second Harp issue of 1540-42. Rest
assured though, the fourth issue was 0.666, the fifth 0.500 and the sixth
0.250. Initial mark
Tudor Rose. S.R. 6481. Nice grade. £225
Edward VI
Mary & Philip
WI-7898:
1557 Philip
& Mary Irish Tudor Hammered Billon Silver Groat. Debased
(0.250 fineness issue) hammered silver - nice grade for this usually poor
issue. Two old tickets going back to
1973 and 1974 - see here
and here. Re the slip ticket: for "chipped", please read
"clipped". £275
Elizabeth 1st
Sixpences
WI-7838: 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. S.R. 6508. This coin very high grade for issue -
although an indifferent strike (these were struck in haste with little thought
to presentation), this is virtually as it left the mint. £345
Groats
WI-9359: **Choice**
1558 Irish Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Groat. Base coinage of 1558 with
0.250 silver fineness. Initial mark Rose, S.R. 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. Coupled
with the fact that this first issue was only 25% silver, it was also a poorly
struck issue with the relatively few known examples invariably being of lower
grade. This coin is about mint
state – virtually “As Struck”. Examine
the obverse carefully and you'll see fantastic detailing to the Queen's chest,
crown and face. A quite remarkable coin
and incidentally, much superior to the S.R. plate coin. Choice. £1,850
WI-7348:
1558 Irish
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Groat - Choice. Base coinage of 1558 with
0.250 silver fineness. Initial mark Rose, S.R. 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. £1,650
WI-6671: 1558 Irish Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Billon Silver Groat. Base issue of 1558 only.
S.R. 6504. Very good grade for issue. £185
WI-9150:
1561 Irish
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver GROAT.
Second "Fine" silver coinage of 1561. S.R.6506. Interestingly, although the groat had
been a regular denomination in currency as far back as Edward III (Edward 1st
issued them but they were very unpopular and extremely short-lived), this was
the last Irish groat issued under Elizabeth 1st (the English groats also ended
at this date). James 1st didn't strike
any in either Ireland or England and they only reappeared in
general currency again under Charles 1st, but not in the regular coinage,
rather the later Civil War coinage. The
excellent Chris Comber stated that only 72,000 groats in total were struck of
the second issue. When you consider the
survival rate of hammered coinage (losses to the soil, handing in for exchange
when they became out of date due to changes in monarchs, the forced withdrawal
of all hammered coinage started in 1696, etc), that figure soon dwindles to a
very small amount indeed. Coincraft
simply state: "This issue is rare in any grade." Old
tickets here. A very rare denomination
(and for once one that the price guides actually credit as being rare with
their valuation of £1,500 in 2020) and although clipped, a coin in remarkably
good grade. This is only the
second ever example I've handled in all the decades I've been involved with
coins. £895
Provenance:
ex
John Noel Simpson collection
ex
Spink
Threepences
WI-7923:
Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Billon Silver Threepence - Emergency War Money. Third (base) coinage of
1601-02 with silver at 3oz fine. Initial mark Star, S.R.
6509. The entire Third Issue of Irish coinage 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 threepence, although rated by S.R. as the
rarest of all silver and copper third issue coins (apart from the undated
penny, extant examples of which can be counted on the fingers of one hand where
the counter had unfortunately lost two or more fingers in an accident with
something very sharp indeed), is not rated anywhere near as rare as they
actually are. This coin, apart from the
deposits which any decent conservator could easily remove, is better than the
S.R. plate coin and as I've often stated, the S.R. plate coin is the best
example S.R. could find from their huge contacts list. A very rare coin indeed. £945
Pennies
WI-9288: 1601
Irish Elizabeth 1st Hammered Copper Penny.
Third issue, 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 although far from the condition of this coin) 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. A good example. £175
James 1st
WI-9360: **Choice**
James 1st Irish Hammered Silver Shilling.
First coinage, fine silver issue, 1603-4, first bust with short
square-cut beard, initial mark Bell, S.R.6512. Actually minted in London, the reason being that James
wanted uniformity of currency throughout his realms of Great Britain and Ireland.
An admirable concept, and one that James did in
fact achieve - the Irish coinage became progressively poorer up until 1607,
when silver coinage stopped abruptly, but so did the corresponding English
issues. On the mainland though, they did
not end minting at 1607 but continued through to the early 1620's, following
that same steep, downward trajectory of quality of coinage, until a substantial
recovery ensued towards the very final years of the reign. The coin for sale here is exceptional, even
allowing for it being first coinage. It
is much superior to the S.R. plate coin, presumably the best grade example they
could source from the mighty list of collectors and collections that they (and
Spink) hold. Coincraft (who could only
locate a second coinage shilling as plate coin, which is clearly not like for
like but never-the-less, this coin still much better than that example) best
sum up just how good a coin this is: "Coins
are often damaged and the king's bust is weakly struck on most of them. Coins in better than Fine condition are rare." This coin is near EF grade, which really says
it all. Choice. £1,675
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
(S.R. 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
William & Mary
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. S.R. 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 S.R. 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
George III
WI-9084:
1769 Rare Irish George III
Copper Halfpenny. First
"London" coinage,
type I, S.R. 6612 but a contemporary counterfeit.
Contemporary counterfeits were known to have been struck in Birmingham and shipped to Ireland to supplement the meagre 1st (1766
and 1769) and second (1775, 1776, 1781 and 1782) issues. We have an official figure of 50 tones of
coin for the 1769 copper halfpence being struck in London.
There were no farthings. 50 tons
might seem a lot of coin but was in fact completely inadequate for the
requirement in Ireland, hence the need to
supplement. These contemporary
counterfeits were derived from poor dies, were lightweight, being of dubious
metal content and were often made to look "worn" before release into
circulation (a worn coin attracted much less scrutiny) by a number of
ingenious, albeit ham-fisted methods. It
was a very serious offence indeed to make or peddle counterfeit coinage,
attracting stiff draconian penalties.
Two things:
1. The coin is in remarkable grade for any 1st
or 2nd issue Irish halfpenny.
2. The dies that were used were what is termed High Execution dies.
The hair
on George III was always difficult to get right on the non-Regal dies but it
generally wasn't a problem as by the time the coin had been messed around with
at the "mint", there wouldn't be much hair left to see. On this coin we have virtually all the hair
but as you can see, it's too simplistic compared to the Regal
issue. The die orientation on this coin
is irregular, being 190 degrees, which is actually quite strange - why go to
all the trouble of sinking high execution dies as well as good weight
planchets, only to mess up on the easiest thing? It should be 180 degrees. The weight is not particularly good but the
copper content looks good. The point of
issuing fakes into circulation was, and this is a simplistic example, to send
out something that cost you 1/4d to produce in order that you could pass it as
1/2d. Double your
money. The dies are way too good
for one of these back-street factories to have created. In summary, a high
execution, high grade example of an Irish contemporary counterfeit halfpenny. Certainly the best example I've ever
seen. £375
Provenance:
ex
Spink
WI-9052:
About EF Grade
1775 Irish Copper Halfpenny. The rarer Type III - it's usually types I
& II - with the longer, flowing hair.
S.R. 6614. There's just a hint of the upright of the
vertical of a 4 in-between the bottom of the vertical and the end of the bottom
curve of the 5 which would make this the extremely rare 1775/4 variety. Very high grade for type - just like the
early Scottish coins, supply of currency was way, way below what was required
by the populace (Ireland was renowned for having a wide range of foreign
coinage in circulation alongside the official coin to fill the void) and that,
coupled with the soft nature of this copper, resulted in quick and extreme
wear. Not this coin, though. Rare thus. £385
WI-9075:
1773 Exceptionally Rare
Irish George III Copper Halfpenny. Second "London" coinage,
type III, S.R. 6614. This is a so-called impossible
date, 1775 being the first date in the second coinage series, other than the
1774 pattern, which I've never seen but am assured it
exists. The date is completely
unambiguous - 1773 - so what gives? If
you look on the internet, you might stumble across a website stating that the
Irish 1773 halfpenny exists as a rarer pattern than the 1774. I'm dubious as to the legitimacy of this coin
but am open-minded enough to welcome any evidence. However, even if the 1773 pattern halfpenny
does exist, this coin is not it. Here we
have a contemporary counterfeit or, depending on your definition, an
evasion. Contemporary counterfeits were
known to have been struck in Birmingham and shipped to Ireland to supplement the meagre 1st (1766
and 1769) and second (1775, 1776, 1781 and 1782) issues. We have an official figure of 50 tons of 1766
and 50 tones of 1769 copper halfpence being struck in London.
The later dates were substantially less than 50 tones. There were no farthings. 50 tons might seem a lot of coin but was in
fact completely inadequate for the requirement in Ireland, hence the need to
supplement. These contemporary
counterfeits were derived from poor dies, were lightweight, being of dubious
metal content and were often made to look "worn" before release into
circulation (a worn coin attracted much less scrutiny) by a number of
ingenious, albeit ham-fisted methods.
Evasions were the same as contemporary counterfeits with one very
important difference - they were NOT direct copies of Regal
coinage. The theory was that if and when
people got caught and prosecuted for issuing fake coinage into circulation (a
very serious offence indeed, attracting stiff draconian penalties), the
counterargument in court would be that these "Evasions" were simply
unofficial, private tokens as they were not copying the real coinage. A 1773 Irish halfpenny is technically an
evasion because it doesn't exist as a Regal coin but
the strength of argument in a court of law in the late 1700's would be tenuous
in the extreme! This coin is not
recorded as an evasion in the excellent and comprehensive COBWRIGHT publication
by Malachy Greensword (and
as he did include some 1781 halfpennies as evasions), nor the equally iconic
team of Paul Withers et uxor
in their Galata Evasion Halfpennies section. See old tickets here.
Two
things:
1. The coin is in remarkable grade for any 1st
or 2nd issue Irish halfpenny.
2. The dies that were used were what is termed High Execution dies.
The hair
on George III was always difficult to get right on the non-Regal dies but it
generally wasn't a problem as by the time the coin had been messed around with
at the "mint", there wouldn't be much hair left to see. On this coin we have virtually all the hair
but as you can see, it's too simplistic compared to the Regal
issue. The die orientation on this coin
is irregular, being 150 degrees, which is actually quite strange - why go to
all the trouble of sinking high execution dies as well as good weight
planchets, only to mess up on the easiest thing? It should be 180 degrees. Another indicator is the reverse crowned harp
device - it's a tad too squashed in around the lettering. Most conclusively, the coin is off-struck
(actually a desirable trait amongst some collectors) showing us clearly that
the obverse and reverse are not surrounded by a toothed outer border derived
from the collar holding the planchet in place but rather by an outer circle of
pellets which were added to the dies.
The weight is fairly good, the copper content
looks good so again, what gives? The
point of issuing fakes into circulation was, and this is a simplistic example,
to send out something that cost you 1/4d to produce in order that you could
pass it as 1/2d. Double
your money. That couldn't be the
case here though, plus the dies are way too good for one of these back-street
factories to have created. In summary, a
high execution, high grade example of an Irish 1773 halfpenny, a date that I
have never seen or heard the like of in all my years of having a toe dipped
into this particularly interesting area of numismatics. Find another!
£495
Provenance:
ex
Spink
WI-9104:
1781 George III
Irish Copper Halfpenny in High Grade.
Type III, "London" coinage,
S.R. 6614. Lustrous with hints of red
bloom. Graded About
Uncirculated but realistically, gEF. We have an official figure of 50 tons of 1766
and 50 tones of 1769 copper halfpence being struck in London with the later dates, including
1781, being substantially less than 50 tones.
There were no farthings. 50 tons
might seem a lot of coin but was in fact completely inadequate for the
requirement in Ireland, which entirely explains the over circulated, worn state of virtually all George III copper coins
today. Not so this coin - you just do
not see these coins in this grade. £475
Provenance:
ex
Alexander Christopher collection
Post 1800 Coinage
1/2d’s
WI-6548: 1805 Irish GILT-PROOF Copper
Halfpenny. Plain
edge, EF or better. £265
