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Numismatically Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Irish Coins

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Want to raise a numismatic toast to St. Patrick’s Day? Forego the green beer and say sláinte – that’s Irish for “cheers” – to the many coins of Ireland! The Emerald Isle has charmed people throughout the ages with its green hills, majestic landscapes, and mystical lore. An island of two nations, with Northern Ireland and to the south the Republic of Ireland, “Erie,” as the country is known in the native tongue of Gaelic, has a rich numismatic history just as well.

A Wee History of Irish Coins

The first coinage of the realm was struck circa 997 A.D. during the reign of King Sitric Silkbeard, and by the time of the Norman Conquest (1169-1175), hammered coinage was being struck to the same standards of nearby England in the denominations of farthings, halfpennies, and pennies. In the mid-17th century, a milled copper halfpenny bore the likeness of Saint Patrick, the fifth-century Christian missionary and bishop who baptized thousands of Irish and eventually became the patron saint of Ireland.

For many years after the English Civil War in 1689-1691, the nation’s farthings, halfpennies, and pennies were also accompanied by six shillings coins as well as various tokens ranging in denomination from five to 30 pence. Coins of the English realm and British Commonwealth also circulated at various points throughout Ireland’s history. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 created the Irish Free State, which became the Republic of Ireland in 1937 – some nine years after the first modern-era Irish coinage was issued on December 12, 1928.

Among the first of these coins to circulate were the farthing, halfpenny, penny, threepence, shilling, florin, and half-crown, all carrying designs by Percy Metcalfe. The obverses of these coins carried Ireland’s emblematic harp, while the reverses were anchored by various animals important to the nation’s agricultural scene. Through 1937, each coin bore the inscription Saorstát Éireann, or (Irish Free State). At the beginning of 1938, those words were supplanted by “Éire.”

A new era began for Celtic coinage on February 14, 1971, with the introduction of decimal coinage. Gone were many of the denominations of the sterling era, including the farthing, halfpenny, penny, threepence, sixpence, and half-crown. They were replaced by new 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, and 50p coins. While several of Metcalfe’s pre-decimal designs remained, new motifs by Irish artist Gabriel Hayes appeared on the 1/2p, 1p, and 2p coins. A 20p coin debuted in 1986 and a £1 coin to replace the country’s £1 note in 1990. By the end of the 1990s, Ireland prepared for the big switch to the Euro system by beginning production of Euro coins in 1999, which fully replaced Ireland’s native coinage in 2002.

1949 6D, Ireland, PCGS MS65. Image courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Collecting Irish Coins

As with collecting the coinage of any nation, there are no rules when it comes to building a nice assemblage of Irish coins. Many collectors, particularly those outside of Ireland and the British Isles, endeavor to obtain a few coins representing the nation or perhaps build a basic type set. Many collectors prefer the sterling coinage made before 1971 though other numismatists with more modern tastes pursue the decimal coins and Euros. Collectors with deeper pockets and perhaps a touch more patience try obtaining the scarcer and more challenging coinage from Ireland’s earlier periods dating back before the 20th century.

World coinage is popularly the searching grounds of topical collectors, who seek designs of certain themes. The sterling and decimal coinage of Ireland is particularly favored by those who love collecting coins with animal themes – found on the reverses of several pieces struck since 1928. The decades-long run of sterling- and decimal-era coinage provides collectors with the opportunity to collect the various denominations by year, an effort involving dozens of different dates for any one series.

The PCGS Set Registry offers collectors a variety of options for building Registry Sets of Irish Sterling Coinage. These sets include sets of circulation-strike examples of farthings, 1/2 pennies, pennies, threepence, sixpence, shillings, florins, and 1/2 crowns. High-end examples of this coinage is obtainable but challenging for collectors outside of Ireland who may not have access to dealers who regularly stock a variety of Irish coinage.

2002 € 2 Ireland PCGS MS65. Image courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Beginning A Collection of Coins from Ireland

St. Patrick’s Day is as good a time as any to begin assembling a collection of Irish coins. With a little luck, one may spy with their Irish eyes a magical selection of discounted coins from Ireland in the world coin bins of a local dealer. The internet also yields fair green fields of Irish coinage, particularly in the case of dealers who specialize in coinage from that region of the world.

When it comes to Celtic coinage, remember there are numerous options for creating a collection that suits your tastes, style, and budget. Particularly when buying the rarer and more valuable examples, it’s a safe bet to buy PCGS-graded specimens, which are known to be authentic and properly graded.

Buying these PCGS-graded coins helps take a lot of the guesswork out of buying Irish and other world coinage, the particulars of which may be unfamiliar to many collectors. There are too many diagnostics for a collector to grasp, and thus myriad chances that a collector may get burned when spending a lot of money on raw world coinage. Particularly pieces with which he or she knows relatively little in the way of identifying fakes or otherwise subpar examples.

When you buy properly graded Irish coins, you have little to worry about and much to rejoice in. Studying and collecting the realm or Celtic coinage can transport the collector from the humdrum and inspire images and thoughts of rolling hills covered in clovers, ivy-clad castles, smoky pubs, and dancers and musicians celebrating their culture with happy folk music. May the lilt of Irish laughter accompany you on your fantastic journey in collecting Irish coinage.

Works Cited

World: Others

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