The shilling (often written as 1s or 1/-) coin was a sub-division of the pre-decimal Irish pound, and was worth 1/20th of a pound.
The original issue of the coin from 1928 until 1942 contained 75% silver; thus this Irish coin had a higher content than the equivalent British coin. These earlier coins were noticeably different from their later counterparts as they were of a lighter hue than the later (1951-68) cupro-nickel coins, and they resisted wear less well. The cupro-nickel coin contained 75% copper and 25% nickel.
- The shilling coin measured 0.935 inches (23.7 mm) in diameter
- It weighed 5.655 grams and the later cupro-nickel coin was the same weight
In 1927, a competition was held to design a new Irish coinage and entries were received from a short list of invited artists. Their shilling designs were all of a bull, as suggested by the committee brought together to run the competition and judge the designs. The following are some of the rejected designs + the original design by Percy Metcalfe.
1927 Carl Milles, shilling (from a plaster model)
1927 Morbiducci pattern, shilling (silver)
1927 Oliver Shepard pattern, shilling (from a plaster model)
1927 Percy Metcalfe pattern, shilling (from a plaster model)
Metcalfe’s original design was modified by the Royal Mint to improve metal flow and other technical minting issues.
1933 Saorstat Eireann shilling
- The reverse design featuring a bull was by English artist Percy Metcalfe.
- The obverse featured the Irish harp
- From 1928 to 1937 the date was split either side of the harp with the name saorstát éireann circling around
- From 1939 to 1968 the inscription changed to éire on the left of the harp and the date on the right
- There was no Irish shilling minted in 1938
| Irish Free State | |
| 1928 | 2,700,000 |
| 1930 | 460,000 |
| 1931 | 400,000 |
| 1933 | 300,000 |
| 1935 | 400,000 |
| 1937 | 100,000 |
1951 Irish (Eire) shilling
| Republic of Ireland | |
| 1939 | 1,140,000 |
| 1940 | 580,000 |
| 1941 | 300,000 |
| 1942 | 286,000 |
| 1951 | 2,000,000 |
| 1954 | 3,000,000 |
| 1955 | 1,000,000 |
| 1959 | 2,000,000 |
| 1962 | 4,000,000 |
| 1963 | 4,000,000 |
| 1964 | 4,000,000 |
| 1966 | 3,000,000 |
| 1968 | 4,000,000 |
The last shillings were minted in 1968 but when the currency was decimalised, this coin continued to circulate alongside its replacement five pence (which also featured a bull on the reverse). The shilling was finally withdrawn from circulation on 1st January 1993 when a smaller five pence coin was introduced.
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The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 