The end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries was a time of an acute shortage of ‘hard cash’ in Ireland and this was due to the fact that: When Admiral Sir George Rooke, commander of the combined fleet, learned the 1702 treasure had arrived at Vigo Bay in Spain, he resolved to…
The simile “As rich as Damer” has been used for over two hundred years in Ireland, and derives its origin from the richest, meanest, and most unscrupulous Shylock banker that modern times have produced. (The Irish Times, April 26th, 1930). Joseph Damer (c.1630–1720), land agent & wool merchant, turned banker, moneylender and infamous miser, was…
Date: 1679 Description: Thomas Linch’s trade halfpenny Weight 3.61g Williamson 574 Very rare Obverse: Centre design: A winged bull (Crest of the Limerick Butchers’ Company) Outer legend: “THO . LINCH . OF . LIMRICK.” Reverse: Centre design: Harp Legend: HIS . HALF . PENY . TOKEN . 1679. Further Reading: Like Dublin, Limerick had its…
Date: 1797 Description: These tokens were given to beggars in Dublin and were exchangeable for food at certain places in the City of Dublin. The idea was to stop them from buying alcohol, as the tokens could only be exchanged for food at approved premises. They had no redeemable value; they were not legal tender.…
Date: 1642-43 Description: Kilkenny Rebel Money Shilling; issued by the Catholic Confederacy of Kilkenny from 1642-43 and counter-marked on a base Shilling of Elizabeth I (her first issue of base coinage for Ireland, in 1558); the counter-mark is struck on either side of the monarch’s bust in the form of a raised “K” on a…
Date: 1558 Description: 1558 Elizabeth I, contemporary copy of a base coinage shilling Cast in lead Weight: 6.65g (genuine examples usually weigh approx. 8g +/- 0.5g) Note: Even though this is a contemporary forgery cast in lead, it is still ‘a bit light’ These ‘contemporary forgery’ Shillings sell for about €120 to €150 each at…
Further Reading: Date: 1795 Description: Dublin Weavers’ Company copper halfpenny token dated 1795 Dublin Weavers’ Company copper halfpenny Diameter: 28.4mm Design engraved by Thomas Prattent (British engraver & coin dealer, active 1780–1810) Probably minted by William Lutwyche, of Birmingham D&H Dublin No: 16 Listed in Dalton & Hamer as “RR – VERY RARE” Nice…
Date: 1664 The habit of coffee drinking first became popular in Europe about the middle of the 17th century. Soon, special rooms were established for the consumption of the new beverage. Debate surrounds the date of the first coffee house in England, the Angel in Oxford is considered first by some historians, set up about…
Introduction: The South Sea Bubble was a speculative bubble in the early 18th century involving the shares of the South Sea Company, a British international trading company that was granted a monopoly in trade with Spain’s colonies in South America and the West Indies as part of a treaty made after the War of the…
1800 Woodcock’s Bank, Enniscorthy (Co Wexford) copper halfpenny token. Date: 1800 Description: The short-lived bank in Enniscorthy owned by Robert Woodlock was opened in 1799 and closed in 1802 was unusual insofar as it produced both its own banknotes and coin tokens. There was a chronic shortage of coinage at this time and people needed…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 