By 1760 small copper coins were scarce in Ireland. No royal Irish farthings had been issued since 1744 No royal Irish halfpennies had been issued since 1755 Issues of both denominations were scheduled to be minted in 1760 but apparently they did not arrive in Ireland until 1762. It has been speculated this was partly due…
A simple chronological listing of Irish trade tokens during the reign of King William IV (1830-37). This list will be expanded as and when I find new tokens to add. Tokens appear in alphabetical order, within year Since not all large towns or even all counties are represented by Victorian trade tokens, it is pointless…
A simple chronological listing of Irish trade tokens during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This list will be expanded as and when I find new tokens to add. Tokens appear in alphabetical order, within year Since not all large towns or even all counties are represented by Victorian trade tokens, it is pointless to…
Upon his restoration to the crown in 1660, King Charles II granted a patent to Sir Thomas Armstrong to ‘coin farthings’ for the next twenty years and all other (unofficial) farthings were to be prohibited. In 1661, two royal proclamations were issued prohibiting the issuing and use of brass or copper tokens In 1662,…
George Augustus was King of Great Britain & Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11th June 1727 until his death on 25th October 1760. Both of George’s parents committed adultery In 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband She was confined to Ahlden House and…
Introduction The 1943 florin is the rarest ‘modern’ Irish coin to have actually circulated. The 1985 Irish 20p was not intended to circulate The 1992 Irish 10p was not intended to circulate Both of the coins listed above were minted for only testing purposes, i.e. to calibrate vending machines and they were supposed to have…
The florin (2s or 2/-) coin was a sub-division of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth 1/10 of a pound. It was more commonly known as the two-shilling coin. The reverse design featuring a salmon was by English artist Percy Metcalfe. The obverse featured the Irish harp. From 1928 to 1937 the date was split either…
William Wood was the owner of several copper and tin mines in England and he hoped to make a large profit via the production of coins for use in Ireland and America. During the first half of 1722 King George I’s mistress (who had followed him over from Germany), the Duchess of Kendal, obtained a…
In 1722, the ‘hardware’ manufacturer William Wood was granted a patent to produce copper coins to the maximum cash value of up to £108,000 for use in Ireland. At 48 farthings or 24 halfpennies to one silver shilling, this was a lot of ‘loose change’ At 960 farthings or 480 halfpennies to the pound, £108,000 was…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 