Even after we issued our own currency in 1928, British coins were in circulation in the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland right up to the 1970’s. With the exception of the threepence and sixpence, most British and Irish coins were of a similar size, weight and alloy – see Modern Irish Coins page for more details.

One result of this is that many Irish coin collectors also collect British coins from this period, i.e. 1825 to 1967. A happy coincidence is that there is probably just as much old British coinage sitting in jars and boxes around Ireland nowadays as there is the old Irish coinage. This makes Irish dealers a good source for collectors of British coins.