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…
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…
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 