Date: 1820 Description: A Bank of Ireland (Sixth Issue), Thirty Shillings (One Pound & Ten Shillings) note Issued on 5th April 1820 Serial Number: 51334 Country: Ireland Category: Early Irish Banknotes Bank of Ireland Sixth Issue (1815-1825) Thirty Shillings Note Further Reading: Bank of Ireland (A Brief History & Checklist of Old Banknotes) Irish…
Introduction: James Swift registered his bank in Dublin in 1721 but he was operating in Dublin beforehand, probably as a Goldsmith notory or banker of some description – as can be seen by this ‘sight note’ from Sir Francis Child (a London Goldsmith and banker). Sight note, 14 May 1713, ‘At three days sight pay…
Date: c.1804 Few people had silver or gold coins, and those who did, hoarded them and did not use them unless they really had to. Most of the smaller change in circulation was unofficial, illegal tokens. In short, there was a local currency crisis. The solution was small notes (an IOU) like the one below…
Introduction: The short-lived Gibbons & Williams Bank issued some of the most attractive banknotes of the period – being printed on both sides and featuring many beautiful vignettes of Dublin and agricultural themes. As such, they are highly sought after by collectors. Their one pound, thirty shilling and three pound notes were payable in Dublin…
Background Henry’s Troubled Succession Henry was born in France at Le Mans on 5 March 1133 as the eldest child of Geoffrey the Fair, Count of Anjou, and the Empress Matilda, so titled because of her first marriage to Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor. Henry’s mother was a very powerful woman: She was the…
The St Patrick Halfpenny is thought to have been a ‘milled coin’ minted in the 17th century for use in Ireland, although there is evidence that later versions were minted in the American Colonies. Two sizes are available to collectors – large and small. Contrary to popular belief, the smaller coin is not a farthing…
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,…
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…
One of the more difficult aspects of coin collecting is the language barrier one encounters when trying to decipher the legends (text around the edges) of coins. Very few of us speak Latin and truncated Latin still appears on British coins today. As we all know, British coins circulated alongside Irish coins in this country…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 