Most of the books and academic papers state that Ireland was a coinless society throughout the first millennium A.D. However, this is not strictly true, since small numbers of coins from the Roman world circulated in Ireland in the first half of this millennium. It is not thought that they were used as currency – it…
Background It is generally agreed that the first coins used in Ireland for trade purposes were those imported by the Dublin vikings in the mid-10th C and that these coins comprised a mixture of mainly Anglo-Saxon, with some European and Islamic (Kufic) coins also turning up in hoards and single finds. However, one pound (240…
The First Coins Minted in Ireland It is fairly well accepted that Sihtric, Hiberno-Norse King of Dublin was the first to mint coins in his own name in Ireland. To date, all 7 phases of Hiberno-Norse coin production in Ireland have been attributed to Dublin rulers. But, who brought the first coins into Ireland and…
It may come as a bit of a surprise to many that although Celtic coins have not (yet) been discovered in Ireland, there have been a lot of Roman and Anglo-Saxon coins found – especially the latter. Conservative Irish historians have always said the Romans never got here but they rarely even mention the Anglo-Saxons…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 