Introduction: Queen Victoria’s predecessor, William IV, issued a short run of silver threepences (minted in London) for use in the British West Indies, where the British Administration was trying to increase its influence by introducing a strong currency based on ‘good silver’ in British denominations. Silver threepences continued to be minted for the West Indies…
Introduction: The Northumberland Shilling is so called because the Earl of Northumberland as the new Lord Lieutenant of Dublin in 1763 distributed £100 worth of these new coins whilst parading on the streets of Dublin in Ireland. At 20 shillings to the pound, this implies a total issue of 2,000 coins Although appointed in April…
GB & Ireland copper pennies (1825-60) are very sought after by collectors. They are often found in attic clearances and car boot sales in Ireland. The comparatively soft metal results in few coins surviving in higher grades. Many varieties exist and the main ones have been listed below. George IV Prior to ascension, George IV…
Introduction In 1911, the National Insurance Act, introduced on July 1st, created created an unusually large demand for bronze and silver coins. The Royal Mint could not meet this demand, so some of its production was sub-contracted to a private mint – The Heaton Mint, Birmingham. A massive 16,800,000 pennies were minted here in 1912…
Introduction According to Grace’s Guide – the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain – the King’s Norton Metal Company Limited provided the first competition to the Heaton, or Birmingham Mint when it was also sub-contracted to supply bronze blanks to the Royal Mint in 1912. Unlike the Heaton Mint, it…
A quarter-farthing was issued for use only in Ceylon between 1839 and 1853, and was never legal tender in the UK & Ireland. However, they are usually considered to be part of the UK coin series, as Ceylon used British currency at that time.
Date: c. 921-27 AD Description: Hiberno-Norse (Northumbria). St. Peter coinage, c. 921-927. Silver Penny (19mm, 1.19 g, 3hh). Sword/Hammer type. York mint. Struck under Sihtric II Caech. Stewart & Lyon dies 26a; SCBI 4 (Copenhagen), 591 (same dies); BMC –; North 556; SCBC 1015 (this coin illustrated). Extremely Fine (EF) Attractive old tone, good metal Rare. Obverse:…
Celtic coinage is the most intriguing and varied of all the British coins since no one knows specifically for whom, when or where they were produced. To date, over 45,000 of ancient British and Gaulish coins have been discovered in Britain and all of these have been recorded at the Oxford Celtic Coin Index, but…
The 1933 British Penny is, perhaps, one of the most famous coin rarities in the English-speaking world today – allegedly only seven coins were minted – specifically for the king to lay under the foundation stones of new buildings. So why do so many people claim to have a 1933 penny on their possession or to…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 