Yes, you read that correctly. A massive €347,404,127 worth of old Irish banknotes and coins have yet to be handed in to the Central Bank of Ireland since the introduction of the Euro on 1st January 2002 – 18 years since the Euro Changeover! To be absolutely precise, that’s: €224,389,631.19 in old Irish bank notes…
Introduction: In numismatic terms ‘unknown’ means that none have been found – therefore asking the question “did they ever exist?” There are many instances where we know of a king commanding that coinage be produced but none have been found. Ironically, when ‘one’ is found, we begin to ask another set of questions: Is it…
Date: 1205-1211 Description: King John’s Irish coinage, silver farthing. Limerick mint, with Willem (moneyer) signature. Weight: 0.38 g Very fine (VF) Extremely Rare References: DF 52; Withers -; S.6234A Obverse: Crowned facing bust, holding cruciform scepter; rosette to right; all within triangle Legend: IOh AN REX John, King Reverse: Pinwheel (sun) within crescent moon Legend:…
Date: 1208/9-1216 Description: John as King of England & Ireland (REX coinage), silver farthing, Dublin Mint, Moneyer: Willem. Weight: 0.33 g Diameter: 9 mm References: Cf. Withers VI p. 37; –; SCBC 6234 Near VF, toned, weak in parts. Struck on an irregular flan. Very rare Obverse: Crowned facing bust, holding cruciform scepter; rosette to…
Date: 1208/9-1216 Description: King John’s Irish coinage, silver farthing. Dublin mint, with Roberd (moneyer) signature. Weight: 0.35 g Very fine (VF) Rare Obverse: Crowned facing bust, holding cruciform scepter; rosette to right; all within triangle Legend: .IOH ANR EX John, King Reverse: Pinwheel (sun) within crescent moon Legend: RO BE RD Roberd Country: Ireland Category:…
Background The bronze Coinage of Queen Victoria was introduced in the year 1860, to replace the copper coinage first inaugurated by Charles II in 1672. This new alloy for coinage had several advantages over the old copper coins:- it was lighter, cheaper and had greater hardness / durability But bronze is not as easy to…
Background: Victoria, at that time, was the longest serving British monarch in history, so her son Edward was an old man by the time he succeeded her. Not a lot happened in terms of numismatic innovation during his short reign but it is, perhaps, worth mentioning that James Joyce had a few things to say…
Background: After the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, UK currency remained the formal currency of the Irish Free State until 1928. After this date, UK coins continued to circulate alongside the Irish coins right up until Decimalisation (1971) and well into the 1970s. Irish Free State farthings were minted in London by…
Background: Edward VIII advised the Royal Mint that he wanted a modern coinage to reflect a modern Britain but, after his abdication, it was his younger brother (George VI) who inherited his new designs – the first of which was the farthing. A European Wren replaced Britannia on the reverse. This bird motif was similar…
Background: By the 1950s, the farthing had pretty much lost its spending power and there were calls for its withdrawal. An average of 20 million farthings per year were produced during the reign of George VI but inflation made these coins virtually obsolete during Elizabeth’s early reign. The Royal Mint stopped producing them in 1956…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 