Introduction: The South Sea Bubble was a speculative bubble in the early 18th century involving the shares of the South Sea Company, a British international trading company that was granted a monopoly in trade with Spain’s colonies in South America and the West Indies as part of a treaty made after the War of the…
Introduction: The Elizabethan series of Anglo-Irish coinage is a somewhat neglected space in terms of numismatic research since many of her issues were relatively small and their survival rate poor. As such, the availability of suitable study material is limited. The British Museum’s holdings are relatively modest The National Museum of Ireland only has a…
Counterfeiting in the 19th C The 19th C began as the 18th C had finished – with people being hanged for ‘coining’ (making counterfeit coins) and ‘uttering’ (trying to spend them), with the exception that women were no longer ‘burned at the stake’ for high treason – they were now hanged along with the men.…
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…
Introduction: Medieval history is often taught as a power struggle between nobles fighting for control of their inherited lands via a series of military campaigns, often ending in a decisive battle that has been portrayed within a 19th century ‘nationalist’ mindset. My own education, from what I can remember of primary school and the old…
Following the death in 1376 of his father, Edward of Woodstock (the Black Prince), Richard became heir to his grandfather, King Edward III of England, whom he succeeded in 1377 at the age of ten. His reign of twenty-two years saw a number of domestic crises, from the Peasants’ Revolt (1381) to later conflicts with…
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…
Introduction You may wonder what this article has to do with coins, or Ireland. The story begins during the War of the Three Kingdoms – otherwise known as the Bishops’ War in Scotland, the Great Rebellion in Ireland, and the English Civil War. After the execution of Charles I in 1649 many of his Crown…
The Central Bank of Ireland has opened its archives to the public for the first time and we hope that many unanswered questions of Irish numismatic interest can, at last, be answered. These archives include a range of materials created and acquired by the bank – such as objects, documents and ledgers dating from 1786…
Introduction Before the Vikings arrived, Britain had already been invaded and settled by a number of mainland European tribes. The withdrawal of the Roman military had left Britain vulnerable and, over a long period of time, newcomers settled along the east coast and spread inland. When the Anglo-Saxons reached Britain, they did not settle to…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 