18__ Killarney, Ross Island Mine, Three Guineas, 18–, uniface proof on paper. The Old Currency Exchange, Dublin, Ireland.

O’Brien Banknote Guide: Ross Island Mine (Killarney) 1804-c.1819

Introduction: The history of mining at Ross Island in Killarney, Co Kerry, can be traced back to the Bronze Age, where several ancient metal finds from Killarney point to a significant Early Bronze Age settlement in the area. The Bronze Age Workings: The Bronze Age work camp at Ross Island provides an insight into daily…

Medieval banking had to overcome the dangers of the Usury Laws and the Italians did so by organising themselves into merchant banking societies, rather than acting as individual traders.

The Great Monetary Crisis of 13th C Europe and its effect on the Norman Colony in Ireland

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…

O'Reilly Money - Henry VI, annulet issue, Calais mint, ex Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society

Monetary Crisis in Ireland, as Henry VI struggles with money supply and fiscal control

Introduction: During the reign of Henry VI many parliamentary regulations were made in Ireland, relating to money; but most of these acts, as well as those of the three former reigns, are either lost or destroyed. 1422 By an English statute of his second year, it was enacted, that the ounce of silver should be…

Mining in the 14th C - scenes from a medieval silver mine

Monetary Crisis (1369), as Richard II orders his colonists to search for silver and gold mines in Ireland

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…