The 2 cent euro coin (€0.02) has a value of one-hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. The coins of every Euro country have a common reverse and each has a country-specific (national) obverse. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with…
The 1 cent euro coin (€0.01) has a value of one-hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. The coins of every Euro country have a common reverse and each has a country-specific (national) obverse. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with…
Rules regarding the issue of €2 commemorative coins Thus far, the Central Bank of Ireland has resisted the urge to ‘optionally’ issue commemorative €2 coins as per their statutory allowance. This is not true of many of our continental cousins in the Euro Zone who, it seems, have taken up their options with increasing zeal…
The Central Bank of Ireland acts as agent for the Minister for Finance in issuing all Irish coin, both circulating and commemorative and has been actively involved in the issuance of Irish collector coin products to mark specific events in Irish history of significant national importance or celebrate national treasures. They usually issue just one…
In 1971, Ireland decimalised its currency in parallel with the UK. We did this because we were tied to the UK Pound at that time and one of the more unusual mathematical aspects of decimalisation was that both countries set the conversion rate for the new penny at 2 or 3 old pennies. One new…
In 1971, Ireland decimalised its currency in parallel with the UK. We did this because we were tied to the UK Pound at that time and one of the more unusual aspects of decimalisation was that both countries adopted a ‘non-decimal’ fraction of the basic unit (100 new pence = one pound), i.e. a decimal…
By 1760 small copper coins were scarce in Ireland. No royal Irish farthings had been issued since 1744 No royal Irish halfpennies had been issued since 1755 Issues of both denominations were scheduled to be minted in 1760 but apparently they did not arrive in Ireland until 1762. It has been speculated this was partly due…
Upon his restoration to the crown in 1660, King Charles II granted a patent to Sir Thomas Armstrong to ‘coin farthings’ for the next twenty years and all other (unofficial) farthings were to be prohibited. In 1661, two royal proclamations were issued prohibiting the issuing and use of brass or copper tokens In 1662,…
George Augustus was King of Great Britain & Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11th June 1727 until his death on 25th October 1760. Both of George’s parents committed adultery In 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband She was confined to Ahlden House and…
The florin (2s or 2/-) coin was a sub-division of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth 1/10 of a pound. It was more commonly known as the two-shilling coin. The reverse design featuring a salmon was by English artist Percy Metcalfe. The obverse featured the Irish harp. From 1928 to 1937 the date was split either…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 