Caveat emptor Coin forgers have been with us for over a thousand years but this crime is no longer punishable in the medieval way, e.g. in the “Purge of the Moneyers” by Henry I at Christmas 1124, all of the English moneyers were summoned to Winchester, where most of them were castrated and had the…
2016 Market Values The coinage of George II is reasonably easy to find in the lower grades but a substantial premium is paid for higher grade coins – which are not easy to obtain. Last year, we saw steep price increases at auction for proofs and regular issues in Extremely Fine (EF) and Uncirculated grades.…
2016 Market Values Last year (2015) saw a vibrant market for Ploughman £1 notes with many new collectors entering an already crowded field. The one pound Ploughman is the most affordable of the Consolidated Banks series and is, therefore the most popular starting point for this most elusive of modern Irish banknotes . Increased demand…
2016 Market Values Copper Penny Copper Halfpenny Copper Farthing <no image> No farthings were circulated.
Introduction The short reign George IV was of huge numismatic importance to Ireland. George III’s Act of Union in 1801 had abolished the Irish Parliament in Dublin and extended direct rule over Ireland by the English Parliament in London. George IV went further :- The Assimilation of Currencies Act, 1825 provided for the abolition of the separate…
Introduction: Strictly speaking, the 1st Lord Baltimore wasn’t really Irish, although he was a member of the Irish peerage, had an Irish title and and resided on his Irish estates shortly before travelling to the Americas to set up his first colony in Newfoundland. He died just after acquiring the charter for Maryland. However, the…
Introduction The rather eccentric Mr Reginald Huth is sometimes described as ‘a gentleman of leisure’ but his actual occupation is not known for certain – the Huth family were best known as financiers in the City of London. According to one source, he was ‘the London representative of the Bank of Spain’ though what he actually…
Introduction: Edward joined the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land – a crusade which accomplished little and was, effectively, the last of the great crusades. By this time, the so-called crusader spirit had waned considerably and there was little appetite shown by the kings of Europe. It also foreshadowed the imminent collapse of the last remaining crusader strongholds…
Introduction: Realising that having an Irish currency equal to English standard weights resulted in a massive drain of silver out of Ireland and, consequently, reducing the amount of coinage in circulation + causing a recession, Edward IV moved towards remedying this by announcing a new (lower intrinsic value) coinage for Ireland in 1467: double-groats (eight…
In late 1397, with the Irish lords of both Ulster and Leinster once more at war, Richard was already planning to return. His second expedition, in June and July 1399, again brought a significant army to Ireland, albeit less than half the size of the force he brought with him on his previous visit. Richard II…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 