The first locally produced Irish coinage was the so-called Hiberno-Norse coinage which was first minted in Dublin in about 995-7 AD under the authority of Sihtric III (aka Sihtric Silkenbeard), the Norse King of Dublin. There is no evidence for the native Irish producing coins before this, so it is likely that their economy was not coin-based. The…
The threepence (3d) (Irish: leath reul) coin was an Irish pre-decimal coin and a great favourite of golfers who often used it as a green marker. There were 4 threepences to a shilling and 80 to an old pound. The Irish name (leath reul) literally meant “half a sixpence” and, unlike many other Irish coins of the time, it…
The penny (1d) (Irish: pingin) coin was the third smallest denomination of the pre-decimal Irish pound. There were 12 to a shilling, 24 to a florin and 240 to a pound. To express an amount, penny was abbreviated to “d”, e.g. shortened from dwt, or pennyweight. The penny is one of the longest circulating coin denominations in Europe –…
Ireland is one of only four nations to issue farthing coins in the 20th century. The other three countries to circulate farthings were the UK (1900-1956), South Africa (1923-60), and Jamaica (1900-63). British farthings ceased to be legal currency in 1960 The farthings of South Africa, Jamaica and Ireland ceased to be legal currency in 1961, 1969…
The Year of the Five Emperors (AD 192 – 193) Pertinax The ‘Year of the Five Emperors’ refers to the year AD 193, in which there were five claimants for the title of Roman Emperor – Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus. The year opened with news of the murder of Commodus…
Introduction The Irish government began minting the original 10p coin two years prior to Decimal Day, 15 February 1971, hence the first 10p coins were dated 1969 and 1971 – when they were first circulated. These coins retained the exact design and dimensions (except denomination) of the old (pre-decimal) florin coin, first introduced to the…
The new Irish 20p coin In 1982 the then Minister for Finance, Ray MacSharry, announced that a twenty or twenty-five pence coin might be designed and in August 1984 the twenty pence was chosen. The Arts Council of Ireland recommended the horse design. The twenty pence (20p) coin was introduced on 30th October 1986. It was first…
In 1937, a new constitution declaring Ireland a free state was established and the old designs for the coins of Ireland that featured the legend “Saorstat Eireann” or Irish Free State were changed to “Eire” to reflect the new constitution. The only known 1938 coins to feature that revised legend are: one halfcrown (currently unique…
The 1933 British Penny is, perhaps, one of the most famous coin rarities in the English-speaking world today – allegedly only seven coins were minted – specifically for the king to lay under the foundation stones of new buildings. So why do so many people claim to have a 1933 penny on their possession or to…
The Nervan-Antonine Dynasty (96–192) The Nerva–Antonine dynasty was a dynasty of seven Roman Emperors who ruled over the Roman Empire from 96 AD to 192 AD. These Emperors were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus. They are probably of great interest to fans of the Gladiator movie but the real history…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 