By the first half of the 17th C, the copper coinage in both Britain and Ireland was in complete disarray. Neither James I nor his son, Charles I, took much interest in providing small denominations and ‘farmed out’ the Royal prerogative of minting copper coins to ‘favourite’ courtiers as patentees – Lords Harington, Richmond, Lennox and Maltravers were the principal…
The Irish 50 cent euro coin (€0.50) has a value of one half of a euro and is composed of an alloy called Nordic gold. Value 0.50 euro Mass 7.80 g Diameter 24.25 mm Thickness 2.38 mm Edge Regular, fine indentations Composition Nordic gold Nordic gold is the gold-coloured copper alloy from which the middle three denominations of euro…
The 10 cent euro coin (€0.10) has a value of one tenth of a euro and is composed of an alloy called Nordic gold. Value 0.10 euro Mass 4.10 g Diameter 19.75 mm Thickness 1.93 mm Edge Regular, fine indentations Composition Nordic gold Nordic gold is the gold-coloured copper alloy from which the middle three denominations of euro coins,…
The 5 cent euro coin (€0.05) has a value of one twentieth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with the higher value coins. Value 0.05 euro Mass 3.92 g Diameter 21.25 mm Thickness 1.67 mm Edge Smooth Composition Copper-covered…
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…
It may come as a bit of a surprise to many that although Celtic coins have not (yet) been discovered in Ireland, there have been a lot of Roman and Anglo-Saxon coins found – especially the latter. Conservative Irish historians have always said the Romans never got here but they rarely even mention the Anglo-Saxons…
Introduction The late 18th century is a complicated time from the perspective of collecting tokens insofar as several dealers began to manufacture their own tokens for collectors, i.e. these did not circulate. They doubled and tripled their profits by deliberately producing mules, i.e. mis-matching obverse and reverse dies. They then increased their profits further by…
A simple chronological listing of Irish trade tokens during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This list will be expanded as and when I find new tokens to add. Tokens appear in alphabetical order, within year Since not all large towns or even all counties are represented by Victorian trade tokens, it is pointless to…
The ‘chickless’ variety is probably a die flaw caused by normal ‘wear and tear’ on the dies during the minting process. This variety has become very popular with collectors over the past decade and some claim to have evidence of “progressive wear across several examples of 1968 pennies” leading to a chickless coin. The most…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 