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…
Introduction The 1943 florin is the rarest ‘modern’ Irish coin to have actually circulated. The 1985 Irish 20p was not intended to circulate The 1992 Irish 10p was not intended to circulate Both of the coins listed above were minted for only testing purposes, i.e. to calibrate vending machines and they were supposed to have…
During the Irish War of Independence, the City of Limerick was very unusual insofar as it issued its own currency – a series of low denomination banknotes. It is the only instance of a labour organisation doing so, not on in Ireland but also throughout the UK. It is the first physical sign in a…
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…
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 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 Year of the Four Emperors (68–69) and the beginning of the Flavian Dynasty The suicide of emperor Nero, in AD 68, was followed by a brief period of civil war – the first Roman civil war since Mark Antony’s death in 30 BC. Between June and December of AD 69, Rome witnessed the successive rise and…
Introduction Gun money was an emergency issue of coins made by the forces of James II during the Williamite War fought in Ireland between the years 1689 and 1691. It was not quite the same as the emergency issues of the Great Rebellion of 1641 where besieged cities and towns melted silver plate and issued…
Piedfort is a term used by numismatists to describe coins specially struck as either gifts or souvenirs by monarchs as far back as the twelfth century in France. In England, the monarchs being of French blood, continued the tradition – most notably by Edward I, who issued extra thick silver pennies. Since minting coins was…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 