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…
In 1722, the ‘hardware’ manufacturer William Wood was granted a patent to produce copper coins to the maximum cash value of up to £108,000 for use in Ireland. At 48 farthings or 24 halfpennies to one silver shilling, this was a lot of ‘loose change’ At 960 farthings or 480 halfpennies to the pound, £108,000 was…
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 Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 