In 1694 Queen Mary II died of smallpox and William continued to rule alone. In 1694 William set up the Bank of England in order to fund his war against Louis XIV The revolution of 1688, which brought William and Mary to the throne, gave England a measure of political stability and commerce flourished, but the…
In 1660, the crown prince (later James II) married Anne Hyde, daughter of Charles II’s chief minister and they had two surviving children, Mary and Anne (both raised as Protestants) but in 1669, Prince James converted to Catholicism and took a stand against a number of anti-Catholic moves, including the Test Act of 1673. This…
Introduction These coins are contemporary counterfeits and most of them were produced between 1782-1799, although some ‘dates’ are significantly earlier (and there is a good reason for this). They are easily spotted due to their unusual legends – a deliberate ploy in order to “evade” the counterfeiting laws of the time. In 1742, an Act…
Introduction Prince John was the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was not expected to inherit significant lands – hence his nickname John Lackland. Following the failed rebellion of his elder brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henry’s favourite child. In 1173 John’s elder…
The St Patrick Halfpenny is thought to have been a ‘milled coin’ minted in the 17th century for use in Ireland, although there is evidence that later versions were minted in the American Colonies. Two sizes are available to collectors – large and small. Contrary to popular belief, the smaller coin is not a farthing…
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…
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…
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…
William Wood was the owner of several copper and tin mines in England and he hoped to make a large profit via the production of coins for use in Ireland and America. During the first half of 1722 King George I’s mistress (who had followed him over from Germany), the Duchess of Kendal, obtained a…
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…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 