Phase III, Penny, bust left, two pellets in front of face and behind head, rev. long voided cross with hand in two quarters, blundered legends

O’Brien Coin Guide: Introduction to the Hiberno-Norse Coinages of the Late 10th & Early 11th C

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…