O’Brien Coin Price Guide: Irish Pre-Decimal Halfpenny

2018 Market Values Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) US Grades G VF 20 XF40 AU50 MS61RB YEAR Mintage Good Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Uncirculated 1928 2,880,000 face €1.00 €2.00 €5.00 €15.00 6,001 proofs €35.00 re-strike €60.00 1933 720,000 face €3.50 €18.00 €75.00 €200.00 1935 960,000 face €2.00 €8.00 €50.00 €150.00 1937 960,000 face €1.25…

1652 Massachussets "oak tree" silver threepence

How NOT to sell “the gem” in your coin collection … an example of a ‘numismatic’ marketing faux pas !

It is every metal detector’s dream to find something worth a million, although most of them do it for the exercise, the fresh air and the fun they have in researching their smaller finds. Its about the history. I was very surprised and impressed to discover that most detectorists donate their finds to local museums…

William & Mary, halfpenny, 1692, (S6597) Edge flaw, good very fine and scarce

O’Brien Coin Guide: Irish ‘Regal Halfpennies’ of William & Mary

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…

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…