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Irish coins have been issued by a variety of local and national authorities, the ancient provincial Kings andHigh Kings of Ireland, theKingdom of Ireland (1541–1801), theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), theIrish Free State (1922–1937), and the presentRepublic of Ireland. Since 2002, the Republic of Ireland has mintedEuro coins, featuring symbols such asflax and theharp.[1]
Hiberno-Norse coins were first produced inDublin in about 997 under the authority ofKing Sitric Silkbeard. The firstcoins were local copies of the issues ofAethelred II of England, and as the Anglo-Saxon coinage of the period changed its design every six years, the coinage of Sitric followed this pattern.
Following theBattle of Clontarf in 1014, the Hiberno-Norse coinage ceased following this pattern and reverted to one of its earlier designs—the so-called 'long cross' type. Coins of this general design (with occasional new designs incorporated briefly from otherEnglish and European issues) were struck in decreasing quality over a period of more than 100 years. By the end of the series, the coins had become illegible and debased, and were too thin to serve for practical commerce.
All the coins produced were the penny denomination. They were initially made at the penny standard (i.e. one pennyweight or 1/240th of a pound of silver) but the later pieces are both debased and lightweight.
These coins were issued by BaronJohn de Courcy, Earl ofUlster.
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The coins that followed the 1169–75 Norman conquest (farthings, halfpennies and pennies) were minted to the same standard as those of England. A chief purpose of these coins was to provide a means for the export of silver from Ireland.
Later pieces followed the standard ofEngland until 1460 when a lower, Irish standard was introduced with coins weighing ¾ of their English counterparts. This coincided with the introduction of a larger denomination, thegroat (4 pence). Half groats followed in 1483.Edward VI issued the first Irishshillings following debasement of the coinage during the reign ofHenry VIII. Prior to the reign ofKing Henry VIII (1509–47), the Irish coinage carried the title 'Dominus Hiberniae' (orLord of Ireland). After 1535, Henry took the titleKing of Ireland.
In 1561,Elizabeth I introduced a higher standard of silver coinage for a few years before returning to a base standard. Copper halfpennies and pennies were also introduced. Higher standard issues were resumed byJames I but all Irish issues ceased in 1607. During theEnglish Civil War, a number of local coins were issued in Ireland.
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Copper halfpennies were struck between 1680 and 1689, during the reigns of KingCharles II (1660–85) and KingJames II (1685–88).
These coins were struck by the deposed KingJames II after he fled toFrance. These coins are unique because they show the month of issue as well as the year. As there was a shortage of metal for coinage, church bells and possibly old cannon were melted down, thus giving rise to the nameGun money orGunmoney. These coins were declared illegal tender after KingWilliam III's victory at theBattle of the Boyne in July 1690.[citation needed]
A second issue of emergency coinage, consisting of farthings and halfpennies, was issued in 1691 for use inLimerick.
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William Wood was authorised in 1722 to produce up to 360 tons of halfpence and farthings for Ireland at 30 pence to the pound over fourteen years for an annual fee of £800 paid to the king. These coins were unpopular in Ireland, largely due toJonathan Swift's polemicalDrapier's Letters, and Wood lost his patent though compensated with a pension.
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After the end of the English Civil War, copper farthings and halfpennies resumed production, and pennies were added in 1805. In 1804, theBank of Ireland introduced silver tokens for 6 shillings which were overstrikes onSpanish dollars. These were followed by 5, 10 and 30 pence Irish tokens. The last halfpennies and pennies were minted in 1823.
The 1822–23 issue marked the last appearance of the symbol of a crowned harp, which represented theKingdom of Ireland. Following this, standardBritish coinage was used throughout the island.
Following theAnglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, theIrish Free State first circulated new national coinage in 1928, markedSaorstát Éireann (Irish Free State), although British coinage was still acceptable in the Free State at an equal rate. In 1937, following the adoption of theConstitution of Ireland which changed the name of the independent Irish State, the coins became markedÉire, although theIrish pound remainedpegged at par tosterling.
Ireland and the United Kingdom decimalised their currencies in 1971, and parity between the two currencies continued until Ireland joined theEuropean Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1979. An exchange rate between the Irish punt and the pound sterling was established on 30 March 1979. The smaller denomination British 1p and 2p coins continued to be unofficially interchangeable with the Irish coins until the euro was introduced in 2002, partly due to their identical size and shape.Ireland adopted the euro as its currency along with most of its EU partners on 1 January 2002. The national side of theIrish euro coins bears thecoat of arms of Ireland and the12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint and theIrish name for Ireland,Éire, in the traditional Irish script. These coins circulate throughout the eurozone.
Northern Ireland has continued to useBritish coinage since thepartition of Ireland. TheBritish one pound coin has featured varying designs to representEngland,Scotland,Wales,Northern Ireland, and theUK as a whole. Issues with figures representing Northern Ireland include those of: 1986 and 1991 with aflax plant in a coronet; 1996 and 2001 with aCeltic cross and thetorc from theBroighter Hoard; 2006 withMacNeill's Egyptian Arch; 2010 with thecoat of arms of Belfast; and 2014 with ashamrock and flax plant. A 2002two-pound coin featured theflag of Northern Ireland to mark the2002 Commonwealth Games.[2]
These coins are not unique to Northern Ireland and circulate through the entire United Kingdom and othersterling area countries.
TheGiant's Causeway appeared on twofive-pound coins in 2012; these are commemorative coins and are rarely circulated. A commemorative50p coin from 2022 marked Northern Irish writerC. S. Lewis' bookThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.[3][4]
