Coinage of Ireland
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The coinage of Ireland cover coins issued under a variety of local and national rulers, the Kingdom of Ireland, and the early years of Ireland's membership of the United Kingdom, as well as those issued by the foreunner of the Republic of Ireland since 1928, the Irish Free State.
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[edit] Hiberno-Norse Coins
Hiberno-Norse coins were first produced in Dublin in about 997 AD under the authority of King Sitric III. The first coins were local copies of the issues of Aethelred II of England 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 the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 AD 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 other English 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 produced 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.
Previously:
These coins were issued by King Sitric III of the Hiberno-Norse Kingdom of Dublin.
[edit] Baronial coins of Ulster
These coins were issued by Baron John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster.
[edit] Regal hammered coinage
These were issued right up until the English Civil War. Prior to the reign of King Henry VIII (1509–47), the Irish coinage carried the title 'Dominus Hiberniae' (or Lord of Ireland). After 1535, Henry took the title King of Ireland.
[edit] Early milled regal coinage
These coins were struck during the reigns of King Charles II (1660–85) and King James II (1685–88).
[edit] Civil War coinage of 1689–91
These coins were struck by the deposed King James II after he fled to France. These coins are unique in the fact that they have the month of issue as well as the year. As there was a shortage of metal for coinage, church bells and even old cannon were melted down, thus giving rise to the name 'Gun Money'. These coins were declared illegal tender after King William III's victory at the Battle of the Boyne, which occurred in July 1690.
The second issue of emergency coinage was issued in 1691 for use in Limerick. This was a coinage of Farthings and Halfpennies.
[edit] Later Crown coinage
These coins were issued from the reigns of William III and Mary right up to the 1822–23 issue of King George IV halfpennies and pennies. The 1822–23 issue marked the last appearance of the symbol of a crowned harp, which represented the Kingdom of Ireland. Following this, standard British coinage was used throughout the island.
[edit] Coinage of the Republic of Ireland
During the mid 1920's the predecessor of the Republic of Ireland, the Irish Free State decided that it should design its own coinage. On the commencement of the circulation of the Irish coinage in 1928, Irish and British coinage continued to be accepted on a one-to-one rate. This continued for several years. The Republic of Ireland decimalised its currency in 1971.
Ireland adopted the Euro as its currency along with most of its EU partners on Jan 1, 2002.
[edit] Coinage of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has continued to use British coinage since the partition of Ireland. The 1986 and 1991 British One Pound coin issues featured a flax plant in a coronet to represent Northern Ireland. The 1996 issue featured a celtic cross and pimpernel to represent Northern Ireland, and the proposed 2006 coin will feature MacNeill's Egyptian Arch to again represent the region within the United Kingdom.
These coins are not unique to Northern Ireland and circulate through the entire sterling area.
