The History of Irish Coinage

1990 Proof Punt Countries

1998 Irish Uncirculated Set - Front Cover

1998 Irish Uncirculated Set - Reverse Designs

A) Hiberno-Norse 995-1150
The Romans visited the Irish mainland many times between the first and fourth centuries AD but they made no attempt to settle. Some Roman coins have been found on the east coast of Ireland, brought no doubt by traders or raiders. It was not until six hundred years later that coins were actually struck in Ireland but these coins were issued by foreign invaders, the Norsemen of Dublin, also called 'the Ostmen'. The most famous of the Norse kings were Sihtric, Raghnall, Guthfrith and the most famous of all, Olaf Sihtricsson, also known as Anlaf Cuaran. The stronghold of Dublin or Dubh-linn (Old Irish for 'black pool') became a great commercial centre. The first pennies minted at Dublin were imitations of the Anglo-Saxon coins from England. A characteristic of these early coins is that they bear Saxon mintmarks but were actually minted in Dublin! Many of these early coins have been found in hoards around the Baltic and Scandinavian coasts. The best collection of Hiberno-Norse coins can be found at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

B) Anglo-Irish 1172-1928
The Normans invaded Ireland in 1169 during the reign of Henry II of England. A powerful group of knights from Wales invaded Leinster on the pretext of 'aiding' the rightful king who had been ousted by an Irish lord. The knights seized estates for themselves in Ireland and ushered in nearly eight centuries of English dominance in Ireland.
The Anglo-Irish coinage is fascinating in the fact that the mintage of coins under English kings and queens does not parallel the production of coins in mints in England, especially during times of war or political disputes. For example, during the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485), the rights to mint coins were granted to Irish allies, both on the Lancastrian and Yorkist sides which differed to English coin types. The greatest variations occurred during the Civil War (1642-1651) when Charles I and Parliament needed to raise emergency funds in Ireland. Of great interest to coin collectors is the reign of James II; his reign in England lasted from 1685 till 1688 when he fled abroad. However, James was still acknowledged as king in Ireland until his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne near Drogheda in 1690, the town of Limerick still minting shillings in the name of James in 1691!

C) Irish Free State and Eire
The Government of Ireland Act in 1920 effectively allowed the Act of Union between Ireland and the UK to be repealed. Six out of the nine counties of Ulster in the north of the country decided to remain part of the United Kingdom but the greater part of Ireland became the Irish Free State or Saorstát Éireann. The leaders of the new Irish state decided to create a coinage which would be very different to that of the United Kingdom, the harp being chosen for the obverse design and a delightful set of animal designs being selected for the reverses. The new coins were produced at the Royal Mint in London, the three highest denominations, the halfcrown, florin and shilling, having a higher percentage of silver than their English counterparts.
In June 1937 the Irish Free State became a sovereign republic with the name of Éire and this new name appeared on the coin issues for 1939. By 1943 the rising price of silver made it uneconomical to produce coins with a high silver content so very few florins and halfcrowns were produced and no shillings were issued. See our page devoted to the 1943 Halfcrown for more information on these rare coins.
In a partial attempt at reforming the coinage, a ten shilling piece was minted in 1966. It commemorated the Easter rising in 1916 but the coin was not popular due to its high denomination. Of the two million coins produced, 75% of the issue was recalled and melted down.
During the 1960s the Irish government decided to adopt a decimal currency like many of its European neighbours. As Irish and British coins circulated freely in Ireland it was seen as a good idea to make the transition at the same time as the United Kingdom, the day of transfer to the new coinage being February 15th 1971. The denominations of Irish decimal coins closely followed that of their British counterparts but the distinctly Celtic designs remained. The most notable difference between the two coinages was the twenty pence coin; the Irish coin being circular as opposed to the seven-sided British version.
In 2000 the Irish government decided to adopt the Euro currency. The new coin designs were released to the Irish public on December 14th 2001 and the currency was officially introduced on January 1st 2002. The reverses of the coins are standard Euro issue featuring the denomination of the coin and the map of Europe but the obverse design depicts the familiar Irish harp and the legend éire with the issue year.

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