Ireland
The Irish Free State struck its first coins on 12 December 1928: Percy Metcalfe’s celebrated “Barnyard” series, with the harp of Brian Boru on every obverse and Irish animals and birds on the reverses — the foundation of Ireland’s modern numismatic identity. Decimalisation on 15 February 1971 created the punt (£, 100 pence), replaced by the euro in 2002 at a fixed rate of €1 = IR£0.787564, with punt notes and coins withdrawn on 9 February 2002.
Coins of Ireland
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History & collecting
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- Issued: 12 December 1928 onward — farthing (woodcock), halfpenny (sow and piglets), penny (hen and chicks), threepence (hare), sixpence (wolfhound), shilling (bull), florin (salmon) and half crown (horse). All carry the Irish harp obverse and the Saorstát Éireann / Éire legend of their era.
- Key dates: The 1943 florin and half crown are the verified series keys. Central Bank records establish their restricted release, and the Numismatic Society of Ireland documents forged 1943 half crowns; buy that key date certified.
- Notable varieties (verified only): the 1942 florin carries a “2 over 1” variety, visible to the naked eye under magnification.
Value: Check live sold listings on the linked guide before buying or pricing.
- Issued: 1966, for the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising; released 12 April 1966.
- Composition: .8333 fine silver, 18.14 g, 30.5 mm (~0.486 oz ASW).
- Key dates: a single-year commemorative with a verified mintage of 2,000,000 circulation strikes plus 20,000 proofs in green cases; approximately 1,270,000 circulation pieces were melted after the 1971 decimal changeover. Patrick Pearse on the obverse, the death of Cú Chulainn on the reverse, and the edge inscription ÉIRÍ AMACH NA CÁSCA 1916 (“the Easter Rising 1916”).
Value: Check live sold listings on the linked guide before buying or pricing.
- Issued: Ireland’s first decimal £1 coin, released 20 June 1990, replacing the £1 note; struck through 2000.
- Key dates: the red deer stag of Killarney by Tom Ryan is the standard type; the 2000-dated millennium issue carries the Broighter Boat by Alan Ardiff and Garrett Stokes. A 1999 variant struck by the Royal Mint in a lighter alloy was rejected by vending machines; these are normal 10M-mintage strikings, not a genuine rarity.
- Size and weight (verified): 31.11 mm, 10 g.
Value: Check live sold listings on the linked guide before buying or pricing.
- Issued: Ireland’s euro coins entered circulation in 2002, with starter kits sold from 14 December 2001.
- Composition and design: one national design across all denominations (1 cent–€2), by Jarlath Hayes — the Celtic harp with the word “ÉIRE”, confirmed by the European Central Bank.
- Notable issues (verified): Ireland strikes commemorative €2 coins, including the 2016 Easter Rising centenary (4.5 million pieces, released 20 January 2016) and the 2019 Dáil Éireann centenary.
Value: Check live sold listings on the linked guide before buying or pricing.
Ireland never developed a flagship bullion coin program on the scale of the Britannia or the Eagle; the modern collector market centers on the commemorative €2 series and the earlier punt-era proof sets. No standalone wiki entries cover Irish bullion.
Value: Check live sold listings on the linked guide before buying or pricing.
Values move; always check live sold listings on the linked guides. Key dates and high-value pieces require authentication.
Ireland is a compact, completable field: the Barnyard set, the three decimal-era landmarks (1966 ten shillings, red deer £1, euro harp series) and the punt’s 2002 withdrawal tell the whole story. Forged 1943 half crowns are the primary danger zone, which is why that key date should only be bought certified. Everything else is straightforward type collecting; work values from the linked entries’ live sold listings.
Europe Red Book v2 research chapter, published September 15, 2026. Values are intentionally excluded; use authenticated sold-market evidence.
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