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Pictured above is a 1723 Hibernia halfpence, graded MS 63 BN by PCGS. All Hibernia coins are dated 1722, 1723, or 1724. These pieces display no denomination, but come in two sizes: the farthing, which averages 22 mm in diameter; and the halfpence of 26 mm. Although Hibernias were 23% below the weight of typical British coppers, they did conform to the specifications of the royal patent under which they were issued, and were far more substantial than most coins then in circulation in Ireland.
The obverse features a right facing portrait of George I.The peripheral legend translates into George, King By The Grace Of God. The reverse displays a seated effigy facing left, holding a palm branch in her right hand, with an adjacent harp, the symbol of Ireland.The word Hibernia (Ireland) and the date surround the central device.These coins were minted in Bristol, located in West England, using a drop hammer press.
Sydney F. Martin's new standard reference delineates 57 varieties of the farthing, and 228 halfpence varieties. Among the differentiating factors are: the location of the harp - either to the left or right of the central figure on the reverse; the number of individual harp strings, that can vary in number from 7 to 12; and the obverse/reverse punctuation. All specimens exhibit a plain edge. Some strikings have been fashioned in silver or pewter. One unusual halfpence variety features a series of rocks to the right of the seated effigy, that resemble a hooded draped figure.
William Wood, of humble Huguenot upbringing, and from Wolverhampton, England was the motivating force between both the Hibernia coinage, intended to circulate in Ireland, and the Rosa Americana pieces, produced as a distinctly American coinage for the "American Plantations". Both patents, that ran nearly concurrently in time, were intended to help alleviate a chronic shortgage of small change in their respective venues. In addition to owning several copper, zinc, and tin mines, as well as various timber interests, Wood and his father-in-law ran factories to fashion their metals into usable objects. In the process, Wood acquired a substantial knowledge of metallurgy.
William Wood's plan was to turn a handsome profit from his coining ventures through seignorage, that is, the spread between what it cost to manufacture the pieces, and their ultimate face value. Unfortunately, coins could not be produced without first obtaining a royal patent. Wood was forced to pay King George I's mistress, the Duchess of Kendal, a 10,000 pound bribe to secure the Hibernia patent, (together with rent and other miscellaneous charges totaling 1,000 pounds per year). Translated into today's dollars, these expenditures represented mammoth startup costs, that virtually guaranteed the financial failure of the venture.
Wood confronted an unexpected obstacle when, in August 1724, Jonathan Swift, the Irish author of Gulliver's Travels, wrote a series of articles bad-mouthing Wood and his coinage. Some of the allegations in his "Drapier Letters" were well founded, while others were pure propaganda, with a political bias. Wood countered, by appointing the reknowned Sir Isaac Newton, the Master of The Royal Mint, to oversee the weighing and assaying of his coins. In due course, Newton's nephew, Mr. Barton, replaced him. Swift did not succeed in totally derailing Wood's operations, but he did disuade use of Hibernias by Ireland's elite; convinced George I to reduce the authorized coinage; and limited their traditional use as pay for soldiers. In August 1725, Wood surrendered both the Hibernia and Rosa American patents for a 3,000 pound per year pension for 8 years.
A limited number of Hibernias did circulate in New England, NY, NJ, and Penn. - some were brought randomly by emigrants; others were sold, in bulk, at a discount to American merchants to use as small transactional change; much later, English coin dealers exported specimens to American dealers and collectors.