Owner Comments:
In doing a little research on this coin, I noticed that several publications erroneously suggest that this coin would have been struck at the Soho Mint by Matthew Boulton. There are several issues with this statement. First, Matthew Boulton, who founded the Soho Mint, died in 1809, and his son Matthew Robinson Boulton took over the mint a short period before his death, so he and not his father would have struck these coins. Second, the Soho Mint never received another order for Irish coins after the first contract had been delivered in March of 1806. These facts make me think that what the authors were trying to say is that these coins were struck by the Royal Mint using the machinery purchased from the Soho Mint owner in 1805 and completely assembled at the new Royal Mint location of Little Tower Hill in the summer of 1807. This seems like a reasonable conclusion, but I would be very interested in hearing what others have to say.
Obverse: The obverse portrays George IV facing left. His hair is adorned with a laurel wreath of 13 leaves and no berries. The individual stems, as well as the midveins of most leaves, are visible. The wreath is tied together behind the neck with a ribbon with one bow and two loose ends, which droop down toward the shoulder. The bust is draped in cloth, which is caught by a round brooch with some indiscernible interior design on the left shoulder. The legend “GEORGIUS IV” occurs to the left of the primary device, and the remaining portion “D : G : REX.” occurs on the right. The rim is thin and raised with a toothed inner border. The entire legend is what one would expect from a proof strike with crisp details and no flaws. The obverse of this coin is fantastic. The deeply-mirrored chocolate brown fields are fully complemented by the neon blue hues throughout. Except for a slight blemish on the “G” in GEORGIUS, this coin is immaculate.
Reverse: The reverse portrays a crowned harp with ten strings. The left side of the harp consists of a half-clad woman; her lower half is adorned with what I describe at a mermaid-like fin. Her top half is exposed with her arms depicted as wings that make up the top part of the harp where the crown rests. The bottom band of the crown is decorated with a pattern of precious stones that appears as the following: (◊ : · : · : ◊ : · : · : о : · : ·: ◊ : · : ·: ◊). It should be noted that the lozenge-shaped gems should be rotated 180 degrees, and the · : · pattern should be closer together to form a cross, but I did not know how to do that in word. The band immediately above the band decorated in gems has a Maltese cross at its center flanked by a fleur-de-Lis on either side with a vertically striated cushion-like design in the background. The outer bands of the crown are decorated with 17 beads and converge in the middle of the inner centered Maltese cross, which is mounted by an orb and cross. The legend “HIBERNIA.” occurs above the primary device with the date “1822” occurring at the bottom below the harp. The rim is thin and raised with a toothed inner border. The reverse of this coin is breathtaking and looks slightly better than the obverse. The same deeply-mirrored chocolate brown fields occur on the reverse, and the neon blue hues are even stronger on the primary device and legend, giving them the appearance of a cameo. This is by far the most attractive proof Irish copper piece I have seen from this period.
Edge: Plain
Weight: 137.0 grains (8.88)
Notes: This coin has unbelievable eye appeal. Believe it or not, the pictures make this coin look dual compared to an in-hand inspection. The blue hues are more prevalent, and they contrast sharply with the chocolate brown fields to give the viewer an illusion of a cameo. I made a deal with myself to only collect the Irish copper from Charles II to George III and that I would eventually use the coinage of IV as a buffer to the much more modern Irish Free State coinage. I violated this deal, but I think I did so for a good reason. It is not very often that a coin comes up for sale that I am just completely captivated by. I noticed this coin in an auction catalog, and knowing that my budget was small, I mostly ignored everything else so that I could focus all of my efforts on this piece. This is one of my top 5 favorite coins in my collection and has a forever home in my box of 20!