A desire for base coinage: An introduction to Irish copper

Set Description

A very brief history of the copper coinage of Ireland:

The title may seem odd considering this collection is mostly focused on the copper coinage of Ireland, but placed in the historical context of the era; this title has a great deal of relevance. Before 1680, the majority of coins circulating in Ireland were foreign, with a notable amount of English and Spanish pieces passing as legal tender. Most of this foreign currency, alongside what little truly Irish coinage remained, was either silver or gold. Little to no legal tender copper coinage circulated in Ireland. Numerous tokens, such as those commonly dubbed the St. Patrick’s issues, and counterfeits circulated freely in commerce simply because no other alternative was available.

St. Patrick Farthing (Circa 1660s)

Conducting business required coin and business could not stop simply because regal coinage was non-existent. Despite several contracts to strike coinage, Ireland’s shortage of lower denomination coins (mainly copper) would go mostly unresolved until 1769. Throughout these times, workers were often paid with private tokens or IOUs that could be collected only once enough money had been earned to merit a gold coin. The employee would then have to find change for this gold piece on their own to be able to purchase any goods or services. The title of this registry set reflects the struggles of the average Irishman in a historical context that was plagued by such a shortage of the very coins contained within this collection.

Although undeniably a pivotal component of the rich history of Irish numismatics, I have decided to forgo any mention of pieces that have garnered the majority of the attention of the subject such as those struck by William Wood, or Roche (Voce Populi), or the extensively researched gun money under James II. I have instead decided to only focus on the coins typically classified as standard regal coinage which are mostly overshadowed by the pieces listed above. To this extent, I am primarily focused on the regal issues produced under Charles II to George IV. It is this span of 143 years that I have done my best to track down decent examples of the copper coinage struck, most of which are halfpennies. To begin this journey, we will start by briefly exploring the history of the Armstrong and Legg pieces struck from 1680-1684.

To address the growing issue of virtually no regal copper coinage in circulation, Sir Thomas Armstrong petitioned Charles II for a patent to strike farthings for Ireland. This patent was granted on December 14th of 1660 and gave Sir Thomas Armstrong the right to produce copper farthings for Ireland for 21 years. Oddly enough, the approved patent fell on deaf ears and was not sanctioned in Ireland. Despite the royal patent and the collection of needed supplies on behalf of Sir Thomas Armstrong, virtually no copper farthings would be struck before his death. Before the contract’s expiration, his son Sir William Armstrong along with Colonel George Legg, once again petitioned Charles II for another grant to strike halfpence in 1680. This patent was approved on May 18th of 1680 and was to last for 21 years. Following the contract, they were to pay to the crown 16 pounds, 13 shillings, and 4 pence in two equal installments on June 24th and December 25th of 1680. A proclamation was made in on July 19th, 1680, that claimed these coins struck by Armstrong and Legg were legal tender in Ireland and made both Armstrong and Legg liable to exchange them for silver or gold at the rate of 20 shillings to 21 shillings of halfpence. Armstrong and Legg assigned this patent to John Knox, who would oversee the production of these coins for Armstrong and Legg from 1680-1684.

King Charles II died in February of 1685, and James II took his place on the throne. John Knox seizes the opportunity and petitions King James II for a new patent to strike halfpenny coins. This petition was granted, and the contract was assigned to Knox on October 3rd, 1685. John Knox struck halfpence pieces for Ireland from 1685 to 1688. The abdication of the throne in December of 1688 likely led to the seizure of production on behalf of John Knox, and this fiasco would lead to the Gun Money that has been so enthusiastically studied but has no place in this collection. At some point during this fiasco, Knox sold his patent to Colonel Roger Moore, who would later be responsible for the coins struck from 1692-1694 under the rule of William and Mary. Only halfpennies would be struck, and these would be the only regal coinage struck for Ireland under this rule. Mary succumbed to smallpox on December 28th of 1694, and her portrait was removed from the halfpence struck in 1696. The production of regal copper from 1692-1694 and then again in 1696 was much needed but did little to satisfy the demands for lower denomination coinage in Ireland. This shortage eventually gave rise to the coins struck by William Wood, which would mostly be detested by the general population and ultimately removed from Ireland for circulation in the American colonies. The copper shortage continued, and privately struck tokens ran rampant.

It would not be until 1736 under the reign of George II that Ireland’s need for copper coinage would be readdressed. Halfpennies and farthing were to be struck at the Tower of London using high-quality copper with every ton of copper rationed 5/6th halfpence and 1/6th farthings. A proclamation made May 6th of 1737 made the coinage legal tender, but it was not until April when the first coins struck arrived in Ireland. A total of 50 tons of copper coins were struck during this first contract, and it would not be completed until January 26th of 1739. According to my rough and likely incorrect calculations, 5,185,184 halfpence and 2,160,056 farthings were struck during the first contract. A second contract for 100 tons would follow in March of 1741 and completed in November of 1749. This second contract yielded roughly 10,370,366 halfpence and 4,319,541 farthings. The third contract for 50 tons of copper coinage was granted in April of 1750, which produced another 5,185,184 halfpence and 2,160,056 farthings. A fourth and final contract under George II was awarded in September of 1760 and completed in April of 1762. This last contract was for another 50 tons, which likely yielded around 5,185,184 halfpence and 2,160,056 farthings. Although two years after George II’s death on October 25th, 1760, the coins under this contract still portrayed the King’s likeness. Numerous sources have pointed out that the general public, still uneasy after the William Wood fiasco, were skeptical of the new copper made at the Tower of London. The lack of “DEI GRATIA” of “by the grace of God” on the obverse only served to heighten this skepticism in the new coinage. Nonetheless, these coins were eventually accepted and circulated freely throughout Ireland. Despite the replenishment of copper coinage, a shortage persisted.

George III succeeded George II on October 25th, 1760, and would not issue coins with his portrait for Ireland until 1769. This first contract was for 50 tons of halfpence. These coins were slightly heavier than those struck under George II at 134 as opposed to the 126 grains. This would yield somewhere around 5,850,746 halfpence. Another contract was secured in 1769 for an additional 50 tons of halfpence of the same weight. This would have yielded an additional 5,850,746 halfpence dated 1769. Although I was unable to locate dates or the total weight of these contracts, it appears another occurred, which resulted in halfpence being struck 1775-76 and again in 1781-82. All of the coins discussed thus far were struck at the Tower of London: however, those dated 1766 and 1769 portray a younger bust of George III than those dated 1775 and later. It should be noted that counterfeits of these coins ran rampant partially due to the extreme shortage of copper currency that led up until the early 1800s. The unification of Ireland and Great Britain on January 1st, 1801, did little to help the coinage shortage in Ireland. It would not be until 1805 before another batch of Irish copper would be struck, this time by the Soho Mint.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Soho Mint, I strongly urge you to check out my other custom set entitled “What comes next? You’ve been freed. Do you know how hard it is to lead?”. This set provides a very abridged history of the Soho Mint and how it led to the industrialization of the minting process. The application of steam-powered technology with the art and science of minting yielded coins of extraordinary quality. The quality of the pieces, both in craftsmanship and standardized weights close to intrinsic value, paired with the added security features such as the engrailed edge, help curb counterfeiting, which was a significant issue in Ireland. However, it would not be until March 26th, 1805 that the Soho Mint would be asked to strike coins for Ireland that would bear the likeness of King George III. Production of the Irish copper began the following month and was delivered in entirety by March of 1806. In total, the Soho mint struck 63,580,603 coins for Ireland, which consisted of 8,788,416 Pence coins, 49,795,200 halfpennies, and 4,996,992 farthings. This massive and quickly produced shipment of fresh Irish copper went a long way to alleviate the copper crisis in Ireland.

1928 IRISH FREE STATE PROOF PENNY

Despite the unification of Ireland and Great Britain, the two countries continued to strike their coinage because the two currencies were not equal. The Irish coinage was valued less than the English, and this would not be corrected until 1821 under the rule of George IV. It would not be until July 5th, 1826, that another batch of Irish regal copper would be ordered. Under this contract, Pence, Halfpence, and farthings were to be struck. The Pence and Halfpence pieces were struck and released for circulation, but the farthing pieces never were. Most standard reference guides list all 1822 farthings as proof and often classify them as patterns. Naturally, these farthing pieces are exceedingly rare and very valuable. The last Irish regal copper was struck in 1823 in both Pence and Halfpence denominations. Just a little tidbit of history, these coins were struck using equipment sold by the owners of the Soho Mint to the Royal Mint. On January 30th, 1826, Irish and English copper were completely equalized and were to be accepted at the same rate in both countries. On July 12th of the following year, all Irish copper coinage was demonetized and removed from circulation. From this point forward, only British copper would be struck and circulated as legal tender in Ireland. This would not change until the Irish Free State was established, and the Royal Mint was asked to produce coinage in 1928.

Disclaimer:

Much like my Soho Mint custom set, I did not keep an accurate record of citations. Instead, I took general notes from multiple sources in a very informal way. It was not until I decided to build this set that I compiled my notes in anything that resembled a coherent story. As such, the facts within this write up have been confirmed, but I encourage readers to do their research and by all means, contact me if they discover I have made a mistake. Listed below are the numerous sources I used to compile the information written above.



References:

Clermont, A. P., & Wheeler, J. (1986). Spink’s Catalogue of British Colonial and Commonwealth Coins. London: Spink & Sons, Ltd.

Coins of Scotland, Ireland, and the Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Man, & Lundy). (3rd ed.). (2015). London, Spink & Son, Ltd.

Doty, R. (1998). The Soho Mint and the Industrialisation of Money. London: National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution.

Dowle, A., & Finn, P. (1969). The Guide Book to the Coinage of Ireland from 995 AD to the Present Day. London: Spink & Son, Ltd.

Grueber, H. A. (1970). Handbook of the Coins of Great Britain and Ireland in the British Museum. London: Spink & Son, Ltd.

Lobel, R., Davidson, M., Hailstone, A., & Calligas, E. (1999). Coincraft’s Standard Cataloque of the coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands, & Isle of Man. London: Standard Catalogue Publishers Ltd for Coincraft.

Nelson, P. (1905). The Coinage of Ireland in Copper, Tin, and Pewter, 1460-1826.

Seaby, P. (1970). Coins and Tokens of Ireland. London: Seaby’s Numismatic Publication Ltd.

Soho Mint. (2019) Retrieved from http://sohomint.info/index.html

Thorburn, W. S. (1887). A Guide to the Coins of Great Britain & Ireland in gold, silver, and copper from the earliest Period to the Present Time with their Value. London: London and County Printing Works.

Interesting websites:

https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2015/08/09/obrien-coin-guide-armstrong-legges-irish-regal-halfpennies-for-charles-ii/

The current set:

Several factors limit the breadth and scope of the current collection. Perhaps the two most limiting factors are time and money in no specific order. I lack a reasonable amount of both. In keeping with the fighting Irish spirit, I have done my best to hunt down raw examples of these coins, and after scrutiny, I have sent them to NGC to be graded. These coins are denoted with the “Skinner Collection” pedigree on the holder. Please keep in mind that both time and money are limiting factors, so if a coin bears the Skinner collection pedigree, I have put forth a great deal of effort to include it in this collection. Although most coins bear this pedigree, a few pieces do not. These are coins that I either did not feel comfortable purchasing raw or have not been able to find an attractive raw example at the purchase price offered for the already certified piece.

The pictures of those coins not bearing the Skinner collection pedigree are noticeably better than those with the pedigree. This is because these coins, for the most part, have been professionally photographed, and I have inherited those images as the new owner. All of the coins bearing the Skinner collection pedigree were purchased raw, and the pictures included within this set were taken by me. Given my depleted coffers and my unwillingness to spend money on a nice camera as opposed to a coin, I have opted to use my iPhone to take pictures of the coins that were not previously photographed by a professional. I do my best to ensure that I capture an image that depicts the actual color, character, and condition of the coin. This is an ongoing learning process, and I will periodically update the pictures as I hone my skills. The descriptions provided are the best that I can do with the examples I have at my disposal. I have included the edge characteristics as well as the average weight in grains (grams are in parentheses) when available.

Set Goals
The goal of this set is to build a collection of the currency issues, proofs, and restrikes of copper coinage struck for Ireland from the rule of Charles II to George IV. In the process of completing this collection, it is my sincere hope that I can bring knowledge to those interested by providing detailed pictures and accurate descriptions. A great deal of numismatic history remains to be explored by those unfamiliar, and what better way to learn than by looking at a selection of handpicked specimens?