The Very Finest Irish Coins...


Irish Coins Coins Index Chard 24 Carat Home Page

Obverse of 1934 Irish Halfcrown
Obverse of 1689 Gunmoney Halfcrown
Reverse of 1934 Irish Halfcrown
Reverse of 1689 Gunmoney Halfcrown

Countries
Irish Coins - Pre-1801

In 1688, the openly Catholic James II of England and Ireland (and VII of Scotland) was deposed by his daughter and son-in-law, Mary II and William III of Orange at the behest of England's disgruntled protestants. James was forced to flee to France, where he plotted, with French help, to gather an army to retake his throne. The following year, James landed in Ireland, where he hoped the mostly catholic population would provide him with much needed support and recruits for his army and provide an operational base from which to retake his throne on the British mainland.
Unfortunately for James, despite French support, he lacked adequate funds to support the upkeep of his army. His solution to this problem was to strike coins out of base metal (some of which was derived from melted cannon), with the promise of redemption in silver once his throne had been regained. To facilitate this, the month as well as the year was included on the coins, so that there could be gradual and orderly redemption when the war was over. However, as James ultimately lost the Williamite war following his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, these coins were never redeemed, and many unfortunate holders of these coins were left severely out of pocket as a result. These coins continued to manufactured until 1691, when William's troops completed their victory over Jacobite forces in Ireland. However, by then the situation had become so desperate that even these base metal issues had to be reduced in size in comparison to their earlier issues, and were sometimes overstruck over older issues.
Due to their intimate connection with important events in British and Irish history, these issues are fascinating relics from around the time of the Glorious Revolution.

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