Irish Coinage
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Detail Image

© 2002 - Copyright
John_Stafford-Langan
Version 1.10
14th September, 2002

This coin is a crown (five shilling piece) struck under the authority of the Lord Justices of Ireland in about 1642.

The Lord Justices authorised this coinage in 1642 but never made it legal tender.

There were three 1642 issues:
Issue 1 - 'Inchiquin Money' with the coin's weight in dwt and gr (pennyweights and grains) on each side. Issued in 6 denominations. Crown down to Groat.
Issue 2 - 'Annulet Money' with the coin's weight in dwt and gr (pennyweights and grains) on one side and the value in pence represented by a number of annulets on the other side. Issued in 4 denominations : 9d, 6d, 4d and 3d.
Issue 3 - 'Dublin Money' with the coin's value in shillings and pence on each side. Only Crown (Vs) and Half Crown (IIsVId) issued.

All three issues are also collectively known as 'Inchiquin Money' which does cause confusion with the first issue. It was originally believe that these coins were issued by Lord Inchiquin, but their issue by the Lord Justices in 1642 is now well established.

Note that this coin was struck on each side from the same punch - therefore the coin was made in two strikings not just one. What is not clear from the illustration (unless you have very good mental 3d rotation ability) that the punch on each side is opposite the flat part of the other side. This is not true of all these pieces and when the punches are opposite each other it tends to result in some flattening of part of the design.

This example is in Very Fine (VF) condition. It has light wear across the design but all the features are quite clear and much of the detail (such as the patterning on the raised surface of the 'V') is visible. It has a mild grey toning, which is exactly right for a rough silver piece of this age which has not been tampered with.

These 'Dublin Money' crowns are generally rare - many of the other 'Inchiquin' denominations are very rare or even unique. This is a particularly nice example of a generally poorly made issue and is among the best of the surviving examples.

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