Irish ten shilling coin || type of coin
Published April 24th, 2008 in UncategorizedThe ten shilling coin was a pre-decimal coin worth ½ of an Irish pound, the highest value coin in the pre-decimal system. The coin featured Cúchulainn, the mythical Irish hero; the coin was produced for the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising and commenced circulation on April 12 1966 and was designed by T Hugh Paget. The coin was 83.5% silver and 16.5% copper. The figure of Cúchulainn is a miniature of the statue by Oliver Shepherd, currently in the General Post Office, Dublin. The coin did not prove popular, and 1,270,000 of the two million produced were withdrawn and melted down. This unpopularity may be due to the ten shilling Series A Banknote which was then in circulation. Twenty thousand coins were issued as proofs in issue cases.
The ten shilling is the only Irish coin to feature an inscription on edge until the Irish euro coins, this is “Éirí Amach na Cásca 1916″, which can be translated as “1916 Easter Rising”; the inscription was in Gaelic script on a smooth edge. The coin is also unique in being the only modern circulated Irish coin not to feature the harp, instead featuring the bust of Padraig Pearse the revolutionary, further making it unique among Irish coinage in that it is the sole coin to feature the bust of anyone associated with Irish history or politics.
The coin was a diameter of 1.125 inches (28.6 mm) and weight of 18.144 grams. This coin was officially removed from circulation from February 10, 2002, at the time of the conversion to the Euro. While it had not been in general circulation in any quantities since 1966, the coin would have survived Decimal Day, being fifty new pence in value.
See also
- Irish fifty pence (decimal coin)
- Official Seal of the President of Ireland
- Irish pound
External links
- Irish Coinage website - catalogue - 10 shillings.
- Coinage (Amendment) Act, 1966)
- Irish Pound Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 2001
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