The half-crown coin was a pre-decimal coin worth ¹/₈ of an Irish pound. The coin featured the Irish hunter, a breed of horse; the original minting of the coin from 1928 until 1943 contained 75% silver, a higher content than the equivalent British coin. It is believed that this was done so that the new currency would not be seen as a poor substitute to the British currency which circulated alongside. The silver coins are quite distinguishable as they have a more “whitish” look than the later cupronickel variety that were minted from 1951; also, the silver coins wear less well. The cupronickel coin was of 75% copper and 25% nickel content.

The design of the coin, by Percy Metcalf, was later featured in the twenty pence coin issued in 1986. The diameter of the half-crown coin was 1.275 inches (32.4 mm) and its weight was 14.1 grams.

The coin was commonly called a “two and six”, due to its value of two shillings and sixpence (indicated on the coin itself as “2^s6^d“).

The last half-crowns were produced in 1967 and withdrawn two years later on January 1 1970.

External links

• Irish Coinage website - catalogue - halfcrown.

• Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 1969