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Irish half-crown coin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Half-Crown Leath Choróin |
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| Horse |
The half-crown coin was a pre-decimal coin and was worth 1/8 of an Irish pound. The coin featured the Irish hunter, a horse, and 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 noticeable 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.
The design of the coin, by Percy Metcalf, was later featured in the twenty pence coin issued in 1986. The diameter of the coin was 1.275 inches (32.4 mm) and a weight of 14.1 grams, the value was 1/8 of the then Irish pound.
The last half-crowns were produced in 1967 and withdrawn two years later on January 1, 1970.
| Irish currency and coinage | |
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| Topics | Irish pound · Central Bank · Currency Centre · Currency Commission · Minister for Finance |
| Predecimal coins | Farthing · Halfpenny · Penny · Threepence · Sixpence · Shilling · Florin · Half-Crown · Ten Shilling |
| Decimal based coins | Halfpenny · Penny · Two Pence · Five Pence · Ten Pence · Twenty Pence · Fifty Pence · One Pound |
| Banknotes | Series A · Series B · Series C |
| See also | Banknotes of Northern Ireland · Coins of Ireland · Euro banknotes · Irish euro coins |