This version of the Harp is also a slang term for the diatonic harmonica. ...harp, on a See also: 1989 in Ireland, 1991 in Ireland and the list of years in Ireland. Events January 1 _ The Northern Ireland Fair Employment Act becomes law. ...1990 A IR£1 coin, featuring the Irish red deer. ...Irish pound, has been on Irish coinage circulated from 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...1939 until 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2000.

The state now called the The Republic of Ireland ( Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is the official description of an independent state which covers approximately five_sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of north_west Europe. ...Republic of Ireland decided in the mid_ Centuries: 19th century _ 20th century _ 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s _ 1920s _ 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 Referred to as the Roaring 20s. ...1920s to design its own 1¢ euro coin A coin is generally a piece of hard material, generally metal and usually in the shape of a disc, which is used as a form of money. ...coins and A £20 Ulster Bank banknote. ...banknotes, at this stage it was decided that the Irish currency would be pegged to the The pound sterling, which strictly speaking refers to basic currency unit of sterling, now the pound, can generally refer to the currency of the United Kingdom (UK). ...Pound Sterling. The Coinage Act, 1926 (http://193.178.1.79/1926-14.html) was passed as a legislative basis for the minting of coins for the state and these new coins commenced circulation on December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...December 12, 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...1928.

See also: Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland

Background

The first coins minted in A true colour image of Ireland, captured by a NASA satellite on January 4, 2003. ...Ireland were done so by For the head of state, see Monarch. ...King Sitric III, a Hibernia has several different meanings, for further information see the Hibernia (disambiguation) page. ...Hiberno_ Norse is related to Scandinavia, and may mean: Ancient Norse mythology Medieval Norsemen, i. ...Norse King of Dublin, about 995 Anno Domini (Latin: In the year of the Lord), or more completely Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ), commonly abbreviated AD or A.D., is the designation used to number years in the dominant Christian Era in the world today. ...AD in Dublins Hapenny Bridge. ...Dublin. These penny coins bore the head and name of the King and the word "Dyflin" for Dublin. John of England depicted in Cassells History of England (1902) John (French: Jean) (December 24, 1166/67–October 18/19, 1216) reigned as King of England from 1199 to 1216. ...John of England was among the first This article talks about the Norman people. ...Norman This article treats the generic title monarch. ...monarch to mint coins in Ireland, these coins were farthings, halfpennies and pennies. It was not until the reign of Henry VIII King of England and Ireland by Hans Holbein the Younger His Grace King Henry VIII (28 June 1491–28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ...Henry VIII that Irish coins started to bear the Harp is also a slang term for the diatonic harmonica. ...harp and later in the reign the year, for the first time as well. Over the coming centuries coins were issued from General Name, Symbol, Number Gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 (IB), 6, d Density, Hardness 19300 kg/m3, 2. ...gold, General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series Transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5 , d Density, Hardness 10490 kg/m3, 2. ...silver and General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 , 4, d Density, Hardness 8920 kg/m3, 3. ...copper and at one stage from melted_down This article is about firearms and similar devices. ...gun The barrel of a firearm is the tube, usually explosion is released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at great speed. ...barrels; the so called "gun money". Coins issued in the (17th century _ 18th century _ 19th century _ more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...18th century and Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801_1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...19th century often included the word Hibernia has several different meanings, for further information see the Hibernia (disambiguation) page. ...Hibernia on the harp side. The last Irish coins issued, prior to independence, were issued during the reign of George IV King of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762–26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820. ...George IV in Events July 15 _ San Paolo fuori le Mura church in Rome almost completely destroyed by fire September 10 _ Peru December 2 _ US President James Monroe delivers a speech to the U.S. Congress, announcing a new policy of forbidding European interference in the Americas and establishing American neutrality in future...1823 and finally in Events February 11 _ University College London is founded, under the name University of London. ...1826 Irish coins were withdrawn on foot of the integration that resulted from the The 1800 Act of Union merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself a merger of England and Scotland under the Act of Union 1707) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. ...Act of Union 1800. Occassional "fantasy" coins were minted in the next century but these were neither The word circulation can mean the following: The transport of blood through the circulatory system. ...circulated nor Legal tender is payment that cannot be refused in settlement of a debt. ...legal tender.

When the The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo_Irish Treaty) signed by British and Irish...Irish Free State decided to introduce new coins and notes it was decided that these be pegged to the Pound Sterling; this was taken primarily for Economics (in Greek Οικονομικά) derives from the Greek word Eco(οίκω=house) and nemo(νέμω=distribute) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources through measurable variables. ...economic considerations as in 1924 Irish exports to Great Britain lies between Ireland and continental Europe. ...Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an administrative region and one of four parts of the United Kingdom. ...Northern Ireland was 98%, whilst imports from these areas was 80%. Additionally the stability and backing of the Pound Sterling reassured the government that the new currency was on To act as a store of value, a commodity or form of money or financial capital must be able to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved _ and be predictably useful when it is so retrieved. ...a firm foundation and did not detract from rebuilding the social and economic fabric of the country which was the then governments first committment.

As is common with Numismatics (ancient Greek: νομισματική) is the scientific study of money and its history in all its varied forms. ...numismatic Terminology is the set of all the terms related to a given subject field or discipline. ...terminology the side of the The Great Seal might mean: Great Seal of Canada Great Seal of the Irish Free State Great Seal of the Realm (UK) Great Seal of the United States See also: Seal This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...seal of the state is termed the " In logic (and usually without being paired with reverse), obverse has a meaning close to contrapositive. ...obverse"; this is often called the common side; the " Reverse may refer to: Obverse and reverse side of a coin changing the direction: of movement: forward _ reverse, see gearbox of a design: see reverse engineering This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...reverse" is the side with the denomination specific design. In Ireland the obverse and reverse are often incorrectly attributed to the wrong sides.

The pound

Predecimal coins

Shilling coins featured a bull design. They continued to be used after decimalisation as five pence until the early Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM...1990s when the 5p coin was reduced in size.

The government of the state, the The Executive Council (Irish: Ard_Chomhairle) was the cabinet and de facto executive branch of government of the 1922_1937 Irish Free State. ...Executive Council of the The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo_Irish Treaty) signed by British and Irish...Irish Free State, set up a committee under Senator A 1907 engraving of Yeats. ...WB Yeats to determine the designs suitable for the coins. This committee consisted of Thomas Bodkin, Dermot O'Brien, Lucius O'Callaghan and Barry Egan.

The penny coin featured a hen, reflecting the importance of agriculture to Ireland at the time of issue.

Early in the design process a number of decisions were made, it was decided the Harp is also a slang term for the diatonic harmonica. ...harp should be on most if not all coins and all lettering should be in Irish. Also it was determined that people associated with the time should not be incorporated on any designs, this eliminated anyone except those in Antiquity means ancient times, and may be used of any period before the Middle Ages. ...antiquity. It was later decided that anything with religious or cultural cognitions should be avoided because this may of lead to coins becoming relics or medals. At the time, and for centuries previous, Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals ( livestock). ...agriculture was essential to the The Economy of the Republic of Ireland is modern, relatively small, and trade_dependent with growth averaging a robust 10% in 1995–2000. ...economy of Ireland and this theme was decided upon for the coins, with the used of animals and birds.

Finally the decision was taken to use the harp and the word " The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo_Irish Treaty) signed by British and Irish...Saorstát Éireann" on the obverse side of all coins. A number of pictures and photographs of animals and birds were presented to the chosen artists to design the reverse and they were also given pictures of the This article is about the city in Ireland. ...Galway and The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ...Trinity College, Dublin harps for guidance. Later in the design process the The Irish Minister for Finance is the second most important ministerial position in the Irish Cabinet after that of the Taoiseach. ...Minister for Finance decided that the value of the coins should be in numerals as well and also suggested using plants, this latter suggestion was decided against because the competition was at an advanced stage and also the difficulty of getting good fascmiles of plants.

This version of the Harp is also a slang term for the diatonic harmonica. ...harp, on a See also: 1935 in Ireland, 1937 in Ireland and the list of years in Ireland. Events February 9 _ Brian de Valera, the third son of Eamon de Valera dies tragically in a horse_riding accident aged 21. ...1936 Irish farthing coin, was on Irish coinage minted from 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...1928 until 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...1937.

Three Irish artists Jerome Connor, Albert Power and Oliver Sheppard were shortlist and accepted and also the foreign artists Paul Howard Manship (December 24, 1885 _ January 28, 1966) was a prominent American sculptor of the early 20th century. ...Paul Manship (American), Percy Metcalfe (English) Categories: Stub | 1875 births | 1955 deaths | Sculptors | Swedish artists ...Carl Milles (Swedish) and Publio Morbiducci (Italian); a number of other artists were invited but did not take part. Each artist was compensated for his time and was allowed to produce designs in This article is about the building material. ...plaster or For alternative meanings see metal (disambiguation). ...metal with a prize for the winner; when the committee reviewed the designs all identifying marks were removed so that the committee did not know whose designs were being reviewed. Ultimately Percy Metcalfe's designs were chosen and a number of modifications were incorporated into these designs with assistance from Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...civil servants at the The Minister for Agriculture and Food is an important position in the Irish Government. ...Department of Agriculture.

The commemorative ten shilling coin introduced in 1966 was notable in not featuring the harp on the reverse, but rather Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (known as Pádraic Pearse or, in the Irish language, as Pádraic Anraí Mac Piarais) (November 10, 1879 - May 3, 1916) was a teacher, poet, writer and political activist who led the Irish Easter Rising in 1916. ...Padraig Pearse.

The first coins were struck and dated 1928 and were minted in the The Royal Mint is the name of the body permitted to make (mint) coins in the United Kingdom. ...Royal Mint in London — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major world city. With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. ...London. In 1938 on the introduction of the The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ...Constitution of Ireland the obverse of the coins was modified with the new states' name " Map of Éire Éire (pronounced AIR uh, in the Irish language, translated as Ireland) is the name given in Article 4 of the 1937 Irish constitution to the 26_county Irish state, created under the 1921 Anglo_Irish Treaty, which was known between 1922 and 1937 as the Irish Free...Éire" and the harp was also modified so that it wore better. The Central Bank Act, 1942 Section 58 (http://193.178.1.79/ZZA22Y1942S58.html) allowed pure This article is about the element nickel. ...nickel to be substituted with a Cupronickel is an alloy of copper, nickel and stengthening impurities. ...cupro_nickel An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resultant material has metallic properties. ...alloy. The designation of the state as the " The Republic of Ireland ( Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is the official description of an independent state which covers approximately five_sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of north_west Europe. ...Republic of Ireland" did not have any effect on the name on coins issued after See also: 1947 in Ireland, 1949 in Ireland and the list of years in Ireland. Events January 8 _ The Council of State meets for the first time when President Douglas Hyde test the constitutionality of the Offences Against the State Bill. ...1948. The Coinage Act, 1950 (http://193.178.1.79/1950-32.html) changed the law on coinage principally with the removal of silver from coins then in existence. The final piece of primary legislation for predecimal coins was the Coinage (Amendment) Act, 1966 (http://193.178.1.79/1966-5.html) which allowed for a ten shilling coin to be minted and circulated.

Decimal coins

Decimalisation of currency was actively done and discussed in the 1960s and Ireland was no exception, however chief among the The Government (Irish: Rialtas) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in the Republic of Ireland. ...Irish Governments concern was the The pound sterling, which strictly speaking refers to basic currency unit of sterling, now the pound, can generally refer to the currency of the United Kingdom (UK). ...Pound Sterling which remained tied to the Irish currency. When the British Government decided to Decimalization refers to any process of converting from traditional units, usually of money, to a decimal system. ...decimalise their currency the Irish Government followed suit. The legislative basis for decimalisation in the republic was the Decimal Currency Act, 1969 (http://193.178.1.79/1969-23.html); the Decimal Currency Act, 1970 (http://193.178.1.79/1970-21.html) which made additional provisions for the changeover not related with the issue of coins.

The ten pence piece featured a salmon, as the florin had previously. The redesigned smaller 10p of the Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM...1990s is shown on the right.

Decimalisation was overseen by the Irish Decimal Currency Board which was created on June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ...June 12, 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...1968, it provided a variety of changover information including a phamphet called "Everyone's Guide to Decimal Currency". The new decimal coins issued for On February 15, 1971, variously known as Decimal Day, Decimalisation Day and D_Day, the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their historical currencies. ...Decimal Day required three new designs; these were completed in Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ...bronze, by the Irish can refer to multiple things: Things relating to Ireland or its culture, see also List of Ireland_related topics. ...Irish artist Gabriel Hayes and based upon various A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ...manuscript designs of ornamental birds with a This article is about the European people. ...Celtic knotwork theme. The designs of Percy Metcalfe were retained for the new five and ten pence been from the shilling and florin respectivly. The design of the new fifty pence retained the image of the farthing, which was not of the same value. The design selection was low key and the designs themselves were quite simple using only figures and symbols to indicate the value; this left some ambuiguity as to weither "P" on the coins meant "penny" or "pingin", the latter been the Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...Irish word for penny. Notwithstanding this the legislative basis for coins in the republic has always used English words irrespective of final design mints.

In the 1970s _ Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...1970s the European Monetary System (EMS) was an arrangement established in 1979 where most nations of the European Union (EU) linked their currencies to prevent large fluctuations relative to one another. ...European Monetary System was introduced and the republic decided to join. The The European exchange rate mechanism (or ERM) was a system introduced by the European Community in March 1979, as part of the European Monetary System (EMS), to reduce exchange_rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe, in preparation for Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of a single...European Exchange Rate Mechanism finally broke the one_for_one link that existed between the Irish pound and the Pound Sterling; by March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ...March 30, 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ...1979 the Parity is a concept of equality of status or functional equivalence. ...parity link between the two currencies that existed for over 150 years was broken and an In finance, the exchange rate between two currencies specifies how much one currency is worth in terms of the other. ...exchange rate was introduced. By this time Irish exports to the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the British Commonwealth and European Union. ...United Kingdom (UK) were 50%, whilst imports were 47%; the Irish economy had diverged greatly since the introduction of the currency in 1928 and was less dependent on trade with the UK. Until this exchange rate was neccessary UK currency was accepted, in the republic, on a one_for_one basis by many institutions.

The rising expense in minting coins necessitated the introduction of the twenty pence coin in 1986, the halpenny pence coin was also withdrawn at this time as Inflation rates of five core members of the G8 from 1950 to 1994. ...inflation greatly reduced its buying power. The introduction of the A IR£1 coin, featuring the Irish red deer. ...Irish pound 1¢ euro coin A coin is generally a piece of hard material, generally metal and usually in the shape of a disc, which is used as a form of money. ...coin required the Decimal Currency Act, 1990 (http://193.178.1.79/1990-2.html) and this law provided for certain other matters including the issue of The European Currency Unit (₠; ECU) was a basket of the currencies of the European Community member states, used as the unit of account of the European Community, before being replaced by the euro. ...European Currency Unit (ECU) coins which were specifically stated not to be Legal tender is payment that cannot be refused in settlement of a debt. ...legal tender in the legislation, instead intended as See also: Collector, New South Wales a town This is a list of noted collectors. ...collectors items. These ECU coins were issued in 50 ECU, 10 ECU and 5 ECU, which were issued in General Name, Symbol, Number Gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 (IB), 6, d Density, Hardness 19300 kg/m3, 2. ...gold, General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series Transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5 , d Density, Hardness 10490 kg/m3, 2. ...silver and silver respectively. These coins used the Irish red deer as on the Irish pound coin with a mountain relief in the background and other notable differences such as the The Council of Europe (COE) has developed a series of European symbols for the continent of Europe, and these have since been shared with the European Union (EU). ...12 stars of the European Flag surrounding the Harp is also a slang term for the diatonic harmonica. ...harp somewhat similar to the The euro (EUR or €) is the common currency for 12 member states of the European Union, including Ireland. ...Irish euro coins.

The coins issued under the Decimal Currency Acts were finally "called in" in 2002 by the Irish Pound Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 2001 (http://193.178.1.79/ZZSI348Y2001.html) which revoked an earlier similar order; the date was set for February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...February 10, 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2002.

This display shows the Irish coins in circulation before the Euro changeover in 2002, with a 1988 Dublin commemorative 50 pence in place of the usual issue.

The euro

The obverse of an Irish €2 coin, showing the harp.

Main article: The euro (EUR or €) is the common currency for 12 member states of the European Union, including Ireland. ...Irish euro coins

The introduction of the Euro (disambiguation). ...euro was overseen by the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland which was a special agency created on May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ...May 5, 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...1998 by the Minister for Finance; this agency provided a wide variety of information including converters, training packs, images and public advertisements on a wide range of media to ensure a successful transfer. As with all The Eurozone (also called Euro_area or Euroland) is the subset of European Union member states which have adopted the Euro (€) currency, creating a currency union. ...eurozone countries, Ireland continued to mint her own coins after the currency changeover to the euro. One side of euro coins is common across the eurozone, it is the obverse which has a design unique to Ireland. Although some other countries used more than one design, or even a separate design for each of the seven coins (1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1 and €2), Ireland used only one design. A redesigned harp (superficially identical to that used on earlier coins) was used, having been designed by Jarlath Hayes. Some other eurozone members have unique lettering around the €2 coin. The edge on Irish €2 coins merely has the sequence "", repeated three times.

The first collectors' commemorative coin issued since the changeover was a €10 silver coin, to mark the accession of the ten new The European Union or EU is an intergovernmental organisation of European countries, which currently has 25 member states. ...European Union member states on May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ...1 May 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2004. One side depicts a swan sitting on ten eggs, with the reverse depicting the harp and the names of all ten members in their native language.

No commemorative Irish euro coins have been issued for general circulation, 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...as of 2005, but as all eurozone members are now permitted to issue commemorative €2 coins from time to time, this may change in the future.

Retrospect

Both decimal day and the euro changeover lead many in Irish society to believe that prices had been improperly risen by traders taking advantage of the confusion, exchange rates notwithstanding, in the case of the euro the government took special measures to prevent any unneccessary price changes.

See also

• The Great Seal of the Irish Free State (Irish: Séala Mor do Shaorstát Eireann) was the Great Seal which replaced the Great Seal of the Realm used to seal official documents of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann). ...Great Seal of the Irish Free State
• Official Seal of the President of Ireland

References and further reading

"Coinage of Saorstát Éireann", William Butler Yeats, The Stationery Office, Dublin, 1928.

"The Irish Coinage Designs", Thomas Bodkin DLitt, Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, November 30th, 1928.

External links

• Central Bank - Notes and Coins (http://www.centralbank.ie/frame_main.asp?pg=ncn_comm.asp&nv=ncn_nav.asp)
• Coins From Ireland (http://www.geocities.com/eirecoins/)