Our Own Coinage
The Political and Legal Background to The Coinage of Ireland 1926 – 2002
Written by NSI member Edward Colgan this important book brings together many years of research and study which embrace the records of the Houses of the Oireachtas, holdings of the National Museum of Ireland, the Archives of the Central Bank of Ireland, holdings of the Royal Mint, and image libraries of leading auctioneers and other numismatists. Permissions have been granted by them to publish images some of which have never been published previously.
Our Own Coinage traces the story in fourteen chapters of how the coinage of Ireland evolved from the highly acclaimed and now fondly remembered 1928 set of silver, nickel and bronze coins of Saorstát Éireann through the coins of Éire and the Éire Decimal series to the Euro coins of 2002. The early chapters bring insights to the debates in the Houses of the Oireachtas, to the work of W B Yeats’ Committee and to the engagement of Percy Metcalfe when designing and modelling the first coins. The middle chapters explain the change to cupro-nickel and a new design. These chapters also explain the change to decimal. The final chapters are concerned with the introduction of the Euro series.
The fourteen chapters are fully illustrated with high quality images and explain the background to the coins that are in Irish collectors’ trays. They also tells the story of coins that were planned but never came to production. For some proposals they illustrate plaster models and other designs that were never used. The background to commemorative coins and principal varieties is also explained.
It is one hundred years since the Irish Government commenced the process in 1926 of having our own coinage and Edward Colgan’s work is the first time that the story of the coins of Ireland have been published as a comprehensive account in book form. Our Own Coinage is the third title in the Numismatic Society of Ireland book series and is a full companion to the first two – Irish Tavern Tokens and Gunmoney. It is an essential volume for the Irish numismatics library.
Irish Tavern Tokens
John Sweeney Collection
Supplemented by other collections
The Numismatic Society of Ireland worked with Fr. Gerry Rice to publish a full colour and hardback edition of Irish Tavern Tokens. This publication is the result of many years research based on the John Sweeney Collection of Irish Tavern Tokens which has been supplemented by tokens from other collections. The result is the most comprehensive publication of Irish tavern tokens to date and it brings new dimensions to the study of this branch of numismatics. The 2017 hardback edition includes a First Supplement with text and illustrations by Garry Byrne. Following its softback publication in 2013 the book has become the definitive source for these tokens and is cited by leading auction houses and researchers. Irish Tavern Tokens
Irish Tavern Tokens is written for numismatists, be they collectors or students of the subject, and it illustrates 350 examples from a catalogue of over 400 Irish tavern tokens. Most were struck by the company controlled by John Craig Parkes at the Coombe in Dublin. Individual tokens are fully described and are cross-referenced to other popular tavern token catalogues. When known, the provenance of an individual token is listed. Each piece, including the issuing proprietor, has been carefully researched and recorded and where a ‘social context’ is understood, that too is included, making the finished volume a comprehensive commentary on the licensed trade as evidenced by the tavern tokens of post-famine Dublin. For easy reference the book includes an index of types, an index of places and an index of issuers.
A feature of the book publications of NSI is to be named as a subscriber in each book. Those who avail of this pre-publication feature can opt to be named in the List of Subscribers which will be printed in the book. This is an old tradition often used for specialist publications and since its introduction many collectors have enjoyed the provenance that such a listing gives to their copy.
Gunmoney
The emergency coinage of 1689-1691 for the Irish campaign of James II
Written by NSI member Philip Timmins this important book brings together the years of his study of this uniquely Irish coinage. Gunmoney is a scholarly publication written for collectors, dealers and students of Irish numismatics. Every denomination that was struck is listed as is every variety, and the book is extensively illustrated. Some varieties have never been published before.
The book is set out month by month, each of which begins with an account of the state of the warring kings’ campaigns. For each month this is followed by details of Gunmoney production matters at the striking mints and its acceptance and use throughout Ireland are clarified. The accounts of the state of the campaigns build to a general history of the Irish campaign of James II and at the same time they provide the numismatist with a context for striking Gunmoney. Coin sheets follow these war diary accounts and the coin sheets fully describe and illustrate all of the denominations struck in that month. A table of varieties sets out weight, edge type, orientation, reference number, diameter, denomination, month date, rarity and includes remarks about metal used, errors, and details of off-metal or restrike coins. Gunmoney was struck at mints in Dublin and Limerick and varieties struck at each mint are identified. There are sections on the white metal coinage and on the Hibernia coins of Limerick. This is an important book about Irish numismatics and it comprehensively addresses the Gunmoney series in a way never done before. For easy reference the book includes a comprehensive index.
