Irish Coinage
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Decimal Catalogue

Catalog of Irish Coin Prices

Irish Decimal Coins 1969 - 2000

Index

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© 2002 - Copyright
John_Stafford-Langan
Version 1.11a
8 June, 2003

The 1971 coins are generally common as are the 2000 coins. The years in between are generally available but some of the later 1970s and early 1980s dates are difficulto to obtain in brilliant uncirculated condition.

There are two extreme rarities in the series :

• The 1985 trial production 20p
• The 1985 1/2 penny

Note : Except for the extreme rarities the decimal coins are generally only of value in Brilliant Uncirculated condition - In US terms that means about MS63 or better. The bronze coins are of little value in Brown Uncirculated condition.

* The Central Bank records show 2.784 million halfpennies minted in 1985. I am aware of 4 specimens in collections and I am reasonably certain that more do exist.

** In 1986 the Central Bank produced a specimen set of normally struck uncirculated coins (often incorrectly referred to as proofs) to coincide with the introduction of the 20 pence coin. As not all denominations were required in circulation quantities the halfpenny, the 10 pence and the 50 pence were only minted in small quantities to facilitate the production of these sets. These denominations and the sets containing them are consequently scarce. Many of the 1986 sets sold into the Irish tourist industry for sale to visitors looking for souvenirs before the local collecting community was aware of their existence - consequently many turn up in the US and Europe.

*** In 1985 prior to the introduction of the new twenty pence piece in 1986 a quantity of coins dated 1985 were struck for testing. Some of these coins escaped being melted down and are in private hands.

1990 Proof Pound Coin
 

**** The normal edge for these coins is a milled edge with an an engrailed pattern which is added after the milling. Coins exist without fully engrailed edges for all years. Most of these have two small groves in the milling at two opposite points where the engrailing machinery started but failed to complete. The normal engrailing also shows its two start points quite clearly as short plain sections within the engrailing.

Pieces without fully engrailed edges command a significant premium over normal coins. These coins are not particularly rare, but uncirculated specimens are difficult to obtain.
 

Decimal Sets

The decimal coins were produced from 1969 onwards - the coins were dated no earlier than their introduction date so the all the bronze coins were dated 1971 even though many were produced in 1969 and 1970. The 5p and 10p were introduced in 1969 and dated that year. The 50p was introduced in 1970 so the 1969 production were all dated 1970.

Introductory sets were available from mid 1969 - these sets in a green card folder are easily identified as pre introduction sets because the wording on the back page begins "Ireland will change to decimal ..." despite this these folders were used until at least 1975. The coins are inserted in holes cut in the card and a plastic slip covers both sides - the sets is easily opened and many now have bronze coins with tarnish from being handled.

In 1971 a set of polished specimen coins was issued - these are sealed in a plastic slip and in a green plastic wallet - these sets were available from the Central Bank of Ireland until late 1999 - at their original issue price of £3.50.

In 1978 a card similar to the pre-introductory sets was used but with a new black design - these cards like the preceeding ones were apparently used with whatever coins were available :- usually 1978 or 1982 complete sets - but I have seen several with some 1979 coins and usually in these cases the halfpenny is a 1971 example - however this may be a result of someone replacing tarnished coins with better examples and it is not possible to be sure what combinations of dates were originally issued - except for the 1978 and 1982 sets.

The 1986 set was a departure in that the set is sealed so the coins cannot be readily removed - unfortunately the glue used tends to remain sticky and many sets have been impaired by glue leaking out of either the top or the botton of the folder.

The 1996 and 1998 sets are similarly sealed but a slipcase was added and the glue does not seem to leak in the same way. The plastic insert which hold the coins is often poorly produced and sometimes has holes or flaws. There was little or no attention paid to the quality of the coins used so some of these sets contain coins with heavy bagmarking or scratches.

The millennium set contained only 7 of the 8 2000 coins - for some reason the Central Bank of Ireland decided to produce pound coins of both the regular design and a special millennium design but not to include both pounds in the sets. These millennium sets sold out very quickly as did all the outstanding stocks of 1996 and 1998 sets early in 2000.