Ireland 1694 1/2 penny
This specimen was lot 2478 in Goldberg sale 110 (Los Angeles, June 2019), where it sold for $348. The catalog description[1] noted, "Ireland. Halfpenny, 1694. William and Mary, 1689-1694. Obverse: Conjoined busts of joint monarchs. Reverse: Crowned Irish harp. Practically as made for this crudely produced issue. Outstanding detail on the portraits. Cracked out from XF Details - Corrosion holder. From the Hablyn sale Dec 8th 1906." After James II was deposed as king of Great Britain in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, he fled to France. He landed in Ireland in early 1689 to raise the flag of revolt on behalf of the Catholic population. James was defeated and forced to return to France while the Irish suffered devastation and land confiscations. William III allowed the gun money coinage to continue to circulate as pennies, half pennies and farthings. This type was struck 1692-94 after the rebellion had been crushed.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.7 g, copper, 25 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: S.6597, KM 109.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of the Coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands & Isle of Man, London: Coincraft, 1999.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Man & Lundy), Pre-Decimal Issues, 2nd edition, London: Spink & Son, 2003.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, John Lavender, Yifu Che, Jason Villareal and Stephen Harvey, Goldberg Sale 110: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2019.
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