Ireland 1949 penny
This specimen was lot 76351 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $216. The catalog description[1] noted, "IRELAND. Penny, 1949. London Mint. PCGS MS-65 Red Brown." After winning independence from Great Britain after World War One, Ireland went thru a civil war before settling on a free state completely separate from Britain. The first coinage of the new country was in 1928; in 1939, the obverse legend was revised from "SAORSTAT EIREANN" to plain "EIRE", which title still obtains. This date is common tho the proofs are rare. The type was struck 1940-43, 1946-52 and 1962-68.
Recorded mintage: 4,080,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 9.45 g, bronze, 30.9 mm diameter, designed by Percy Metcalfe.
Catalog reference: S-6643; KM-11.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, including Selections from the Richard Margolis Collection and Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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