Ireland 1967 1/2 penny
This specimen was lot 45127 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $18. The catalog description[1] noted, "IRELAND. 1/2 Pence, 1967. NGC MS-64 Red. A near-Gem coin, shimmering with full luster and ablaze with mint red surfaces." 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 type, struck 1940-68, features a sow and piglets on the reverse, celebrating Irish agriculture. This date is common in all grades. Altho this example realized six times the catalog value, the price obtained did not cover the cost of having the coin graded.
Recorded mintage: 1,200,000.
Specification: 5.67 g, bronze, 25.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-10.
- 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, The August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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