Half crown (Irish coin)

IrishCoinInfobox
EN-NAME = Half-Crown
GA-NAME = Leath Choróin



DESIGN = Horse

The half-crown coin was a pre-decimal coin worth ¹/₈ of an Irish pound. The coin featured the Irish hunter, a breed of horse; the original minting of the coin from 1928 until 1943 contained 75% silver, a higher content than the equivalent British coin. It is believed that this was done so that the new currency would not be seen as a poor substitute to the British currency which circulated alongside.Fact|date=October 2007 The silver coins are quite distinguishable as they have a more "whitish" look than the later cupronickel variety that were minted from 1951; also, the silver coins wear less well. The cupronickel coin was of 75% copper and 25% nickel content.

The design of the coin, by Percy Metcalf, was later featured in the twenty pence coin issued in 1986. The diameter of the half-crown coin was 1.275 inches (32.4 mm) and its weight was 14.1 grams.

The coin was commonly called a "two and six", due to its value of two shillings and sixpence (indicated on the coin itself as "2^s6^d").

The last half-crowns were produced in 1967 and withdrawn two years later on January 1 1970.

External links

* [http://www.irishcoinage.com/MODCAT.HTM#modhcr Irish Coinage website - catalogue - halfcrown. ]

* [http://193.178.1.79/ZZSI113Y1969.html Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 1969]