The ten shilling (10s) ( ga, deich scilling) coin was a one-off

commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...

issued in Ireland in 1966 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Ten shillings was a subdivision of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth of an Irish pound, making this the highest-value coin in the pre-decimal system. The coin was 83.1/3% silver and 16.2/3% copper. It measured in diameter and weighed 18.144

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

s, therefore containing of silver. The coin did not prove popular, and 1,270,000 of the two million produced were withdrawn and melted down. This unpopularity may be due to the ten shilling Series A Banknote which was then in circulation. Twenty thousand coins were issued as proofs in green boxes. The reverse design featured the death of

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god L ...

, the mythical Irish hero, who is seen tied to a stone and with a raven on his shoulder. The figure of Cú Chulainn is a miniature of the statue by

Oliver Sheppard Oliver Sheppard (10 April 1865 – 14 September 1941) was an Irish sculptor, most famous for his 1911 bronze statue of the mythical Cuchullain dying in battle. His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics and the ...

, in the General Post Office,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. The coin was produced for the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising and commenced circulation on 12 April 1966 and was designed by

Thomas Humphrey Paget Thomas Humphrey Paget OBE (13 August 1893 – 30 April 1974) was an English medal and coin designer and modeller. Paget's designs are indicated by the initials 'HP'. Paget was first approached by the Royal Mint in 1936 after the accession of ...

. The ten shilling is the only Irish coin to feature an inscription on edge until the

Irish euro coins Irish euro coins all share the same design by Jarlath Hayes, that of the harp, a traditional symbol for Ireland since the Middle Ages, based on that of the Brian Boru harp, housed in Trinity College Dublin. The same harp is used as on the off ...

, this is "Éirí Amach na Cásca 1916", which translates as "

1916 Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the ...

"; the inscription was in

Gaelic type Gaelic type (sometimes called Irish character, Irish type, or Gaelic script) is a family of Insular script typefaces devised for printing Classical Gaelic. It was widely used from the 16th until the mid-18th century (Scotland) or the mid-20th ...

on a plain edge. Approximately half of the inscriptions were inverted, making them no scarcer than the upright type. The coin is also unique in being the only modern circulated Irish coin (before the introduction of Euro) not to feature the harp on the obverse side, instead featuring the portrait of

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

the revolutionary, further making it unique among Irish coinage in that it is the sole coin to feature the image of anyone associated with Irish history or politics, apart from

monarchs A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in ...

. This coin is the first Irish commemorative coin issued by the Irish state, first Irish modern coin to feature a person, and the first official coin to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising. Also interesting, the thickness of this coin is uneven, the edge of the coin being thicker than the centre.

Brendan Corish Brendan Corish (19 November 1918 – 17 February 1990) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Minister for Health from 1973 to 1977, Leader of the Labour Party, Minister for Social Welfare from 1954 to 1957 and from ...

requested that the names of all seven signatories appear on the coin, but this was "not feasible."''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' (Friday, January 28, 1966) This coin was ''officially'' removed from circulation from 10 February 2002, at the time of the conversion to the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. While it had not been in general circulation in any quantities since 1966, the coin would have survived Decimal Day, being fifty new pence in value.

References

External links

Coinage (Amendment) Act, 1966
* ttp://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/si/0311.html Irish Pound Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 2001br>Irish Coinage website - catalogue - 10 shillings
{{Irish currency and coinage ten shilling coin

See also

References

External links