The half crown (2s 6d) ( ga, leath choróin) coin was a subdivision of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth of a pound. The half crown was commonly called "two and six" due to its value of two shillings and sixpence (indicated on the coin itself as '2s 6d'). The original minting of the coin from 1928 to 1943 contained 75%

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

, a higher content than the equivalent British coin. The silver coins were quite distinguishable as they had a whiter appearance than the later

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...

variety minted from 1951. The silver coins wore less well. The subsequent cupronickel coin was 75%

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and 25%

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

. The coin measured in diameter and weighed 14.1 grams. The reverse design of the coin, by

Percy Metcalfe Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI (14 January 1895 Wakefield – 9 October 1970 Fulham Hospital, Hammersmith, London), (often spelled ''Metcalf'' without "e") was an English artist, sculptor and designer. He is recognised mostly for his coin designs a ...

featured an Irish Hunter, a breed of horse. This design was used later for the twenty pence coin issued in 1986. The obverse featured the

Irish harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring grea ...

. From 1928 to 1937 the date was split either side of the harp with the name '' Saorstát Éireann'' circling around. From 1938 to 1967 the inscription changed to ''

Éire () is Irish for "Ireland", the name of both an island in the North Atlantic and the sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland which governs 84% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinct from Northern Ireland, which covers the remaind ...

'' on the left of the harp and the date on the right. The last half crowns were produced in 1967 and the coin was withdrawn from circulation on 1 January 1970. The horse design was reused on the decimal 20p coin introduced in 1986.

References

External links

Coinage Act, 1926Irish Coinage website - catalogue - halfcrown
{{Irish currency and coinage half-crown coin Crown (currency)

See also

References

External links