The one pound (£1) ( ga, punt) coin, worth one

Irish pound The pound ( Irish: ) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or IR£ for distinction). The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin ci ...

, was used in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

from 20 June 1990 until the formal adoption of

euro currency 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 ...

in 2002. The last issue was minted in 2000. The coin was the largest Irish coin since decimalisation: its diameter was and it weighed . The coin was almost identical in dimensions to the old penny coin that circulated until 1971, and was similar in diameter to, but thinner than, the half-crown coin. The edge was milled, and a dotted line ran along the edge of each face. Unlike some previous Irish coins, it was very different from its British equivalent, as the Irish pound separated from the British pound in 1979. The design on the reverse was of a

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

, by Irish artist Tom Ryan, based on photographs taken by Sean Ryan''The Wild Red Deer of Killarney'', Sean Ryan, of that species from the Irish national deer herd in

Killarney National Park Killarney National Park ( ga, Páirc Náisiúnta Chill Airne), near the town of Killarney, County Kerry, was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932. The park has sinc ...

. On 29 November 1999 a £1 coin was issued to commemorate the new millennium. The design on the reverse was based on the " Broighter Boat" in the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thr ...

. Alan Ardiff and Garrett Stokes designed the coin. During the early circulation of the coin, many

payphone A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic outdoor areas, with prepayment by inserting money (usually coins) or by billing a credit or debi ...

s and

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fi ...

s which had been changed to accept the £1 coin also accepted the old penny, which was no longer legal tender and of little value to collectors. As a result, vending machine operators lost money, and they incurred further costs to alter the machines so as not to accept the pennies. Further, coins dated 1999 (produced by the Royal Mint of the United Kingdom and not the Central Bank of Ireland) were rejected by many vending machines (including parking meters in Dublin) as they were lighter than the standard coins, having been produced from a different alloy.

References

External links

Irish coinage website – catalogue – pound coin

{{Irish currency and coinage one pound coin One-base-unit coins