Medieval Irish Hammered Farthings - Edward I: Dublin mint

This online guide is designed to help

• Metal Detector enthusiasts
• Museum Curators
• Coin Dealers & Collectors

accurately identify and classify their Irish Hammered Farthings.

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Overview:

The medieval hammered silver farthings of Ireland were, from a strictly monetary perspective, the coinage of the English overlords in their Irish possessions.

These coins were produced from Irish silver and were the only recognised instruments of paying taxes to the English. These coins were neither intended for, nor used as, coinage for commonplace financial transactions. The "game" was that the Irish would have to exchange their goods or currency for English silver to pay taxes. There was a transaction fee to make the conversion - so not only did the Irish have to pay taxes to the English, but they also got charged for the pleasure of doing it!

Stylistically these coins had the same style of reverse as their English equivalent (i.e. a long cross with three pellets in each quadrant and the mint name around the outer edge). But the obverse was notably different with the inner circle that surrounded the English farthings replaced by a triangle that framed the kings' head and divided the legend.

The "Early Issue" Edward I Irish farthings appear to have been struck from dies produced in London. It is likely the the "Late Issue" farthings were struck from the dies ordered for Ireland from William de Wymundham between 1292 and 1295 (ref. BNJ 46 (1976), pp 46-47) though Withers puts the issue date at 1297-1302.

Mintages:

RHM Dolley suggested that between c.1280 and c.1285 there was approximately £40,000 of silver minted into Pennies, Halfpennies and Farthings at Edward I's Irish mints. He breaks this down further into £24,000 minted at Dublin and £16,000 at Waterford.

Between c.1294 and 1302 no more than £10,000 of was silver minted in Ireland. Dolley calculates that £8,500 was minted at Dublin and a mere £250 at Waterford.

This total of £50,000 compares with approximately £1,400,000 struck during the same period at the English mints.

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Date: 1280-1284
Mint: Dublin
Type: First/Early Issue - Type I

Diameter: 10-11mm
Weight: 0.36g

Obverse: ERA NG LIE

Legend around the outside of a triangular frame which encloses the kings' head. Tall trifoliate crown. Oval face with pellet eyes and bushy hair of three strands. No neck with triangular drapery. Open C & E, composite S, large A, wedge tailed R, incurved uprights to the I's and N's.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  DF.70   W-VI.1a
Scarcity: Scarce

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £175 (Very Fine)

Sold by:

• (May '05) A fine example of this coin was sold by C. Chandler for £70.

Two examples of this coin are listed in the SCBI 10, "Anglo-Irish Coins in the Ulster Museum":

• (573) Grainger [donated to the Ulster Museum in 1891]
• (574) Seaby [1964]

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Date: 1280-1284
Mint: Dublin
Type: First/Early Issue - Type I

Diameter: 10-11mm
Weight: 0.36g

Obverse: ERA (triangle)NG LIE

Legend around the outside of a triangular frame which encloses the kings' head. Tall trifoliate crown. Oval face with pellet eyes and bushy hair of three strands. No neck with triangular drapery. Open C & E, composite S, large A, wedge tailed R, incurved uprights to the I's and N's.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  W-VI.1b
Scarcity: Very Rare

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £175 (Very Fine)

Sold by:

• The example shown above could be Type 1b (with a triangle followed by NG on the obverse legend) or Type 1d (with ANG on the obverse legend) - the condition of the coin makes positive identification impossible.

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Date: 1280-1284
Mint: Dublin
Type: First/Early Issue - Type I

Diameter: 10-11mm
Weight: 0.36g

Obverse: ERA N·G LIE

Legend around the outside of a triangular frame which encloses the kings' head. Tall trifoliate crown. Oval face with pellet eyes and bushy hair of three strands. No neck with triangular drapery. Open C & E, composite S, large A, wedge tailed R, incurved uprights to the I's and N's.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  W-VI.1c
Scarcity: Very Rare

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £175 (Very Fine)

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Date: 1280-1284
Mint: Dublin
Type: First/Early Issue - Type I

Diameter: 10-11mm
Weight: 0.36g

Obverse: ER ANG LIE

Legend around the outside of a triangular frame which encloses the kings' head. Tall trifoliate crown. Oval face with pellet eyes and bushy hair of three strands. No neck with triangular drapery. Open C & E, composite S, large A, wedge tailed R, incurved uprights to the I's and N's.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  W-VI.1d
Scarcity: Very Rare

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £175 (Very Fine)

Note:

• The same obverse die was used on both the examples seen.

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Date: 1280-1284
Mint: Dublin
Type: First/Early Issue - Type I

Diameter: 10-11mm
Weight: 0.36g

Obverse: ERA NG LIE

Legend around the outside of a triangular frame which encloses the kings' head. Tall trifoliate crown. Oval face with pellet eyes and bushy hair of three strands. No neck with triangular drapery. Open C & E, composite S, large A, SCROLL tailed R, incurved uprights to the I's and N's.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  W-VI.1e
Scarcity: Extremely Rare

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £175 (Very Fine)

Note:

• Patrick Finn noted in his May 1999 List of Coins: " The earliest of Edward's Irish farthings, a previously unrecorded variety... of greatest interest and the highest rarity. I am grateful for Jeffrey North's comments on this piece and in particular for pointing out that he had not noted the scroll-tailed R on a farthing before, it is always the wedge-tailed form."

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Date: 1280-1284
Mint: Dublin
Type: First/Early Issue - Type I

Diameter: 10-11mm
Weight: 0.35g

Obverse: ERA NG LIE

As Type 1e (above) with a SCROLL tailed R - but on the reverse there is a pellet before the T in TAS.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  Unrecorded
Scarcity: Currently Unique

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £175 (Very Fine)

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02odublin-357-.jpg

Date: 1297-1302
Mint: Dublin
Type: Second/Late Issue - Type 2

Diameter: 11mm
Weight: 0.33g

Obverse: ERA N G LIE

Legend around the outside of a triangular frame which encloses the kings' head. Very wide trifoliate crown. Small face with flatter string-like hair. Long neck with V-shaped drapery. Closed C & E, continuous S, squat A, curved tailed R, straight uprights with serifs to the I's and N's.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  W-VI.2
Scarcity: Very Rare

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £180 (Very Fine)

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Date: 1297-1302
Mint: Dublin
Type: Second/Late Issue - Type 3

Diameter: 11mm
Weight: 0.33g

Obverse: ERA N G LIE

Legend around the outside of a triangular frame which encloses the kings' head. Very wide trifoliate crown as Type 2. Small face with flatter string-like hair. Long neck with V-shaped drapery. Closed C & E, continuous S, squat A, curved tailed R, straight uprights with serifs to the I's and N's. Pellet below bust.

Reverse: CIVI TAS DVBL INIE

Long-cross with three pellets in each quarter.

Reference(s):
  S.6267
  W-VI.3
Scarcity: Very Rare

Guide Price:
  £70 (Fine)
  £180 (Very Fine)

Note:

• This coin was recorded in the British Numismatic Journal 46 (1976), pp.46-47, and SNC Vol. C, No. 9, (Nov. 1992), pp. 305.