Coins of Ireland - Hiberno-Norse Coins

Hiberno-Norse Coins

Hiberno-Norse coins were first produced in Dublin in about 997 AD under the authority of King Sitric Silkbeard. The first coins were local copies of the issues of Aethelred II of England of England, and as the Anglo-Saxon coinage of the period changed its design every six years, the coinage of Sitric followed this pattern.

Following the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 AD the Hiberno-Norse coinage ceased following this pattern and reverted to one of its earlier designs—the so-called 'long cross' type. Coins of this general design (with occasional new designs incorporated briefly from other English and European issues) were struck in decreasing quality over a period of more than 100 years. By the end of the series the coins had become illegible and debased, and were too thin to serve for practical commerce.

All the coins produced were the penny denomination. They were initially produced at the penny standard (i.e. one pennyweight or 1/240th of a pound of silver) but the later pieces are both debased and lightweight.