Irish Pound - First Pound

First Pound

The earliest Irish coinage was introduced in 997 with the pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. After a period of debasement, equivalence to sterling was reestablished in the 1180s. However, from 1460, issues were made with different metal contents to those of England and the values of the two currencies diverged. During the Civil War, 1689–1691, James II issued an emergency, base-metal coinage known as gun money.

In 1701, the relationship between the Irish pound and sterling was fixed at 13 Irish pounds = 12 pounds sterling. This led to a situation where Irish copper coins circulated with British silver coins, since 13 pence Irish = 1 British shilling. The only 19th century exceptions were silver tokens denominated in pence Irish issued by the Bank of Ireland between 1804 and 1813. The last Irish copper pennies and halfpennies were minted in 1823. The distinct Irish pound existed until January 1826 when it was replaced by British currency. Irish banks continued to issue paper money denominated in sterling after 1826 but no further distinct coins were issued.