Ireland ½ penny 1805 - George III - Crowned harp

The coin's story

This coin dates from the first years of the union between Ireland and Great Britain, brought about by the Act of Union of 1801. Ireland nevertheless kept its own currency, the Irish pound, until 1826, hence the Latin name HIBERNIA (Ireland) on the reverse. The coin was struck at the Soho Manufactory, near Birmingham, founded by the industrialist Matthew Boulton, who used steam-powered presses. These machines allowed a regular striking, much harder to counterfeit than the old copper coins, very often imitated. The engraver Conrad Heinrich Küchler, whose initial K appears below the bust, designed both sides. After 1805, no official copper coin was struck for Ireland until 1822, which explains the proliferation of private tokens in the following years.