Ireland 1 penny 1822 - George IV - Crowned harp

Ireland · 1822 · 1 penny

Circulating coinCommonVF · Very fine

€23.00estimate in VF

N13576 KM151 Sp6623

JSReference number JSJS-AQ3HB

Circulating coin

Penny of George IV for Ireland, the last Irish coinage before monetary union (1822-1823)

The coin's story

This penny belongs to the very last series of coins specific to Ireland under the British Crown. After 1805, no official copper coin had been struck for Ireland, and the country had had to make do with private tokens. The new King George IV, who came to the throne in 1820 and made an official visit to Ireland in 1821, then had pennies and halfpennies struck dated 1822 and 1823. They would be the last: in 1826, the Irish pound was merged with the pound sterling, and Ireland would have no currency of its own until the creation of the Free State in 1928, with Percy Metcalfe's animal series. The reverse keeps the crowned harp and the Latin name HIBERNIA (Ireland).

ObverseThe Bust of George IV

GEORGIUS IV D:G:REX.

Design: The laureate head of the King to the left, the ribbon of the laurel wreath tied at the nape, within a toothed border.
Legend: GEORGIUS IV D:G:REX. (George IV, King by the grace of God).

WWDesigned by Benedetto Pistrucci · engraved by William Wyon

ReverseThe Crowned Harp

HIBERNIA. 1822

Design: An ornamental harp with a winged female head, surmounted by the royal crown, within a toothed border.
Legend: HIBERNIA. (Ireland, in Latin).
Date: 1822.

WWEngraved by William Wyon