Ireland 1 penny token 1820 - George III - Crowned harp

The coin's story

This penny is not an official coin but an emergency token. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Great Britain and Ireland were sorely short of copper small change: the State had almost stopped striking it, and merchants, industrialists and banks issued their own tokens to pay wages and give change. This one takes on the appearance of a royal coin, with the laureate bust of George III and the crowned harp, symbol of Ireland. It is said to have been struck in Dublin, the design is sometimes attributed to the engraver Conrad Heinrich Küchler, known for his work at Matthew Boulton's Soho Manufactory, but the attribution remains uncertain. The date 1820 is late for this kind of token. It is also the year of George III's death, in January. These tokens are genuine and uncommon.