Ireland 2 shillings (florin) 1930

The coin's story

This florin in 750 thousandths silver, worth 2 shillings, belongs to the first series of the Irish Free State, struck from 1928 to 1937. Created in 1922, the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) issued its first coins on 12 December 1928. A committee chaired by the poet W. B. Yeats chose animals important to the country's agricultural economy, and the design competition was won by the Englishman Percy Metcalfe. The obverse bears the harp, the heraldic emblem of Ireland for centuries, inspired by the so-called Brian Boru harp kept at Trinity College Dublin. The florin shows a salmon, representing both sea and river fishing, essential to the Irish economy. The coin was struck at the Royal Mint in London, the 1930 date has 330,000 pieces.