Ireland 2 shillings (florin) 1939

The coin's story

This florin in 750 thousandths silver, worth 2 shillings, belongs to the series struck from 1939 to 1943, the first to bear the name ÉIRE. The first Irish coins, issued on 12 December 1928 by the Irish Free State, were designed by the Englishman Percy Metcalfe, chosen by a committee chaired by the poet W. B. Yeats, their reverses show animals important to the country's agricultural economy. From 1939, the obverse legend SAORSTÁT ÉIREANN was replaced by ÉIRE (Ireland), with slight retouching of the harp and of some of the animals. The harp, the heraldic emblem of Ireland for centuries, is inspired by the so-called Brian Boru harp at Trinity College Dublin. The florin shows a salmon, representing both sea and river fishing. The coin was struck at the Royal Mint in London, the 1939 date has 1,080,000 pieces. It was demonetised on 6 January 1994.