Irish Coinage

____________________

Decimal Catalogue

 

Catalog of Irish Coin Prices

Irish Decimal Coins 1969 - 2000

 

Index


On this page :

Halfpenny
Penny
Two Pence
Five Pence
Ten Pence
Twenty Pence
Fifty Pence
One Pound
Decimal Sets



© 2010 - Copyright
John
_ Stafford-Langan
Version 1.17a
19th September, 2010

  With the introduction of the Euro, the decimal coinage of Ireland has been withdrawn. The introduction of the Euro has generated more interest in Irish coins. The prices of many of the decimal coins has gone up recently reflecting this change.

The 1971 coins are generally common as are the 2000 coins. The years in between are generally available but some of the later 1970s and early 1980s dates are difficulto to obtain in brilliant uncirculated condition.

There is one extreme rarity in the series :

  • The 1985 trial production 20p

The 1985 halfpenny was produced in circulation quantities but many of these did not get to circulation and were returned to the Central Bank and melted when the coin was demonetised in 1987.  But some coins did escape  and fortunately some of these were used to make up private souvenier sets of the coinage so the coins are not as scarce as was though some years ago and  they are available in bright uncirculated condition. 

In 1986, to coincide with the introduction of the 20 pence piece, the Central Bank issued a 7 coin set of polished specimen coins (sometimes called proofs).  These sets are scarce, and important because three of the coins they contain were not issued in full circulation quantities in 1986.  These are the halfpenny, the 10 pence and the 50 pence.  There appears to have been an over-run in production of the halfpenny and 10 pence as a consequence of which the 1986 10 pence was occasionally found in circulation, the halfpenny had effectively ceased circulating by 1986 so the over-run was probably melted (see the 1985 halfpenny above).  The 1986 50p seems just to have been produced for the sets and does not normally turn up in circulation (and presumably the very few that have been encounterd are from broken sets).

Note : Except for the extreme rarity the decimal coins are generally only of value in Brilliant Uncirculated condition - In US terms that means about MS63 or better. The bronze coins are of little value in Brown Uncirculated condition.


 

H A L F P E N N Y 1971 - 1986

Prices in &eurouros

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Red Uncirculated
1971 100.5 M - - - 1.00
1975 10.5 M - - - 4.00
1976 5.5 M - - - 5.00
1978 20.3 M - - - 2.50
1980 20.6 M - - - 2.50
1982 9.7 M - - - 2.50
1985 2.8 M - - 100.00 450.00
1986 19,750 ** - - - 100.00

** In 1986 the Central Bank produced a specimen set of normally struck uncirculated coins (often incorrectly referred to as proofs) to coincide with the introduction of the 20 pence coin. As not all denominations were required in circulation quantities the halfpenny, the 10 pence and the 50 pence were only minted in small quantities to facilitate the production of these sets. These denominations and the sets containing them are consequently scarce. Many of the 1986 sets sold into the Irish tourist industry for sale to visitors looking for souvenirs before the local collecting community was aware of their existence - consequently many turn up in the US and Europe.



 

P E N N Y 1971 - 2000

Prices in &eurouros 

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Red Uncirculated
1971 100.5 M - - - 1.00
1974 10 M - - - 6.00
1975 10 M - - - 7.50
1976 38.2 M - - - 4.00
1978 25.7 M - - - 2.25
1979 21.8 M - - - 2.25
1980 86.7 M   - - 1.50
1982 54.2 M - - - 1.50
1985 19.2 M - - - 2.50
1986 36.6 M - - - 2.00
1988 56.8 M - - - 1.50
1990 65.1 M - - - 1.50
1992 25.6M - - - 2.00
1993 10.0M - - - 3.00
1994 45.8M - - - 1.00
1995 70.8M - - - 1.00
1996 190.1M - - - 0.50
1998 40.7M - - - 0.50
2000   - - - 0.25


 

T W O P E NC E 1971 - 2000

Prices in &eurouros

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Red Uncirculated
1971 75.5M - - - 1.50
1975 20M - - - 5.00
1976 5.4M - - - 7.50
1978 12M - - - 4.00
1979 32.4M - - - 2.50
1980 59.8M - - - 2.00
1982 30.4M - - - 2.00
1985 14.5M - - - 2.50
1986 23.9M - - - 2.00
1988 35.9M - - - 1.50
1990 34.3M - - - 1.50
1992 10.2M - - - 2.00
1995 55.5M - - - 1.50
1996 69.3M - - - 0.50
1998 33.7M - - - 0.50
2000 - - - - 0.25


 

F I V E P E N C E - Large Size - 1969 - 1990

Prices in &eurouros 

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Bright Uncirculated
1969 5M - - - 3.50
1970 10M - - - 3.50
1971 8M - - - 2.50
1974 7M - - 1.00 8.00
1975 10M - - 0.75 6.00
1976 20.6M - - 0.50 4.00
1978 28.5M - - - 3.50
1980 22.2M - - - 3.00
1982 24.4M - - - 2.50
1985 4.2M - - - 4.00
1986 15.3M - - - 2.50
1990 7.5M  - - - 2.50


 

F I V E P E N C E - Small Size 1992 - 2000

Prices in &eurouros 

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Bright Uncirculated
1992 74.5M - - - 1.50
1993 89.1M - - - 1.50
1994 31.1 - - - 1.50
1995 ? - - - 1.00
1996 14.7 - - - 1.00
1998 158.5 - - - 1.00
2000 - - - - 0.50


 

T E N P E N C E - Large Size - 1969 - 1988

Prices in &eurouros

YEAR Mintage Fine  Very Fine Ex. Fine Uncirculated
1969 27M - - - 4.00
1971 4M - - - 3.00
1973 2.5M - - 1.50 10.00
1974 7.5M - - 0.75 7.50
1975 15M - - 0.75 6.50
1976 9.4M - - 0.75 5.50
1978 30.9M - - - 3.00
1980 44.6M - - - 3.00
1982 7.4M - - - 4.00
1985 4.1M - - - 5.50
1986 11,280 ** 4.00 8.00 20.00 120.00


 

T E N P E N C E - Small Size - 1993 - 2000

Prices in &eurouros

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Uncirculated
1993 80.1M - - - 1.50
1994 58.5M - - - 1.50
1995 16.1M - - - 1.50
1996 18.4M - - - 1.00
1997 10.0M - - - 1.00
1998 10.0M - - - 1.00
1999 24.5M - - - 1.00
2000 - - - - 0.50


 

T W E N T Y P E N C E 1985 - 2000

Prices in &eurouros 

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Uncirculated
1985 unknown *** ***  1,250 ***  2,000 ***  3,500 ***  7,000
1986 50.4M - - - 4.00
1988 20.7M - - - 5.00
1992 14.8M - - - 3.00
1994 11.1M - - - 3.00
1995 18.2M - - - 3.00
1996 29.3M - - - 2.00
1998 25.0M - - - 2.00
1999 11.0M - - - 1.50
2000 - - - - 1.00

*** In 1985 prior to the introduction of the new twenty pence piece in 1986 a quantity of coins dated 1985 were struck for testing. Some of these coins escaped being melted down and are in private hands.  I have heard of only a very small number of exchanges of these coin and the prices I have heard for them have varied widely.   I believe that the minimum number identified in collections  (as opposed to sitting gathering dust somewhere without its value being understood but its owner) is four.  I suspect thate the number is somewhat higher than this but certainly the coin is extremely rare and because the original production run was apparently very small with only perhaps 50 coins being released for vending machine testing etc. it is unlikely to turn up in significant quantitiies which is always the 'danger' with assigning high prices to modern rarities.



 

F I F T Y P E N C E 1970 - 2000

Prices in &eurouros 

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Uncirculated
1970 9M - - - 4.00
1971 650,000 - - - 5.00
1974 1M - - 6.00 40.00
1975 2M - - 4.00 28.00
1976 3M - - 3.50 22.00
1977 4.8M - - 3.00 16.00
1978 4.5M - - 2.50 8.00
1979 4M - - 2.00 8.00
1981 6M - - - 5.50
1982 2M - - 4.00 60.00
1983 7M - - - 5.00
1986 10,000 ** 5.00 10.00 25.00 150.00
1988 7M - - - 3.00


1988 Proof Dublin Millennium 50 Pence

1988
Dublin Millennium
Shield on Reverse 
5M - - - 5.00
           
1988
Dublin Millennium
Shield on Reverse
Proof in original case
50,000 - - - Proof FDC
35.00
1996 Woodcock Design 6.0 M - - - 3.00
1997 6.0 M - - - 3.50
1998 13.8 M - - - 3.00
1999 7.0 M - - - 2.50
2000 - - - - 2.00


The mid 70s fifty pence peices (1974-1977) are quite difficult to find in nice uncirculated condition and they are not particularly common in good EF condition, but as with all modern coins with normal mintages it not difficult to find normally circulated specimens.  For this reason I have not allocated a price to the coins below EF grade, but it is certainly possible that one may see them offered for a few euros as 'space fillers'  for collectors who are keen to fill the gap while waiting to find a nicer example.   This is most true of the 50 pence and much less true of the circulated example of the lower denominations.

The 1982 50 pence is surprising difficult to find in nicer grades and even in circulated grades it  appears to be less common than its mintage figures suggest, so there may have be some misreporting of mintages between 1981 and 1983.  This can happen when a mint reports the number of coins struck in a year  but if in the actual circumstances of production some of the coins struck were from older dies (in this case ones dated 1981)  because the dies were still serviceable or if  later dies (in this case dated 1983) were introduced into production early because of  poor performance (i.e excessive cracking) of the correctly dated batch of dies.

The 50 pence also illistrates another (and in this case opposite) example of a circumstance where mintage figures can be misleading.  With the introdution of the 20 pence in 1986 and to a lesser extent the pound coin in 1990 the circulation requirement for 50 pence piece was reduced.  This meant that there was over supply of the coins and the commercial banks did not call on the Central Bank for additional quantities.  In fact they tried to return quantities, with apparently little success.  So a lot of the mint production of 50 pences dated 1988 remained unissued  for quite a long time and even after mintage of 50 pieces began again in 1996 coins dated 1988 were still being issued.  So the 1988 coins of both types are less scarce in uncirculated grades than the mintage and date would suggest.



1990 Proof Pound Coin

 

O N E P O U N D 1990 -2000

engrailed edge ****

Prices in &eurouros

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Uncirculated
1990 62.3 M (20M de) - - - 5.00
1990 Proof in original case 50,000       proof FDC
25.00
1994 14.9 M - - - 7.00
1995 9.2 M - - - 7.00


1995 UN Commemorative Pound

1945-1995
United Nations Silver Proof
in original case of issue
2,750 ? - - - proof FDC
180.00
1996 9.2 M - - - 4.00
1998 22.96 M - - - 4.00
1999 10.0 M - - - 4.00
2000 Regular Issue 4.0 M - - - 3.50
2000
Millennium Commemorative
Issue
5.0 M - - - 3.50


Millennium Pound - Silver Piedfort Proof

2000
Millennium Commemorative
Issue
Piedfort Silver Proof
in box.
90,000 - - - Proof FDC
35.00

**** The normal edge for these coins is a milled edge with an an engrailed pattern which is added after the milling. Coins exist without fully engrailed edges for all years. Most of these have two small groves in the milling at two opposite points where the engrailing machinery started but failed to complete. The normal engrailing also shows its two start points quite clearly as short plain sections within the engrailing.

Pieces without fully engrailed edges command a significant premium over normal coins. These coins are not particularly rare, but uncirculated specimens are difficult to obtain.
 

O N E P O U N D 1990 -1999

plain milled edge ****

Prices in &eurouros

YEAR Mintage Fine Very Fine Ex. Fine Uncirculated
1990   3.00 6.00 10.00 25.00
1994   3.00 6.00 12.00 40.00
1995   3.00 6.00 12.00 40.00
1996   - 5.00 8.00 25.00
1998   - 5.00 8.00 25.00
1999   - 5.00 8.00 25.00
2000 Red Deer Type   - - 10.00 30.00
2000 Millennium Type   - - 12.00 40.00



Decimal Sets

The decimal coins were produced from 1969 onwards - the coins were dated no earlier than their introduction date so the all the bronze coins were dated 1971 even though many were produced in 1969 and 1970. The 5p and 10p were introduced in 1969 and dated that year. The 50p was introduced in 1970 so the 1969 production were all dated 1970.

Introductory sets were available from mid 1969 - these sets in a green card folder are easily identified as pre introduction sets because the wording on the back page begins "Ireland will change to decimal ..." despite this these folders were used until at least 1975. The coins are inserted in holes cut in the card and a plastic slip covers both sides - the sets is easily opened and many now have bronze coins with tarnish from being handled.

In 1971 a set of polished specimen coins was issued - these are sealed in a plastic slip and in a green plastic wallet - these sets were available from the Central Bank of Ireland until late 1999 - at their original issue price of £3.50.

In 1978 a card similar to the pre-introductory sets was used but with a new black design - these cards like the preceeding ones were apparently used with whatever coins were available :- usually 1978 or 1982 complete sets - but I have seen several with some 1979 coins and usually in these cases the halfpenny is a 1971 example - however this may be a result of someone replacing tarnished coins with better examples and it is not possible to be sure what combinations of dates were originally issued - except for the 1978 and 1982 sets.

The 1986 set was a departure in that the set is sealed so the coins cannot be readily removed - unfortunately the glue used tends to remain sticky and many sets have been impaired by glue leaking out of either the top or the botton of the folder.

The 1996 and 1998 sets are similarly sealed but a slipcase was added and the glue does not seem to leak in the same way. The plastic insert which hold the coins is often poorly produced and sometimes has holes or flaws. There was little or no attention paid to the quality of the coins used so some of these sets contain coins with heavy bagmarking or scratches.

The millennium set contained only 7 of the 8 2000 coins - for some reason the Central Bank of Ireland decided to produce pound coins of both the regular design and a special millennium design but not to include both pounds in the sets. These millennium sets sold out very quickly as did all the outstanding stocks of 1996 and 1998 sets early in 2000.

---------------------- Description of Set ---------------------- ------------- Contents ------------ Production Value  
1969 Pre-Introduction set in Green Card folder

6 Coins
- 1969 5p and 10p
- 1970 50p
- 1971 1/2p , 1p and 2p
  &euro10.00  
1970 Pre-Introduction set in Green Card folder
6 Coins
- 1969 10p
- 1970 5p and 50p
- 1971 1/2p , 1p and 2p
  &euro8.00  
1971 Pre-Introduction set in Green Card folder
6 Coins
- All coins dated 1971
  &euro5.50  
1971 Polished specimen sets
sealed in plastic and in a green plastic wallet
With an insert card inside the front cover
6 Coins
- All coins dated 1971
50,000 &euro18.00  
1971 Polished specimen sets
sealed in plastic and in a green plastic wallet
Without an insert card inside the front cover
6 Coins
- All coins dated 1971
incl above &euro18.00  
1973 Set in Pre-Introduction Green card folder 6 Coins
- 1971 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p and 50p
- 1973 10p
  &euro20.00  
1974 Set in Pre-introduction Green card folder 6 Coins
- 1971 1/2p and 2p
- 1974 1p, 5p, 10p, 50p
  &euro50.00  
1975 Set in Pre-introduction Green card folder 6 Coins
- All coins dated 1975
  &euro35.00  
1978 Set in Black card folder
with silver Woodcock motif
6 Coins
- All coins dated 1978
  &euro30.00  
1979 Set in Black card folder
with silver Woodcock motif
6 Coins
- 1971 halfpenny (usually)
- 1978 5p and 10p
- 1979 1p, 2p and 50p
(occasionally other dates)
  &euro25.00  
1982 Set in Black card folder
with silver Woodcock motif
6 Coins
- All coins dated 1982
  &euro70.00  
1986 set in green and white card folder
with gold horse motif.
Issued for the introduction of the 20p
7 Coins
- All coins dated 1986
(the 1/2 p, the 10p and the 50p were
produced only to complete these sets)
6,750 &euro575.00  
1996 set in green card folder in slipcase
with red deer photograph on folder and slipcase
7 Coins
- All coins dated 1996
3,500 &euro45.00  
1998 set in green card folder in slipcase
with red deer photograph on folder and slipcase
7 Coins
- All coins dated 1998
6,500 &euro42.00  
2000 set in black card folder in slipcase
with Broighter boat photograph on folder and slipcase
7 Coins
- All coins dated 2000
(only the millennium pound -
not the red deer pound)
10,000 &euro100.00