A war that led to another war is perhaps the hardest thing to understand about this next edition of our 100 Greatest Modern World Coins blog. As important as it was for this country to gain independence, that goes without saying that the creation of currency is grossly important for a new nation to get on its feet and let the world know that they are here to stay. However, this next coin “never was” but somehow managed to be highly collectible in the modern period. With help from authors Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker, we will take a closer look at this top 100 pick in the Whitman Publishing compilation.
#40 - Ireland 1938 Penny Pattern
The Irish Republican Army fought a guerilla war against the British from 1919 to 1921 in an attempt to gain independence that was a long time coming. The violence of the fight ended only after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty which established the Irish Free State as a self-governing authority of the British Empire. The treaty was complicated and contentious from the beginning even though it called for the withdrawal of British troops and allowed Northern Ireland to opt out of the newly established state, which it did within the one month time limit after its enactment.
One of the biggest skeptics of the agreement was President of the Republic Éamon de Valera. He felt that the Irish negotiator did not consult with him or the members of the Irish Parliament before signing the treaty. While the Irish Parliament approved the resolution, de Valera would end up resigning from his position and began his own campaign. He would recruit and be joined by officers of the Irish Republican Army who also disagreed with the treaty. They would take up arms against their fellow Irishmen, many of whom they fought alongside against the British. The Irish Civil War ended up being more violent and personal than the war for independence. This caused hostility even after the Civil War ended and was ingrained in Irish politics for generations afterward.
After the Irish Free State was created, the Coinage Act of 1926 authorized the production of silver, nickel, and bronze coins. It called for specific denominations and sizes and left the design of the coins to Ernest Blythe, the Finance Minister. Blythe would open the selection process to a committee of leading Irish academics in addition to William Butler Yeats who was a well-known poet-turned-senator. He wanted designs that represented the newly free Ireland but could also inspire artists and children, proposing a series that was based on Irish animals. The committee would eventually choose a design by English artist Percy Metcalfe, but would face some backlash as the idea of the coins featuring barnyard animals was too much. They were also designs that came from an Englishman and would be struck in England. Some also were upset that they were pagan, even though some of the animals were symbols from Christian tradition and mentioned in the Bible.
Despite all the criticism and objections, the Free Irish State continued their production of the coins until the establishment of the Irish Republic and a new constitution was drafted in 1937. In terms of coins made for circulation, the year 1938 did not see any coins produced. The designs were being worked on by Metcalfe and the change in government would lead to a change in the legend of Irish coins. This led to test strikes being produced and to only three coins known to have survived. The test coins, or patterns, were an Irish half-crown and two Irish pennies. They featured the new legend and the date of 1938. The possession of the half-crown and one of the pennies was traced back to Metcalfe and were eventually surrendered to the Department of Finance in November of 1938. They stayed there until they were moved to the National Museum of Ireland in 2000. The other penny made it into the hands of the public and remains the only 1938-dated Irish coin in a private collection.
With only one Irish penny out there, it makes it the rarest collectible Irish coin in modern history. It made its way to a number of corners of the world before ending up in a Spink of London sale in 2010 in a PCGS MS65 BN holder. In 2012, NGC announced that it was submitted for grading and was given a SP66 BN.