Ireland, 10P 1998 BU

Before Ireland joined the Euro, they used their own coinage. But because the population of Ireland is so low, the mintages of their coins also tended to be rather low. Here we present a Irish pre Euro coin, the 20P in Brilliant Uncirculated condition and you don’t see many this nice. Supplies are of course very limited and these are in bright and beautiful condition.

In 1988, the Royal Mint issued a new Pound coin, the reverse of this coin had a shield shaped like the old Spade Guinea, therefore it became known as the Spade Guinea Pound. They also issued a smaller number for collectors in Proof Sterling Silver and it is this collector’s edition that we offer you here. You have the so-called Maklouf bust of the Queen on the obverse and the Spade Guinea-type shield on the reverse. These coins are now nearly 30 years old and if you know someone having a birthday or wedding anniversary from 1988, these make excellent and unique gifts. Each Proof Sterling Silver 1988 Pound comes in a protective capsule to keep it as nice as the day it was issued.

In 1887 Queen Victoria allowed the Royal Mint to change her portrait on the coinage. After all, it was her Jubilee Year and they had used her Young Head portrait since 1838. The new coins came into being, along with a new denomination, the Double Florin in 1887. We have a nice little lot of the silver Shield Sixpence coins in rather choice condition. They would look great in your collection.