Agora Auctions, LLC
Numismatic Auction 47 22 December 2015
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Ireland. Charles II. 1645-1685. AE halfpenny (25.5 mm, 5.87 g, 12 h). St. Patrick's coinage. Tower mint in London (?), Struck ca.1646-1660. FLOREAT REX, King David standing left playing harp, crown above / ECCE GREX, St. Patrick standing facing, holding shamrock and crozier; followers around. W 11540; Breen 199. Fair, holed.
After Charles I was executed and the Puritans suppressed everything Catholic, these coins went into hiding, as possessing them was a crime. After Charles II came to power in 1662, the St. Patrick coins returned to circulation in Ireland, where they circulated for a time, until 1679 when they were declared uncurrent. The farthings and half pennies still circulated in Ireland. Mark Newby was a Quaker and had experienced religious persecution in the Dublin area, Newby decided to join his fellow Quakers in their American settlement in New Jersey. Thinking that small change may be in short supply, Newby purchased £30 of these coppers, approximately 14,400 pieces. Newby arrived in America in late 1681 and was soon politically well connected, enough so to get his coppers declared legal tender. Newbie died in 1682, but the coppers he brought over circulated for well over 100 years.
After Charles I was executed and the Puritans suppressed everything Catholic, these coins went into hiding, as possessing them was a crime. After Charles II came to power in 1662, the St. Patrick coins returned to circulation in Ireland, where they circulated for a time, until 1679 when they were declared uncurrent. The farthings and half pennies still circulated in Ireland. Mark Newby was a Quaker and had experienced religious persecution in the Dublin area, Newby decided to join his fellow Quakers in their American settlement in New Jersey. Thinking that small change may be in short supply, Newby purchased £30 of these coppers, approximately 14,400 pieces. Newby arrived in America in late 1681 and was soon politically well connected, enough so to get his coppers declared legal tender. Newbie died in 1682, but the coppers he brought over circulated for well over 100 years.