Irish pound
- For the coin of the same value, see Irish one pound coin.
| Punt Template:Ga icon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ISO 4217 | |||||
| Code | IEP | ||||
| Unit | |||||
| Plural | pounds Template:En icon puint Template:Ga icon | ||||
| Symbol | £ (or IR£ to distinguish from the British pound) | ||||
| Denominations | |||||
| Subunit | |||||
| 1/100 | penny Template:En icon pingin Template:Ga icon | ||||
| Plural | |||||
| penny Template:En icon pingin Template:Ga icon | pence Template:En icon pinginí or phingine (after a number) Template:Ga icon | ||||
| Symbol | |||||
| penny Template:En icon pingin Template:Ga icon | p | ||||
| Banknotes | |||||
| Freq. used | £5, £10, £20 | ||||
| Rarely used | £50, £100 | ||||
| Coins | 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| User(s) | Ireland | ||||
| Issuance | |||||
| Central bank | Central Bank of Ireland (Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) | ||||
| Website | www.centralbank.ie | ||||
| Printer | Currency Centre | ||||
| Mint | Currency Centre | ||||
| Valuation | |||||
| EU Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) | |||||
| Since | 13 March 1979 | ||||
| Fixed rate since | 31 December 1998 | ||||
| Replaced by euro, non cash | 1 January 1999 | ||||
| Replaced by euro, cash | 1 January 2002 | ||||
| 1 € = | £0.787564 | ||||
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The pound or punt (Irish) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. There have been several different names in official use, some of which denoted different issuing authorites, others different values. First, there was the Irish pound or pound Irish [2], then the pound sterling, then the Saorstát pound and, finally, the Irish pound. In its final phase, the Irish pound's ISO 4217 code was IEP and the usual notation was the prefix £, or IR£ where confusion might have arisen with the pound sterling. The Irish pound was superseded by the euro on 1 January, 1999[1], when the Irish pound legally became a subdivision of the euro; actual euro currency did not begin circulation until the beginning of 2002.
First Irish pound
The first Irish coinage was equivalent to that of England, with the pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. After a period of debasement, the currency was restored to it equivalency to the English following the Norman invasion. However, from 1460, issues were made with different metal contents to those of England and the values of the two currencies diverged once more. In 1701, the relationship between the Irish pound and sterling was fixed at 13 Irish pounds = 12 pounds sterling. This led to a situation where Irish copper coins circulated with British silver coins, since 13 Irish pence = 1 British shilling. The only 19th century exceptions were silver tokens denominated in Irish pence issued by the Bank of Ireland between 1804 and 1813. The last Irish copper pennies and halfpennies were minted in 1823. The distinct Irish pound existed until January 1826 when it was replaced by British currency.
Coins
Ireland's first coins were issued by King Sitric III in around 997. Although they were copies of English pennies, their silver content fell well below that of English coins. King John issued the first coins following the Norman conquest, during his time as Lord of Ireland. These were farthings, halfpennies and pennies minted to the same standard as those of England. A chief purpose of these coins was to provide a means for the export of silver from Ireland.[3]
Later pieces followed the standard of England until 1460 when a lower, Irish standard was introduced with coins weighing ¾ of their English counterparts. This coincided with the introduction of a larger denomination, the groat (4 pence). In 1483, the "Three Crowns" coinage was introduced (named for its obverse design) which continued until 1493 and included the first issue of half groats. Debasement of the coinage occurred during the reign of Henry VIII as it did in England, although the debased coinage continued to be issued in Ireland for longer than in England. Edward VI issued the first Irish shillings.
In 1561, Elizabeth I introduced a higher standard of silver coinage for a few years before returning to a base standard with an issue of threepences, sixpences and shillings. Copper halfpennies and pennies were also introduced. Higher standard issues were resumed by James I but all Irish issues ceased in 1607. During the English Civil War, a number of local coins were issued in Ireland. It was not until 1680 that a distinct Irish coinage was resumed, with copper halfpennies minted until 1688.
During the Civil War, the forces of James II issued coins known as "Gun money" between 1689 and 1691. Minted in base metal, these were designed to be redeemed for silver following a victory by James II and consequently bore the date in months to allow a gradual replacement. After the end of the Civil War, copper farthings and halfpennies resumed production, to which pennies were added in 1805.
In 1804, the Bank of Ireland introduced silver tokens for 6 shillings which were overstrikes on Spanish dollars. In 1805, 5 and 10 pence Irish tokens were introduced, followed by 30 pence Irish tokens in 1808. The last halfpennies and pennies were minted in 1823.
Banknotes
Irish banknote began production in 1783 with issues of the Bank of Ireland. Notes were printed denominated either in Irish pounds or in both guineas and Irish pounds, with the guinea equal to 1 pound 2 shillings 9 pence Irish.
Pound sterling
Between 1826 and 1928, Ireland used the pound sterling, with British coins and Bank of England notes circulating alongside distinct notes issued by six Irish banks: the Bank of Ireland, the Belfast Banking Company, the National Bank, the Northern Banking Company, the Provincial Bank of Ireland and the Ulster Bank.
Banknotes
To begin with, the Bank of Ireland issued sterling notes in denominations of 1 pound and 30 shillings. From the 1890s, larger denominations were introduced of 3, 5, 10 and 20 pounds. The Belfast Banking Company began issuing notes in the 1870s, with denominations ultimately including 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pounds. The National Bank issued notes from 1905 in denominations of 1, 3, 5 and 10 pounds. The Northern Banking Company issued 5 pounds notes in the 1850s, followed by notes for 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pounds begining in 1918. The Provincial Bank issued its first 10 pound notes in 1835, followed by 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 100 pounds from the 1880s. The Ulster Bank issued notes from 1900 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pounds.
Saorstát pound
Following the establishment of the Irish Free State, a new currency was introduced in 1928. This new currency was known as the Saorstát pound ("Free State pound") and was pegged to the pound sterling. As with sterling, the £sd system was used, with the Irish names punt (plural forms include phunt, puint, bpuint or the same), scilling (plural: scillinge) and pingin (plural: pinginí or phingine). The currency became a reality with the introduction of coins and notes. However, the pound sterling continued to be accepted on a one-for-one basis.
Coins
Coins were introduced in 1928 with copper farthings, ½ and 1 penny, nickel 3 and 6 pence, and silver 1 shilling, florin and half crown.
Banknotes
In 1928, the Currency Commission of the Irish Free State issued notes in denominations of 10 shillings, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pounds. A year later, the eight Consolidated Banks issued their first notes. Denominations of the Consolidated Bank issues were the same as those of the Currency Commission except that no 10 shillings notes were issued. Not all of the banks issued all of the denominations.
Second Irish pound
Predecimal system
The official name of the currency changed in 1938 to the Irish pound after the Constitution of Ireland changed the state's name. The Currency Act, 1927, Adaptation Order, 1938 was the actual mechanism by which change took place.
Coins
In 1939, the incription on the obverses of the Irish coins was changed from "Saorstát Éireann" to "Éire". Otherwise, the coinage was unchanged until 1942, when cupro-nickel replaced nickel in the 3 and 6 pence coins. In 1951, cupro-nickel also replaced silver in the higher denominations.
Banknotes
In 1938, the notes of the Currency Comission were changed to reflect the new name of the state. In 1939, the Consolidated Banks stopped issuing notes, although they continued to circulate until 1953. In 1942, the Central Bank of Ireland began note issuing, using designs very similar to those of the Currency Comission, in denominations of 10 shillings, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pounds. Production of 10 shilling notes ceased in 1968, in preparation for decimalization.
Decimal system
Decimalisation of the currency was actively discussed in the 1960s. Chief among the Irish government's concerns was the pound sterling. When the British government decided to decimalise its currency, the Irish government followed suit. The legislative basis for decimalisation in the Republic was the Decimal Currency Act, 1969. The number of pence in the Irish pound was redefined from 240 to 100, with the symbol for penny changing from "d" to "p". The pound itself was not revalued by this act and therefore pound banknotes were unaffected, although the 10 shillings/scillinge note was replaced by the 50p coin. The Decimal Currency Act, 1970 made additional provisions for the changeover not related with the issue of coins.
Decimalisation was overseen by the Irish Decimal Currency Board which was created on June 12, 1968. It provided a variety of changeover information including a pamphlet called Everyone's Guide to Decimal Currency. The changeover occurred on Decimal Day, February 15, 1971.
Coins
New coins were issued in denominations of ½, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 pence with the same dimensions and materials as the corresponding new British coins. In 1986, 20 pence coins were introduced, followed in 1990 by 1 pound coins.
The new denominations were of different sizes to the UK coinage. The new 20p and £1 coins were completely different in size, shape and metal to the previously introduced UK versions. When the UK 5p and 10p coins were reduced in size the Irish followed suit, with the new Irish 10p becoming smaller than the new UK version and the new Irish 5p slightly bigger than the UK version. The Irish 50p was never reduced in size as it had been in the UK and this was presumably due to forthcoming replacement of the Irish pound by the euro.
Right up until complete withdrawal of the Irish pound on February 9, 2002 many of the UK's coins were accepted virtually everywhere in Ireland. Due to the similar design, British 1p, 2p and 5p coins were accepted without discrimination from Irish coins and the old style British 50p coin was accepted in the same manner, even after its withdrawal from circulation in the UK. The British 10p coin varied slightly in size and therefore wasn't as readily accepted but nonetheless was in common usage throughout Ireland. The British 20p and £1 coins were not accepted at all in Ireland as they varied greatly from the Irish versions.
Banknotes
Other than the removal of the 10 shillings note, the banknotes of the Irish pound were unchanged by decimalization. The 1 pound note was replaced by a coin after 1990.
Breaking the link to sterling
In the 1970s the European Monetary System was introduced, which the Republic decided to join. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism finally broke the one-for-one link that existed between the Irish pound and the Pound sterling; by March 30, 1979 the parity link between the two currencies that had existed for over 150 years was broken and an exchange rate was introduced. By this time Irish exports to the United Kingdom (UK) were 50%, whilst imports were 47%; the Irish economy had diverged greatly since the introduction of the currency in 1928 and was less dependent on trade with the UK. Until this exchange rate was necessary, UK currency was accepted in the Republic on a one-for-one basis by many institutions.
This period also saw the creation of the Currency Centre at Sandyford in 1978 so that banknotes and coinage could be manufactured within the state. Prior to this, banknotes were printed by specialist commercial printers in England and coins by the Royal Mint.
Withdrawal
Although the euro became the currency of the Eurozone countries including the Republic on January 1, 1999, it was not until January 1, 2002 that the state began to withdraw Irish pound coins and notes, replacing them with euro specie. All other Eurozone countries withdrew their curriencies in a similar fashion, from the agreed date. Irish pound coins and notes ceased to be legal tender on February 9, 2002[2], although they will be exchangeable indefinitely for euro at the Central Bank.
On December 31, 2001, the total value of Irish banknotes in circulation was €4,343.8 million, and the total value of Irish coins was €387.9 million. The Irish cash changeover was one of the fastest in the Eurozone, with some shops illegally ceasing to accept pounds after the first week or two. With a conversion factor of 0.787564 Irish pounds to the euro[3], 56 per cent of the value of Irish banknotes was withdrawn from circulation within two weeks of the introduction of euro banknotes and coins, and 83.4 per cent by the time they ceased to have legal tender status.
Withdrawal of coinage was slower, having a lower priority, with only 45 per cent of coins withdrawn by February 9, 2002. This figure is somewhat misleading, as at that point, almost all coinage in circulation had indeed been withdrawn – the remainder being kept as souvenirs, or in hoards. One year after the changeover, €456 million of Irish pound banknotes remained unaccounted for, including one-third of all the £5 notes which, being the smallest denomination, were likely retained as souvenirs.
All Irish coins and banknotes, from the start of the Irish Free State onwards, both decimal and pre-decimal, may be exchanged for euros at the Central Bank in Dublin.
Retrospect
Both decimal day and the euro changeover led many in Irish society to believe that prices had been improperly raised by traders taking advantage of the confusion,[4] exchange rates notwithstanding. In the case of the euro the government took special measures to prevent any unnecessary price changes, which ultimately proved ineffective. Many retailers took the opportunity that the changeover presented and 'rounded up' the new prices to round numbers, or to prices ending in € .99[citation needed]. The period of changeover also took place during an economic boom in the country, and inflation was high. As the cost of living and prices rose, people were eager to blame it on the merchants taking advantage of changeover confusion.
Footnotes
- ^ Economic and Monetary Union Act, 1998 (Section 6)
- ^ Irish Pound Notes and Coins (Cessation of Legal Tender Status) Order, 2001
- ^ Of the 15 national currencies originally tied to the euro (also including the currencies of Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino [1]), the Irish pound is the only withdrawn national currency whose worth was more than one Euro.
- ^ Inside Ireland, The Euro by Hugh Oram (retrieved 29 October 2006)
- ^ 1999 by law, 2002 de facto.
- ^ 1999 by law, 2002 de facto.
See also
- Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland
- Coins of the Republic of Ireland
- Commemorative coins of Ireland
- Irish euro coins
External links
- Overview of Irish pound from the BBC
- The Irish Pound: From Origins to EMU (734K PDF file, from Central Bank website).
- Irish banknotes
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