Irish 50p – the harp taht was first used in 1928
We had a good meeting a the Numismatic Society of Nottinghamshire last night – Dr Kevin Clancy from the Royal Mint as the speaker. It was an entertaining look at coin designing and one of the few times I have got to the end of the talk and wished there had been more. Julia came with me and even she enjoyed it. I did have a wry smile at one point when he described a committee that included a prince, a couple of museum directors and a peer as being “from all walks of life”. Not quite my idea of what the phrase means, but there you go . . .
Strangely, for a talk on UK coins design, it started off with the Percy Metcalfe designs for the Irish Free State coinage of 1927. They are an iconic set, with a cohesive feel and excellent modelling of the animals. There was controversy about the set, particularly as Metcalfe was English, but the design also came in for criticism. The best quote is the one from the priest.
“If these pagan symbols once get a hold, then is the thin edge of the wedge of Freemasonry sunk into the very life of our Catholicity, for the sole object of having these pagan symbols instead of religious emblems on our coins is to wipe out all traces of religion from our minds, to forget the ‘land of saints,’ and beget a land of devil-worshippers, where evil may reign supreme“
If there’s one thing you can criticise the Irish for, it certainly isn’t a lack of religion.
Sad to say, although I realise our coinage developed over time and I am very fond of some of our coins, the Irish set is far better than anything we have ever done. Even our new set suffers from things like the presence of a dormouse (most people don’t know what one is) and the Puffin with the ungainly wings. However, it’s the salmon that is the worst – nearly 100 years have passed, we have new technology and techniques, and we still haven’t bettered Metcalfe’s salmon of 1928.
Fascinating stuff. Well it is for some of us.
Irish 50p – Woodcock – originally on Metcalfe’s farthing. It looked better whe it was smaller . . .
I must look more closely at my change. I have obviously paid too little attention to it.
In the main, it is very dull – there is very little of interest coming through.
Fair enough.
We have some fine coins but they are mainly done for commemorative purposes rather than circulation. The Royal Mint is now little better than a producer of numismatic novelties, but as coins stop circulating, that is where the money is.
What a great post! The priest’s dramatic reaction to Metcalfe’s designs really highlights how deeply art and culture intersect. Honestly, I agree—those Irish coins are masterpieces. It’s hard to argue that modern designs have surpassed their timeless charm.
Yes, great designs. It’s also good to see that people cared so much. Our circulating coins have been a compromise for the last 50 years. It would be great to have a complete fresh start, but in general nobody cares about coins these days..
It sounds like you and Julia had a good night out and enjoyed the talk.
Those Irish coins you show here are beautiful.
They are. I’ve always liked them.
Fascinating
I very often leave a talk feeling like I’ve been robbed of three hours but this one was excellent. I’ve just finished a WP post which includes Devil worship – Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, a popular beat combo from bygone days had an interest in Aleister Crowley and his memorabilia. So he bought Crowley’s old house in the Highlands. That’s Collecting with a capital “C”! (I found that out when looking into aluminium).
It is fascinating, a reflection of the cultures the coins came from. It’s great that you wanted more of the presentation. A good lesson—always leave them wanting more.
🙂
It was close to perfection as a society talk goes. 🙂