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Millennium Nickle Silver Pound Coin 2000
See enlarge image.
This frosted one
pound coin was struck to commemorate the
millennium.
The obverse, as
is usual with Irish coins, features the Harp. The reverse of the coin, is
designed by Alan Ardiff and Garrett Stokes. The principal design feature is
based on the Broighter Boat, which is part of a hoard of gold objects
found at Broighter, Co Derry in 1896. This boat, which is on display at
the National Museum, dates from the first century
BC. |
Newspaper report
1999:
A new £1.00
Millennium Coin was launched today (Monday 29 November) at the National Museum
by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, TD. The coin, which will be issued into general
circulation in January 2000, has been produced to mark the new millennium. A
commemorative edition of the coin is also being produced.
The launch was
also attended by the Governor of the Central Bank, Maurice O'Connell, and the
Chairman of the National Millennium Committee, Minister Seamus Brennan. The new
coin forms part of the series of projects organised and promoted by the National
Millennium Committee.
The Millennium Coin is the last Irish coin to be
produced before the introduction of the euro currency in 2002. It marks the end
of more than 70 years of Irish coinage, first introduced in 1928.
The design
of the new coin features the word 'Millennium', a pair of stars and a graphic
representation of a boat. The primary image is based on the Broighter Boat, a
miniature in gold which was found as part of the Broighter Hoard in Co. Derry in
1896. It dates from the first century BC and is on display at the National
Museum, Kildare Street.
The Millennium Coin is designed by Alan Ardiff, a
jeweller based in Pearse Street, Dublin and Garrett Stokes of the Dublin-based
design and communications firm, Visual Communications. The design of the coin
was chosen following an open competition held earlier in the year.
The
Central Bank will issue five million of the new coins into general circulation
from January 2000.
Irish
Coins.
The Irish Government appointed a
committee, headed by William Butler Yeats, to advise them on coin designs and in
1928 the new coinage made its appearance. The designs finally selected were the
work of Percy Metcalfe.
The obverse of each coin carries the traditional
Irish harp and the reverse a series of animals indigenous to the Irish
countryside. These are a woodcock on the farthing, a pig with piglets on the
halfpenny, a hen with chickens on the penny, a hare on the threepence, a
wolfhound on the sixpence, a bull on the shilling, a salmon on the florin and a
horse on the halfcrown.
Because a head of the ruling
monarch formerly appeared on the obverse and harp on the reverse, many people
erroneously think of the animals as being 'heads' and the harp 'tails'. Apart
from a change of legend when Ireland became a republic (on coins dated from 1949
onwards) these designs remained the same until decimalisation on the 15th of
February 1971.
The farthing was only minted in
1966 to complete the set. It was never used as currency because of it's low
value. The last minted farthing used as currency was in 1959.
Decimalisation has been with us
for over 30 years and now it is gone. Euro currency is legal tender in Ireland
since 1st January 2002.
Condition: E xtra Fine -
uncirculated
Measures:
1.25" diameter.
PLEASE NOTE WORLD
WIDE SHIPPING RATE
IF YOU LIVE ON THE ISLAND OF IRELAND
DIVIDE THE
RATE IN HALF.
Allow $4.00 for
insurance, packing and shipping.
GOOD LUCK!
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