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1/2 Penny - George III
| Issuer | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1805 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A crowned Irish harp (cláirseach) occupies the centre of the field, its forepillar rendered with ornate scrollwork terminating in volutes at top and bottom, and surmounted by a royal crown. The date 1805 is positioned in the lower exergual area, flanked by dots. The legend HIBERNIA arcs around the upper periphery, with a toothed border encircling the entire design. |
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| Mintage | 1805 - KM#147.1 (engrailed edge) - 1805 - KM#147.1 (engrailed edge) Proof - 1805 - KM#147.2 (smooth edge) Proof restrike - |
| Additional information |
Ireland's copper coinage had been a chronic embarrassment for decades before this issue — the island was flooded with lightweight counterfeit halfpennies and privately struck tokens through the late 18th century, with Regal coinage largely absent since the 1780s. The 1805 issue was part of Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint contract, the same Birmingham operation responsible for the celebrated 1797 British cartwheel coinage. Boulton brought his steam-powered presses and hardened dies to the job, producing coins of a consistency Irish circulation had not seen in a generation.
The contract was among the last major Soho Mint undertakings before Boulton's death in 1809.