1/2 Penny - John First Coinage

John's first Irish coinage was struck following his disastrous 1185 expedition to Ireland, during which he arrived as Lord of Ireland — a title created by his father Henry II specifically for him — and promptly alienated the native chieftains who had come to submit. The coinage itself predates his accession to the English throne by sixteen years and represents one of the few instances where a pre-regnal monetary authority was exercised by an English prince over a separate territory.

The halfpence of this series are considerably scarcer than the pennies, surviving in far smaller numbers. Spink 6203 places it within the Dublin mint attribution.