1/2 Penny - William III

William III's Irish copper coinage of the 1690s was produced under royal patent at a time when Ireland's legitimate small-change supply had been catastrophically disrupted by the "gun money" episode of 1689–1691, during which James II melted down cannon, bells, and scrap metal to strike emergency coinage. The residual distrust of base-metal tokens made acceptance of any new copper issue politically fraught, and William's halfpence circulated alongside a chaotic mix of counterfeit and worn pieces for years afterward.

The 1696 date falls within the first contracted issue for Ireland under the new regime. Die-cutting quality was inconsistent across the run.