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| Issuer | Irish Postal Service (An Post / Department of Posts and Telegraphs) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ORDÚ POIST ÉIREANNACH IRISH POSTAL ORDER DON AIRE POIST AGUS TELEGRAFA TO THE MINISTER FOR POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS CÚIG PHUNT £5 DOSHANNTA NOT NEGOTIABLE ÉIRE 10 PENCE 10 bpingin SÍNIÚ / SIGNATURE MINISTIR POIST / POSTMASTER |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | MÁ CHROSÁILTEAR AN tORDÚ SEO AR NÓS SEIC NÍ ÍOCFAR É ACH TRÍ BHANC COMHAIRLÍTEAR DON SEOLTÓIR AINM NA hÍOC-OIFIGE A CHUR ISTEACH SULA SCARFAIDH SÉ LEIS AN ORDÚ, AR EAGLA GO gCAILLFÍ AN tORDÚ NÓ GO nGOIDFÍ É THE SENDER IS RECOMMENDED TO FILL IN THE NAME OF THE OFFICE OF PAYMENT BEFORE PARTING WITH THE ORDER, AS A PRECAUTION IN CASE THE ORDER SHOULD BE LOST OR STOLEN |
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| Comments |
Irish postal orders were issued by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs until An Post was established as a semi-state body in 1984, so this 1981 piece falls squarely under the older departmental authority. The £5 denomination was the ceiling value for Irish postal orders at the time — a deliberate limit tied to regulatory concerns about postal orders being used as informal currency substitutes rather than simple payment instruments.
Collectors sometimes overlook postal orders entirely, but the Irish series has a narrower survival rate than comparable British issues: most were cashed and destroyed by the issuing post office, with uncashed examples surviving largely by accident.