George III Irish Bank Token
This silver coin is only 18mm in diameter but is shown greatly enlarged. It was found by Paul Marland and is an Irish bank token of George, III which is dated 1805 on the reverse.
A wider range of bank tokens were made in England than in Ireland. However, the Irish issues included 5 pence and 10 pence whereas the lowest English denomination was 18 pence. Some Irish tokens circulated in England; this is the third 5 pence token I have seen as an English detecting find.
If you are thinking of buying one of these then take care, as lots of forgeries were made during the early part of the 19th century. They have a base metal core, which has a thin covering of silver and the best fakes are close copies of the genuine article.
Valuation
Paul’s Irish 5 pence piece is in Fine condition but being fairly common it would be worth at best £12 – £15.
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