Irish penny of Edward IV

The detectorist who unearthed this coin signed himself as ‘Jeff’. It looks very similar to an English hammered silver penny but it is actually an Irish coin.

On the obverse there are pellets by the king’s neck and on the reverse is the usual cross pattee with three pellets in each angle. This is an Irish penny of Edward IV, which was struck during the light cross and pellets coinage. As is very often the case, the flan is too small for the dies and the end result it that the legends are almost completely flat. The bust on the obverse is Burns type 5 and in Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands this penny is listed as number 6364.

In the past many Irish pennies of Edward IV have been inadvertently identified as being English, especially those with a quatrefoil in the centre of the reverse. They were imported from Ireland and to make them easier to pass as English coins many had the quatrefoil, which was placed on English pennies struck for the profit of the Archbishop of York.

Valuation

Jeff’s coin has no legends but will have been struck at Dublin. Even though its overall condition leaves something to be desired it should still be worth £25 to a collector.

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