The Irish ten shilling coin featured Cúchulainn, the mythical Irish hero, the coin was produced for the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising and commenced circulation on April 12 1966 and was designed by T Hugh Paget. The coin was 83½ silver and 16½ copper. The figure of Cúchulainn is a miniature of the statute presently in the General Post Office, Dublin by Oliver Shepherd . The coin did not prove popular and 1,270,000 of the 2 million produced were withdrawn and melted down, this unpopularilty maybe due to the ten shilling note which was in circulation, twenty thousand coins were issued as proofs in issue cases. The coin was the highest value Irish coin until then, at 1/2 an Irish pound.

The ten shilling is the only Irish coin to feature an inscription on edge until the Irish euro coins, this is "Éirí Amach na Cásca 1916", which can be translated as "1916 Easter Rising"; the inscription was in Gaelic script on a smooth edge. The coin is also the only modern circulated Irish coin not to feature the harp, instead featuring the bust of Padraig Pearse the revolutionary.

The coin was a diameter of 1.125 inches and weight of 280 grams. This coin was officially removed from circulation from February 10, 2002; this was possibly just to remove any legal oversight involved in not officially removing the coin from circulation, any coins that were in circulation in 1966 were quickly hoarded by collectors and admirers in any case.

See also

• Official Seal of the President of Ireland

External link

• Coinage (Amendment) Act, 1966)
• Irish Pound Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 2001