Irish shilling coin
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| Shilling Scilling |
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| Bull |
The shilling coin was a pre-decimal coin worth 1/20th of an Irish pound. The coin featured the bull on the obverse side.
The original minting of the coin from 1928 until 1942 contained 75% silver; this Irish coin had a higher content than the equivalent British coin. It is believed[citation needed] that this was done so that the new currency would not be seen as a poor substitute to the British currency which circulated alongside. The silver coins are quite noticeable as they have a more "whitish" look[weasel words] than the later cupronickel coins that were minted from 1951; also the silver coins wear less well. The cupronickel coin contained 75% copper and 25% nickel.
The coin (design by Percy Metcalf) had a diameter of 0.935 inches (23.7 mm) and weight of 87 3/11 grains (5.655 grams). The last shillings were minted in 1968. When the currency was decimalised, this coin continued to circulate alongside its replacement five pence (which also featured a bull on the obverse); the shilling was finally withdrawn from circulation on January 1, 1993 as a smaller five pence coin was introduced.
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