Irish pound

{{Short description|Currency of Ireland before 2002}} {{About|the currency of the Kingdom of Ireland, the Irish Free State and modern Ireland|the currency of Northern Ireland and of the whole of Ireland from 1826 to 1928|Pound sterling|the coin of the same value|One pound (Irish coin)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox currency | local_name1 = Punt Éireannach | local_name_lang1 = ga | name_abbr =  | image_1 = Irish pound (reverse).png | image_title_1 = [[One pound (Irish coin)|£1 coin]] (1990–2002) | image_width_1 = 150px | iso_code = IEP | using_countries = {{IRL}} [[File:Flag of Ireland.svg|23px|border]] [[Irish Free State]] [[File:Royal_Standard_of_Ireland_(1542–1801).svg|23px|border]] [[Kingdom of Ireland]] | ERM_since = 13 March 1979 | ERM_fixed_rate_since = 31 December 1998 | euro_replace_non_cash = 1 January 1999 | euro_replace_cash = 1 March 2002 | ERM_fixed_rate = £0.787564 (irrevocable) | unit = pound | subunit_ratio_1 = {{frac|1|100}} | subunit_name_1 = {{native name|en|[[penny]]|italics=no}} {{native name|ga|pingin|italics=no}} | symbol = [[Pound sign|£]] | symbol_subunit_1 = p | plural = {{native name|en|pounds|italics=no}} {{native name|ga|puint, punta|italics=no}} | plural_subunit_1 = {{native name|en|pence|italics=no}} {{native name|ga|pinginí, pingineacha|italics=no}} | frequently_used_coins = [[Penny (Irish decimal coin)|1p]], [[Two pence (Irish coin)|2p]], [[Five pence (Irish coin)|5p]], [[Ten pence (Irish coin)|10p]], [[Twenty pence (Irish coin)|20p]], [[Fifty pence (Irish coin)|50p]], [[One pound (Irish coin)|£1]] | nickname = quid | coin_article = Coins of the Republic of Ireland | frequently_used_banknotes = £5, £10, £20 | rarely_used_banknotes = £50, £100 | banknote_article = Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland | issuing_authority = [[Currency Commission of Ireland]] (1927-1943) [[Central Bank of Ireland]] (1943-2002) | issuing_authority_website = {{URL|www.centralbank.ie}} | printer = [[Currency Centre]] of the [[Central Bank of Ireland]] | mint = [[Currency Centre]] of the [[Central Bank of Ireland]] | obsolete = yes }} The '''pound''' ({{langx|ga|punt}}) was the [[currency]] of [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] until 2002. Its [[ISO 4217]] code was '''IEP''', and the [[Currency symbol|symbol]] was '''[[£]]''' (or '''IR£''' for distinction<ref>{{cite web |title=Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish-English Currency. |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1979-05-24/19/#spk_153 |website=Houses of the Oireachtas |access-date=17 July 2025}}</ref>). The Irish pound was replaced by the [[euro]] on 1 January 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1998/act/38/section/6/enacted/en/html |title=Economic and Monetary Union Act 1998, Section 6: Introduction of euro currency system|access-date=18 July 2020|date=13 July 1998}}</ref> Euro currency did not start circulating until the beginning of 2002.

==First pound== {{See also|Coins of Ireland}} [[File:62cdd2f7394d34.03999185-original.jpg|thumb|left|[[Farthing (British coin)|Farthing]] of 1744 with harp, crown and legend "[[Hibernia]]"]] The earliest Irish coinage was introduced in the late 10th century,<ref>{{Cite web |title=950–1450: Vikings, Normans and Medieval Mints |url=https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Art-and-Industry-Collections/Art-Industry-Collections-List/Numismatics/Airgead-A-Thousand-Years-of-Irish-Coins-Currency/950-1450-Vikings,-Normans-and-Medieval-Mints |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=National Museum of Ireland |language=en}}</ref> with an [[£sd]] system of one pound divided into twenty [[shilling]]s, each of twelve [[silver penny|silver pence]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Parity with [[pound sterling|sterling]] was established by [[John, King of England|King John]] around 1210, so that Irish silver could move freely into the English economy and help to finance his wars in France.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishcoinage.com/HAMMERED.HTM |title=Irish Hammered Coinage (~995 to ~1660) |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> However, in 1460, [[Henry_VI_of_England|King Henry VI]] summoned a parliament at [[Drogheda]] which passed legislation to devalue Irish coins.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McDowell |first1=J. Moore |title=The Devaluation of 1460 and the Origins of the Irish Pound |journal=Irish Historical Studies |date=1986 |volume=25 |issue=97 |pages=19–28 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30008587 |issn=0021-1214}}</ref> This caused them to be minted with a different silver content than those of England, so that the values of the two currencies diverged.

During the [[Williamite War]] of 1689–1691, [[James II of England|King James II]], no longer reigning in England and Scotland, issued an emergency base-metal coinage known as [[gun money]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tii.ie/tii-library/archaeology/Seanda%20Magazine/Seanda,%20Issue%207,%202012%20(Irish%20version)|title=IRIS SEANDÁLAÍOCHTA AN ÚBN 2012 Eagrán 7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.museum.ie/ga-IE/Museums/Decorative-Arts-History/Exhibitions/Airgead-A-Thousand-Years-of-Irish-Coins-Currency|title=Airgead: Míle Bliain de Bhoinn Airgid & Airgeadra na hÉireann | Decorative Arts & History | Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann|website=National Museum of Ireland}}</ref>

In 1701, a proclamation stated one [[English shilling]] was equal to 1''s.'' 1''d.'' in Irish, making it possible for Irish copper coins to circulate with English silver coins. In 1737, the gold [[guinea (coin)|guinea]] coin was fixed at 21''s.'' English or 22/9 Irish (i.e. 252 pence and 273 pence respectively). This effectively [[Fixed exchange rate system|pegged]] the Irish pound to the English at a ratio of 13:12 in both gold and silver, i.e. an Irish pound was worth {{frac|12|13}} of an English pound.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Irish Pound, 1797-1826: A Reprint of the Report of the Committee of 1804 of the House of Commons on the Condition of the Irish Currency |orig-date=2005 |date=2013 |location=Hoboken |publisher=Taylor and Francis |editor=Frank Whitson Fetter |isbn=9781136611070 |oclc=869091365}}</ref> (The [[Pound Scots]] had yet another value; it was absorbed into sterling in 1707 at a ratio of 12 to 1.) In 1801, the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] became part of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], but the Irish pound continued to circulate until January 1826. Between 1804 and 1813, silver tokens worth 10d were issued by the [[Bank of Ireland]] and were denominated in pence Irish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishcoinage.com/J00078.HTM |title=Bank of Ireland – Ten Pence Token – 1805 |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> The last copper coins of the Irish pound were minted in 1823, and in 1826 the Irish pound was merged with the pound sterling.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pulling |first=Alexander |title=Coin |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hl562h;view=1up;seq=166 |edition=2nd |series=The statutory rules and orders revised, being the statutory rules and orders (other than those of a local, personal, or temporary character) in force on December 31, 1903 |volume=2 |year=1904 |publisher=[[HMSO]] |location=London |pages=8–9 |chapter=Proclamation, dated December 20, 1825, assimilating the Gold and Silver Coinages in Great Britain and Ireland.}}</ref> After 1826, some Irish banks continued to issue paper currency, but these were denominated in sterling, and no more distinctly Irish coins were minted until the creation of the [[Irish Free State]] in the 20th century.

== {{anchor|IEP}}Second pound == ==={{lang|ga|Saorstát}} pound=== While at first continuing to use [[pound sterling|sterling]] after [[Anglo-Irish Treaty|its independence]] (1922), the new [[Irish Free State]] ({{langx|ga|Saorstát Éireann}}) introduced its own currency from 1928.<ref>The relevant enabling Acts were the [https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1926/en/act/pub/0014/print.html Coinage Act, 1926] and the [https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1927/en/act/pub/0032/print.html Currency Act, 1927].</ref> The new Free State pound was defined by the 1927 Act to have exactly the same weight and fineness of gold as did the [[sovereign (British coin)|sovereign]] at the time, having the effect of making the new currency [[fixed exchange-rate system|pegged]] at 1:1 with sterling. {{lang|la|[[De facto]]}} rather than {{lang|la|[[de jure]]}} parity with sterling was maintained for another fifty years. As with sterling, the [[£sd]] system was used, with the Irish names {{lang|ga|punt}} (plural: {{lang|ga|puint}}), {{lang|ga|scilling}} (plural: {{lang|ga|scillingí}}) and {{lang|ga|pingin}} (plural: {{lang|ga|pinginí}}). Distinctive [[coins of the Republic of Ireland|coins]] and [[Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland|notes]] were introduced, the coins from 1928 (in eight denominations: [[farthing (Irish coin)|{{frac|1|4}}''d.'']], [[halfpenny (Irish pre-decimal coin)|{{frac|1|2}}''d.'']], [[penny (Irish pre-decimal coin)|1''d.'']], [[threepence (Irish coin)|3''d.'']], [[sixpence (Irish coin)|6''d.'']], [[shilling (Irish coin)|shilling]] (1/–), [[florin (Irish coin)|florin]] (2/–), [[half crown (Irish coin)|half crown]] (2/6) and in 1966 a [[ten shilling coin|10/– coin]]){{snd}} all but the 3''d.'' and 6''d.'' had the same dimensions as their British counterparts, the Irish coins being thicker [[nickel]] coins in contrast to the thin 50% [[silver]] ones issued in the UK. However, sterling coins generally continued to be accepted on a one-for-one basis everywhere, whereas Irish coins were not generally accepted in the United Kingdom, except in parts of [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30035026.html|title=Euro becomes third currency in border town|date=1 January 2002|website=Irish Examiner}}</ref>

===Irish pound=== The [[Names of the Irish state|name of the state]] was officially changed to "Ireland" ([[Irish language|Irish]]: {{lang|ga|Éire}}) on the coming into force of the [[Constitution of Ireland]] on 29 December 1937. On 10 May 1938, the name of the currency became the Irish pound.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1938/sro/102/made/en/print|title=Currency Act 1927, Adaptation Order 1938|date=10 May 1938|access-date=18 July 2020|website=Irish Statute Book}}</ref>

=== Decimalisation=== The ''Report of the Metric System and Decimal Coinage Committee'' (1959) was amongst the first formal reports on [[decimalisation]] of the currency, discussion continued into the 1960s on the topic. When the British government decided to decimalise its currency, the Irish government followed suit. The Decimal Currency Act 1969 replaced the traditional shilling and penny with a centesimal subdivision, the "new penny" ({{lang|ga|pingin nua}}; symbol: p). The pound itself was not revalued by this act and therefore banknotes were unaffected, although the 10/– note was replaced by a 50p coin due to spiralling inflation. The new 5p coin correlated with the shilling coin, and the new 10p coin correlated with the florin coin. New coins were issued of the same dimensions and materials as the corresponding new British coins.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1969/act/23/enacted/en/html|title=Decimal Currency Act 1969|date=30 July 1969|access-date=18 July 2020|website=Irish Statute Book}}</ref> The Decimal Currency Act 1970 made additional provisions for the changeover not related with the issue of coins.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1970/act/21/enacted/en/html|title=Decimal Currency Act 1970|date=23 December 1970|access-date=18 July 2020|website=Irish Statute Book}}</ref>

Decimalisation was overseen by the Irish Decimal Currency Board, created on 12 June 1968. It provided changeover information to the public, including a pamphlet called ''Everyone's Guide to Decimal Currency''. The changeover occurred on [[Decimal Day]], 15 February 1971.

===Breaking the link with sterling=== The [[European Monetary System]] was introduced in the 1970s. Ireland decided to join it in 1978, but the United Kingdom stayed out.<ref>Mr. Hegarty in the Dáil: "With regard to our entry into the EMS we are glibly assuming that the Irish £ will appreciate against sterling on our entry. On reading a paper this morning I noticed that the opposite is true. In the first market opened by Barclays the Irish £ depreciated". [https://www.cvce.eu/obj/debates_at_the_irish_parliament_ireland_s_on_participation_in_the_european_monetary_system_13_december_1978-en-fef54719-5b44-4f7f-bde8-ed209883b9dd.html Debates at the Irish Parliament Ireland's on participation in the European Monetary System (13 December 1978)]</ref>

The [[European Exchange Rate Mechanism]] finally broke the one-for-one link that existed between the Irish pound and the [[pound sterling]]; by 30 March 1979 an [[exchange rate]] was introduced.<ref>"It was only in 1978, when beckoned to join the EMS, a Franco-German project for a new zone of monetary stability in Europe, that the Irish government decided to make the change. At first there was some hope that it would prove possible to hold the Irish pound’s value at one pound sterling while still respecting the fluctuation limits in the EMS, despite the fact that Britain had not joined the new exchange-rate mechanism. But the strength of sterling in the early months of the EMS, buoyed up as it was by North Sea oil revenues and by the tight monetary policy of the Thatcher administration, put paid to that hope. It is arguable that a continuation of the sterling link into the early 1980s would have proved politically unsupportable, considering the loss of competitiveness that it might have entailed at a time of rapidly growing unemployment associated with the fiscal adjustment of those years". "Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture", Vol. 1, James Donnelly ed., Macmillan Thomson Gale (2002)</ref>

This period also saw the creation of the [[Currency Centre]] at [[Sandyford]] in 1978, where banknotes and coinage could be manufactured within the state. Before this, banknotes were printed by specialist commercial printers in England, and coins were struck by the British [[Royal Mint]].

===1979–1999: Free-floating currency === [[File:DEM_to_IEP.svg|thumb|Historical exchange rate of the [[Deutsche Mark]] to the Irish pound (1979–99), showing a steady decline in the punt's exchange rate over most of the period.]] Until 1986, all decimal Irish coins were the same shape and size as their British counterparts. After this, however, all new denominations or redesigns of existing ones would not match corresponding UK coinage. The [[Twenty pence (Irish coin)|new 20p coin]] introduced that year and [[One pound (Irish coin)|the £1 coin]] (introduced in 1990) were completely different in size, shape and composition from the previously introduced British versions. When the British [[Five pence (British coin)|5p]] and [[Ten pence (British coin)|10p coins]] were reduced in size, the Irish followed suit, but [[Ten pence (Irish coin)|the new Irish 10p]] was smaller than the new British version introduced in 1992 and [[Five pence (Irish coin)|the new Irish 5p]], while identical in weight, was slightly larger than the British version introduced in 1990. The [[Fifty pence (Irish coin)|Irish 50p]] was never reduced in size (as [[Fifty pence (British coin)|the British one]] was in 1997). Although Britain issued a [[two pound coin|£2 coin]] in 1998 , there was no £2 coin in Ireland. Despite not being legal tender, sterling coins of the same shape and size were customarily accepted in Ireland. At time of the replacement with the euro, these were the 1p, 2p and 5p (although it was not exactly the same as the British 5p).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/select_committee_on_finance_and_the_public_service/1998-06-24/2/?highlight%5B0%5D=sterling&highlight%5B1%5D=coins | title=SELECT COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE debate - Wednesday, 24 Jun 1998 }}</ref>

===Replacement with the euro=== {{more|European Monetary System|European Monetary Union}}

On 31 December 1998, the exchange rates between the [[European Currency Unit]] and the Irish pound and 10 other EMS currencies (all but the pound sterling, the Swedish krona and the Danish krone) were fixed. The fixed conversion factor for the Irish pound was EUR{{nbsp}}1.00 = IEP{{nbsp}}0.787564. Of the 13 national currencies initially tied to the euro,{{efn|[[Belgian franc]], [[Deutsche Mark]], [[French franc]], Irish pound, [[Italian lira]], [[Dutch guilder]], [[Luxembourg franc]], [[Spanish peseta]], [[Modern drachma]], [[Portuguese escudo ]] as well as the currencies of the [[Vatican City]], [[Monaco]] and [[San Marino]]}} the Irish pound was the only one whose conversion factor was less than 1, i.e. the unit of the national currency was worth more than one euro{{snd}}almost EUR{{nbsp}}1.27 in this case.

[[File:Euro_Changeover_Board_of_Ireland_calculator_1.jpg|thumb|Euro Changeover Board of Ireland calculator]]

Although the euro became the currency of the [[eurozone]] countries including Ireland on 1 January 1999, it was not until 1 January 2002 that the state began to withdraw Irish pound coins and notes, replacing them with euro notes and coins. All other eurozone countries withdrew their currencies in a similar fashion, from that date. Irish pound coins and notes ceased to be legal tender on 9 February 2002.<ref name="irishstatutebook.ie">{{cite web |url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2001/si/313/made/en/print |title=Irish Pound Notes and Coins (Cessation of Legal Tender Status) Order 2001 |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> All Irish coins and banknotes, from the start of the Irish Free State onwards, both decimal and pre-decimal, may be redeemed for euros at Ireland's [[Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland|Central Bank]] in Dublin.

==See also== {{Portal|Ireland|Money|Numismatics| European Union}}

* [[Adoption of the euro in Ireland]] * [[Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland]] * [[Coins of the Republic of Ireland]] * [[Commemorative coins of Ireland]] * [[Irish euro coins]] * [[Economy of the Republic of Ireland]]

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/a-guide-to-valuing-all-your-old-irish-coins-photos A guide to valuing all your old Irish coins] * [http://www.irishpapermoney.com Irish banknotes] * [http://www.irishcoinage.com/ Irish coinage website – history, images and catalogue] * [https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/business/2001/euro_cash/spent_currencies/punt.stm Overview of Irish pound from the BBC] * [http://www.centralbank.ie/paycurr/notescoin/history/documents/spring8.pdf The Irish Pound: From Origins to EMU] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327173416/http://www.centralbank.ie/paycurr/notescoin/history/documents/spring8.pdf |date=27 March 2014 }} (734K PDF file, from Central Bank website). * [https://www.bis-ans-ende-der-welt.net/Irland-B-En.htm Historical banknotes of Ireland] {{in lang|en|de}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Pound}} [[Category:1928 establishments in Ireland]] [[Category:2002 disestablishments in Ireland]] [[Category:Central Bank of Ireland]] [[Category:Currencies of the British Empire]] [[Category:Currencies of the Republic of Ireland]] [[Category:Currencies replaced by the euro]] [[Category:Currencies with multiple banknote issuers]] [[Category:Economic history of Ireland]] [[Category:Modern obsolete currencies]] [[Category:Pound (currency)]]