Ireland ½-PENNY (KM10)¶
-
Reverse PIG with PIGLETS
-
Obverse Irish Harp (national symbol)
- Composition
- Bronze
- Country
- Ireland
- Approx. Size
- 26mm
- Area
- Europe
- Animal Class
- Mammals
- Species
- Pig
- KM#
- 10
The Irish "Barnyard Series" of coins features animals that were very important to Ireland's mainly agricultural economy. The half-penny features a sow and her piglets. When this coin was issued, most families in rural Ireland kept at least one pig, that was fed kitchen refuse, and other vegetable and animal scraps. This design appeared on the first coinage of the Irish Free State in 1928 (KM#2), and was carried over with a modified obverse on this issue from 1939 to 1967. For more on modern Irish coinage, please visit this site.
Ireland¶
- Area
- Europe
Ireland (the island) is the third largest island in Europe. Ireland (the country) covers over 80% of the island. The north-east part of the island is "Northern Island" which is part of Great Britain.
The area was covered with ice during the last ice age, and stone age settlers arrived sometime after 8000 BCE. Culture on the island progressed through the Mesolithic, high Neolithic, and the Bronze age (c. 2500 BCE). The Iron Age in Ireland is associated with the Celts, who may have conquered the island between the 8th and 1st centuries BCE. However, many scholars now favour cultural diffusion over colonization. To Rome, the island was known as Hibernia, but it is unclear what relationship Rome had with the many tribes on the island.
According to legend, St. Patrick arrived in 432 CE and worked to convert the inhabitants to Christianity, eventually leading to the collapse of the druid tradition. Ireland would become a centre of high-learning during the Early Middle Ages. During this time latin learning and Christian theology flourished, and many cultural treasures were produced, such as the Book of Kells. This period was interrupted in the 9th century by 200 years of Viking invasions and warfare, until the vikings eventually settled down (in Ireland).
In 1172, King Henry II of England claimed Irish lands, based on a papal bull that said he could. English influence would slowly expand until 1801 when the Act of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
In the 1840s, the Great Famine killed at least one million Irish people, and forced another million to emigrate.
The late 19th and early 20th century was marked by an unsuccessful campaign for Irish home rule, which lead to militant separatism. The Irish-Anglo war of 1922 lead to 26 counties seceding from Great Britain and forming the Irish Free State. A civil war followed, and the Irish republic was declared in 1949. The state was plagued by poverty until the near the end of the 20th century when Ireland enjoyed unprecedented economic success. Today, Ireland is a major contributor in the European Union, and more people are moving to Ireland, rather than moving away.
