Description

The shilling (1s) (Irish: scilling) coin was a subdivision of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth  1⁄20 of a pound.

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. 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to circulate alongside its replacement five pence (which also featured a bull on the reverse); the shilling was finally withdrawn from circulation on 1 January 1993 as a smaller five pence coin was introduced.

The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann; 6 December 1922 – 29 December 1937) was a state established in 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. That treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and British Crown forces. The Free State came to an end with the coming into force of a new constitution on 29 December 1937 when the state took the name "Ireland".

Engraver: Percy Metcalfe