By Edmond Barrett
In 1993 the new, small ten pence coin was introduced to replace the 1971 design. Time, and with it inflation, had rendered the old design increasingly expensive in relation to its monetary value. With the successful introduction of the smaller version of the 5p coin, the time seemed right for a new smaller 10p coin.
There was a clear desire to maintain a continuity with the original salmon design by the artist Percy Metcalfe. In the coin that would emerge, the broad brushstrokes of Metcalfe’s vision would remain, with the salmon reversing direction but otherwise unchanged, and the Irish harp would remain on the obverse.
Where there was change was in the details. The beading of the pre-decimalisation florin would return, while the edge would take on a coarser milling to aid identification by touch—a consideration for the blind and partially sighted. It was intended that the new 10p coin be produced in cheaper nickel-brass, as had been done with the 20p coin. The issue of tarnishing could not be overcome, however, resulting in a return to the more expensive cupro-nickel.
With a design settled on, a number of pre-production coins were struck. It is a convention in minting that even test pieces are struck with the year of their creation. The small 10p would only become legal tender in 1993 but these test pieces would be dated 1992. Exactly how many coins were minted is not known but it is thought to have been only a few hundred. The majority of these were issued to Telecom Éireann engineers to allow the recalibration of thousands of payphones to accept the new coin.
The 1992 coins were to be returned to the Central Bank to be melted down but, just as the number created is unknown, there is no information on how many were recovered. What was certain was that by 2023 only two were still known to exist. In private hands, this pair were sold at auction for approximately €12,000.
As part of the design process, the Department of Finance was issued with a set of pre-production coins as well as two alternative designs. There were two coins in the nickel-brass and one alternative design lacking the beading with a fine milled edge. Like the coins issued to Telecom Éireann, these coins were to be returned to the Central Bank. Instead, the little packet was filed away—and forgotten.
In 2023 the file in question became eligible for release under the terms of the National Archive Act. The packet was happened upon by a member of the Department of Finance Archiving Unit but initially its full importance wasn’t appreciated.
It would be the two rejected nickel-brass coins that would be the collection’s salvation. With a familiar design but in obviously the ‘wrong’ metal, these would trigger an investigation by the Archive Unit staff. It was only following consultation with members of the Numismatic Society of Ireland and the Coins Section of the National Museum that the full nature and importance of the collection was identified.
Edmond Barrett is an Executive Officer in the Archiving and File Management Unit of the Department of Finance.