Richard II Irish Penny

The Irish penny of Richard II features a design that awkwardly blends English royal imagery with local minting practices, such as the prominent long cross that aimed to thwart coin clipping. This made it a practical, if unremarkable, attempt at currency stability in a turbulent era.

Struck at the Dublin mint, these silver pennies typically show Richard's crowned bust and the Latin legend declaring him king of England, a nod to the island's colonial status under his rule. We know production occurred between 1377 and 1399, but exact mintage figures are lost to history, likely destroyed in later archival mishaps. Variations in the coin's weight and fineness suggest inconsistent silver supplies, possibly sourced from melted foreign imports.

As for myths, I've heard tales of these pennies funding rebellions, but that's probably overblown—more tavern lore than fact. They were just coins, after all, circulating until they wore out.