Charles II Irish Shilling

What always surprises me about the Charles II Irish shilling is how it was often struck on planchets recycled from melted Spanish reales, a makeshift approach to bolster Ireland's coin supply during turbulent times.

That silver came from the Tower Mint in London, where workers hammered out these pieces between 1680 and 1684, bearing the king's bust and a harp on the reverse. The designs varied slightly, with some showing cruder strikes due to worn dies—evidence of the era's haste. Mintage figures? They're murky; records from that period were likely destroyed in later fires or simply never kept.

If you handle one, note the edge lettering, a security measure against clipping, though it didn't always deter enterprising thieves. After thirty years, I've grown weary of tales about their "curses" or hidden treasures; they're just coins, flaws and all.