I don't know much of anything about these, but I picked this one up recently. Anyone know a good reference online to learn about silver tokens from this era? All my other tokens from this period are copper Conder tokens.
I don't know of a single reference but there's quite a lot online about the English equivalents. I'm less familiar with the Irish issues, but this was the time when the Bank of England was attempting to resolve the coinage crisis that came to a head in the 1790s, in lieu of any action from the Royal Mint. I think the Bank of Ireland followed suit. The Bank of England had a stockpile of Spanish silver coins and, given the general shortage of silver, decided to get them into circulation by countermarking them. George III Half Dollar, 1797 Madrid. Silver, 32mm, 13.0g (S 3767). The oval countermark of George III was stamped in 1797 in London on a Spanish Charles IIII four reales, 1791 MF. Matthew Boulton of the Soho Mint, Birmingham (very much the saviour of the coinage at the time) convinced the Bank of England that their countermarks were easy to counterfeit. So he produced dollars from the Spanish silver. George III Dollar, 1804 Soho Mint, Birmingham. Silver from a flattened Spanish 8 reales. 41mm, 27g with test cut. (S 3768). The Bank of England then issued these 'tokens', so called because legally only the Royal Mint was meant to issue 'coins', but wasn't issuing much of anything. The Bank of Ireland did the same (using very similar designs). George III Eighteenpence Bank Token, 1815 London. Silver, 26mm, 7.3g (S 3772). George III 3 Shilling Bank Token, 1813 London. Silver, 34mm, 14.8g (S 3770). The crisis was eventually addressed by the Great Recoinage of 1816.
I also collect Irish coins along with the Japanese. I have the same coin which can be found in Krause as KM. Tn5. I have just moved and my coin reference books are still in boxes. However, I do recall reading that there was a shortage of quality metal following the Napoleonic wars. The Bank of Ireland issued silver five and ten pence bank tokens in 1805 and 1806. The Act authorizing the tokens was only effective for 1805 so the bank quickly changed the coins to 1805 and continued to issue these tokens dated 1805 during 1806, 1807 and 1808. There was also a 30 pence (half crown) coin. I have one but honestly it is not in that great of shape. The final issue of the silver ten pence token occurred in 1813. There were production problems with the quality of the silver used as so many examples have flaws or carbon flecks embedded in the surfaces. The silver apparently may have come from the Spanish colonies in America. I believe you will find a better and more knowledgeable write up under www.irishcoinage.com. Go to the "Irish Milled Coinage" Section. John
