685 IRELAND. 1966, 10 Shilling, Silver – Easter Rising, Pearse, Cú Chulainn – 1916 Commemorative Coin

IRELAND. 1966, 10 Shilling, Silver – Easter Rising, Pearse, Cú Chulainn – 1916 Commemorative Coin. The Ten Shilling coin was a one-off commemorative coin issued in Ireland in 1966 to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Ten shillings was a subdivision of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth 1⁄2 of an Irish pound, making this the highest-value coin in the pre-decimal system. The coin was ⁠83+1/3⁠% silver and ⁠16+2/3⁠% copper. It measured 1.2 inches (30 mm) in diameter and weighed 18.144 g, therefore containing 0.4861 troy ounces (15.12 g) of silver. The coin did not prove popular, and 1,270,000 of the two million produced were withdrawn and melted down. This unpopularity may be due to the ten-shilling note which was still in circulation. This Coin evokes many emotions for Irish People – Padraig Pearse looking ‘regal’ and rightly so as we have a lot to Thank him for, Verso is Cú Chulainn  a mythical Irish hero, who is seen tied to a stone and with a raven on his shoulder. The figure of Cú Chulainn is a miniature of the statue by Oliver Sheppard, in the General Post Office, Dublin.  €195