2016-07-09 Sat

Dix Noonan Webb auction was held on June 8-9, when two rare patterns of the type Irish Free State’s new money in 1927 were sold. The estimate price of a pattern halfcrown was £4,000 to £5,000, but was sold for an impressive £13,200. The estimate price of a hreepence was £2,800 to £3,200, but was sold for £7,200.

The coins were designed by Italian sculptor Publio Morbiducci (1889 to 1963) and were submitted through a competition that was held to design the first currency of the newly-independent nation. The halfcrown features a horse while the threepence features a hare.

Pattern coins were simply test coins that were minted to judge the designs. They were inherited from the seller’s grandfather in Italy right from World War II times. Experts believe that only one halfcrown and four such threepences exist today.