IR607 - Ireland / British Colonies in North America, George III (1760-1820), Copper Halfpenny,
VOCE POPULI token coinage by Roche of South King Street, Dublin, 1760,
VOCE POPULI, laureate head right, rev., HIBERNIA 1760, seated figure
of Hibernia left with harp, (DF 572),
very fine.
$625
Struck by
the Dublin button manufacturer Roche, this token coinage was intended to
fill the gap left by a lack of government issued coinage. Roche was a
Jacobite sympathizer and it has been suggested that the bust on the obverse
is that of Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender). This coinage like
many other contemporary forgeries and token coinages was exported to
Colonial America where it also circulated. Voce Populi means "voice of the
people" or "the people's choice'.
