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IR1035 - Charles I and the Great
Rebellion, The Confederate Catholics of Kilkenny, Copper Halfpenny, 5.20g.,
(15th November 1642 - 27th March 1650), crown and two scepters in a
saltire, rev., crowned harp (S.6555), weakly struck as is the
norm for this crudely struck issue, very fine where struck up, rare. $895
SOLD |
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Historical Background
Following the Irish Catholic uprising
that began in October 1641, representatives of the Catholic Clergy, "Old
Anglo-Irish" Catholic aristocracy and Gaelic rebels convened at Kilkenny
to discuss ways of controlling the Irish Uprising and of achieving
national unity against the Protestant forces opposing them. Asserting
their loyalty to King Charles, the Confederates drew up a Constitution
at Kilkenny on November 15th, 1642 which in addition to establishing a
bureaucracy for the civil, legal and military administration of Ireland,
made provisions for the control of the coinage. It raised
the value of the Irish, English, Scottish and foreign coins in
circulation and ordered the striking of halfpennies and farthings from
400lbs of copper. Crude forgeries of the copper issues soon appeared and
in response the Confederacy began countermarking the genuine coins with two different countermarks, 'a castle with a
K below' and 'a rosette of five small castles' .
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