Ireland

Medieval Irish coins for sale.

Throughout history, England , Ireland and Scotland operated as kingdoms, until in 1707 the three were united to form Great Britain, though Southern Ireland became a free state in 1920.
The silver penny formed the basis of the early currencies from the Saxon and Viking period. Kingdoms were lost and annexed throughout history, giving rise to both similarities and differences compared to the english coinage, thus many unique types were issued specific to both Ireland and Scotland.

In Ireland coinage began with an extensive series of Hiberno-Norse coins, some of which are affordable and most copy English/Scandinavian types. After this period came the exceedingly rare halfpenny of Prince John (AD 1185) and Ireland quickly established a comprehensive coinage under king John in the early 13th Century.