The Central Bank of Ireland will spearhead national celebrations for the country’s upcoming centennial anniversary of its 1916 Proclamation of Independence. A new commemorative coin will be launched on January 19 for both circulation and for collectors. The coin is Ireland’s first-ever separate commemorative €2 coin since it adopted the euro single currency in 2002.
The Independence of the Irish Republic was first declared on the steps of the Central Post Office on O’Connell Street (formerly Sackville street) in Dublin on April 24, 1916, or Easter Monday. For this reason, the event is often referred to as the Easter Rising. The proclamation was read out on the post office steps by Pádraig Pearse (1879 – 1916), a political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising. Remembered as a national hero, Pearse was portrayed on an Irish circulation coin in 1966 for the 50th anniversary of the same event.
A portion of this declaration reads:
We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and government has not extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the Irish people.
The coin is designed by veteran CBI artist Emmett Mullins. The BU versions are produced at the Central Bank’s own minting facilities in Sandyford, with the Proof versions being produced by the Austrian Mint. The design features a depiction of the statue of Hibernia, the allegorical female representation of Ireland, on top of the General Post Office. The coin includes the centenary dates and the name HIBERNIA in hand-rendered lettering influenced by the Book of Kells. The reverse includes the current and standard design for all two euro coins as introduced in 2002.
|€2||Bi-metallic||8.5 Grams||25.7 mm||BU bookmark||25,000 pieces|
|€2||Bi-metallic||8.5 Grams||25.7 mm||BU Coin card||75,000 pieces|
|€2||Bi-metallic||8.5 Grams||25.7 mm||Proof||20,000 pieces|
The €2 piece will be available from January 20 in both a standard coin-card presentation, as well as in a useful bookmark packaging with the coin placed at the top. A Proof version is available as well, separately packaged in a presentation box. The Proof version will also be included in the annual Proof set consisting of the standard eight denominations.
For more information on this and other coins offered by the Central Bank of Ireland, please visit their Web site.