The Numismatic Society of Ireland is pleased toannounce the publication of Edward Colgan's newbook:

OUR OWN COINAGE
THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL BACKGROUND
TO THE COINAGE OF IRELAND 1926 - 2002

Written by NSI member Edward Colgan thisimportant book brings together many years ofresearch and study which embrace the records ofthe Houses of the Oireachtas, holdings of theNational Museum of Ireland, the Archives of theCentral Bank of Ireland, holdings of the RoyalMint, and image libraries of leading auctioneersand other numismatists. Permissions have beengranted by them to publish images some of whichhave never been published previously.

OUR OWN COINAGE traces the story in fourteen chapters of how the coinage ofIreland evolved from the highly acclaimed and now fondly remembered 1928 set ofsilver, nickel and bronze coins of Saorstát Éireann through the coins of Éire and theÉire Decimal series to the Euro coins of 2002. The early chapters bring insights tothe debates in the Houses of the Oireachtas and Seanad, to the work of W B Yeats'Committee and to the engagement of Percy Metcalfe when designing and modelling thefirst coins. The middle chapters explain the change to cupro-nickel and a new design.These chapters also explain the change to decimal. The final chapters are concernedwith the introduction of the Euro series.

The fourteen chapters are fully illustrated with high quality images and explain thebackground to the coins that are in Irish collectors' trays. They also tells the story ofcoins that were planned but never came to production. For some proposals theyillustrate plaster models and other designs that were never used. The background tocommemorative coins and principal varieties is also mentioned.

It is one hundred years since 1926 when the Irish Government commenced theprocess of having our own coinage and Edward Colgan's work is the first time thatthe story of the coins of Ireland have been published as a comprehensive account inbook form. OUR OWN COINAGE is the third title in the Numismatic Society ofIreland book series and is a full companion to the first two - IRISH TAVERNTOKENS and GUNMONEY. It is an essential volume for the Irish numismaticslibrary.

Illustrations
The book is extensively illustrated and all of the images are enlarged.

Description
Hardback; x, 124; 178x252mm; bibliography and comprehensive index; ISBN 978-0-902605-04-6. This edition will be traditionally lithograph printed in Dublin on130gsm gloss paper in full colour, thread stitched and hardbound by a Dublinantiquarian bookbinder with buckram cloth finish and gold lettering.

Citation
COLGAN, E. (2026) OUR OWN COINAGE: THE POLITICAL AND LEGALBACKGROUND TO THE COINAGE OF IRELAND 1926 - 2002, NumismaticSociety of Ireland, Dublin.

OUR OWN COINAGE is recommended as an essential reference for all Irishnumismatics libraries.

Edward Colgan has been a collector for over 50 years, witha special interest in Irish, Scottish, British colonial andCommonwealth coins. This interest began during familyholidays to Kerry when he first came across PercyMetcalfe's animal designs of the barnyard series. The bullon the shilling was his favourite then and it still remains tothis day - after all it was meant to be a Kerry Black.

Edward is a member of the Numismatic Society of Ireland,a Fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society, a Member ofthe British Numismatic Society, and is a past President ofthe Wessex Numismatic Society. Over several years hehas been a regular contributor to COIN NEWS a leadingcoin publication. He is the author of FOR WANT OFGOOD MONEY - THE STORY OF IRELAND'SCOINAGE published in 2003 and for which he was awarded the Royal NumismaticSociety's Lhotka Prize. Edward's writing has also been recognised by the AmericanNumismatic Literary Guild.

Subscriber Edition 2026
The publication price of OUR OWN COINAGE is €65 and it isbeing offered to members and friends of NSI at a specialdiscounted pre-publication price of €52, plus postage andpacking, provided their completed Order Form and payment arereceived before 22 December, 2025. There is also the popularpackage of 3 copies for €145. Simply note that on your OrderForm.

As part of this special offer the author and the Society are offering the free-of-chargeopportunity to be named in the book among the List of Subscribers to this edition andto receive the NSI Subscriber's Provenance Medallion for affixing to their individualcopy. This old tradition was well received for our previous books and it is beingcontinued for this book too. We know from experience that collectors enjoy theprovenance that their naming in this listing gives to their copy. The offer is alsoavailable to dealers who want to include a customer's name in the List of Subscribers.Members who do not wish to be listed in the List of Subscribers may also avail of thespecial discounted pre-publication offer. Simply note your preference to remainunlisted in the space provided on the Order Form.

All orders and full payment for the discounted pre-publication offer must be receivedbefore 22 December, 2025 to enable the final manuscript and List of Subscribers tobe prepared.