You Can’t Take It With You
Danielle Fitzsimons | 22 Sep 2017
Did you know that out of the 15 national currencies originally tied to the euro, the Irish pound was the only one where the unit of the national currency was worth more than one euro?
And it seems that, as a nation, we were reluctant to hand it all over at once.
In January this year The Irish Sun reported that Irish citizens still had up to €350million worth of old punt notes and coins stashed away or lost down the couch.
According to The Irish Central Bank, 15 years after the big switch, an estimated €227,125,638.68 in banknotes and €123,741,177.34 in coin are still missing.
In 2016 €1.284 million in punt notes and €194,800 in coins was exchanged by our Central Bank, which is apparently the lowest annual value to date.
If you find some old punts and want to exchange them for euro, make sure to double check what you’ve got first.
Some old coins are worth a lot more than their face value and the Irish Central Bank currently doesn't provide a valuation service.
For example, a 1985 halfpenny in excellent condition could be worth up to €100, a 1986 ten pence piece could be worth between €4.00 and €120 depending on the condition, a 1986 fifty pence piece is potentially worth between €5.00 and €150, again depending on condition and an (extremely rare) 1985 twenty pence piece could be worth between €1,250 and €7,000!
If you go back pre decimal (1928-1969) things get even more interesting. A 1939 half penny with minimum signs of wear is worth about €50 but a ‘Choice Uncirculated’ 1938 penny could be worth up to €35,000!
There’s some really easy to navigate value estimates along with images and coin grading information at http://www.irishcoinage.com/ if you have a coin you want to check.
Earlier this month the Central Bank of Ireland launched collectorcoins.ie, a new website where members of the public can buy collector coins online.
This website also allows you to check the value of past issues of collector and special edition coins
https://www.collectorcoins.ie/en/shop/themes/history.html
For punt to euro exchanges over €100, the Irish Central Bank ask that a photocopy of a valid form of photo ID (e.g. driver’s licence or passport) is provided but they retain the right to ask for ID and proof of address in all cases.
Submissions on behalf of businesses, exceeding €100, should include a redacted bank statement (showing company name and address) and the Company Registration Office number instead of photo ID.
The punt to euro exchange rate is still £1 = €1.269738.
You can find more information on exchanges at
https://www.centralbank.ie/consumer-hub/notes-and-coins/exchange-of-notes-and-coins
References:
https://www.centralbank.ie/consumer-hub/notes-and-coins/faqs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_pound
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