A celebration of the artwork of Irish Coins
January 1971 – February 2002
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Half penny decimal coin |
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One penny decimal coin |
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Two pence decimal coin |
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Hand-crafted
bronze sculpted relief interpretation of the Irish decimal coins by Annette
Crump Set of three in
bronze. Limited edition of 100. |
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From
midnight on 9th February 2002, these beautiful coins disappeared from
circulation with the introduction of the new Euro coins. In order to celebrate the original
artwork of these coins and the artwork of Gabrielle Hayes, Annette Crump has
created three handmade sculptured plaques based on her designs for the
half-penny, penny and two pence piece.
A Labour of Love
Having
been a long time fan of these beautiful coins, Annette was compelled to pay
homage to their beauty when the Irish coinage was being prepared to be phased
out. Initially these coins had to
be studied under a microscope to work out their complex and intricate line so
typical of the Celtic work they are based on. They were then painstakingly modelled
into wax then cast into plaster where the line and form could be further
sharpened. Bringing the work then into aluminium has created a master which
allows an edition to be created in bronze.
These can then be patinated with a wide
variety of colours.
Developing
on from just a visual appreciation, she very much enjoyed researching the
history of the coinage and seeing how intertwined it was with the dramatic
changing history of
These
plaques won first prize in non-precious metals category of the Crafts Council
competition in Dublin 2003.
For further details, email to enquiries@crumplehorn.com
or visit her website at www.crumplehorn.com
Annette Crump, sculptor, is available for
commissioned commemorative work of any kind and considers heraldry and medals
to be of particular interest. She
is available for interview via the following contact information
A celebration of the artwork of Irish Coins
January 1971
– February 2002
The
artwork for these three coins was originally created by Irish sculptor
Gabrielle Hayes. She submitted
three designs to the Department of Finance in 1968 in response to a competition
searching for a new national currency for the
They
were adaptations of images taken from Celtic manuscripts, the most famous of
these being the Book of Kells which is currently on
display in
Background History
The
A
committee was set up under the chairmanship of W.B. Yeats,
noted poet and writer, to select suitable designs. The committee invited seven prominent
artists to submit proposals for the coinage in accordance with certain
guidelines. These included a requirement
that the obverse of the series should show a representation of the harp and
that the reverse should show animals or birds. The series consisted of eight
coins: farthing, halfpenny, penny,
three-pence, sixpence, shilling, florin and a half-crown. The designs by the famous English artist
and medallist Percy Metcalf (1895-1970) were selected.
Introduction of Decimalisation
Decimal
currency was introduced in February1971 and many of the coins were
withdrawn. The shilling and florin
were of equal value with the new five pence and ten pence coins, and the
original designs were therefore adapted for these coins. The woodcock design was adapted from the
redundant farthing to appear on the new fifty pence coin.
New
designs were necessary for three decimal coins, the halfpenny, penny and two
pence, since they did not correspond in value to any of the pre-decimal
coins. A noted Irish sculptor and
artist, Ms. Gabrielle Hayes was commissioned to design these coins. The obverse of each coin bears the harp
and the reverse designs are based on ornamental details from Irish art
illuminations contained in old manuscripts.
Introduction of the Euro
In
January 2002, the Euro coins were introduced in
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Of all the decimal
Irish coins, it is perhaps these that best embody traditional Irish imagery
as they are adaptations of images from Celtic manuscripts and pay homage to
the poetic complexity and symmetry of pre-Christian and early Christian art. |
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Annette Crump, an Irish sculptor, lives and works
in the
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Home: +44 (0)208 549 1412 |
Email: annette@crumplehorn.com |