Coin
½ Penny (1943) — Ireland
Ireland • 1943 • KM# 10, Sp# 6644
Overview
A 1943 Irish 1/2 Penny coin, from the Pre-Decimal series, featuring a sow standing left with five piglets.
Specifications
- Country
- Ireland
- Year
- 1943
- Composition
- Bronze
- Weight
- 5.67 g
- Diameter
- 25.5 mm
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Mint
- Royal Mint (Tower Hill), London, United Kingdom
- Shape
- Round
- Technique
- Milled
- References
- KM# 10, Sp# 6644
- Issuer
- Ireland
Design details
Obverse
Irish harp with the country name to the left and the date to the right
Reverse
Sow standing left with five piglets
Collector insights
- Wartime issue: Struck during the Second World War, when many mints substituted base metals (zinc, steel, low-fineness alloys) for copper and nickel diverted to munitions. Surviving high-grade examples are disproportionately scarce.
- Design heritage: Percy Metcalfe is credited as the designer for the Pre Decimal 1939-1969 series. Designer attribution helps distinguish this issue from later restrikes or unofficial copies that reuse only the motif.
- Struck at: Royal Mint (Tower Hill), London, United Kingdom. Confirm the mintmark on your example before comparing prices — same-year issues from different mints often trade at very different levels.
- Mintage vs. survival: A moderate mintage of 2,669,000. Grade rarity is usually the driver of value here — mid-grade circulated pieces are common, but original-surface uncirculated coins can command a strong premium.
- Catalogue reference: Listed as
KM# 10, Sp# 6644. Use this reference code when cross-checking auction archives, dealer inventories, and standard printed catalogues.
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Explore more
Browse more items in the full catalog or view Ireland in the country guide.