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(COFFIN) / PADDY / (SHAMROCK)


Image Information

Type Coin
Title (COFFIN) / PADDY / (SHAMROCK)
Date 1769
Country Ireland
Institution
/Catalog #
PI-65
Denomination halfpenny
Description (Hibernia Half Penny / 1769) Purchased from John Maloney / Wooton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire. UK. (My. 8, 2023) ($27) The coin is very dark and the engraving is crude and shallow. The reverse has good detail though corroded by some kind of environmental issue, but the obverse appears to have been smoothed off as it shows no damage or details of the host coin. While the word Paddy is difficult to see, details are clearly seen under magnification. Though Paddy is a nickname for Patrick (Padraig), the term has often been used to describe an Irish person in a derogatory manner. The coffin, shamrock, and slur may be a representation of ?burying the Irish.? Both the seller and I discussed its meaning and concluded that was likely the message.

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