Irish political tokens

Jeremiah smith · Jul 25, 2021

BRandM said: ↑

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I recently bought a set of 10 counterstamped English coins bearing the names of the IRA / INLA prisoners who died as a result of a hunger strike that ran between March and October, 1981. These men were prisoners in the Maze Prison (Long Kesh) H-Block ( near Belfast) who were imprisoned for illegal activities related to the Troubles of the 1970's. The purpose was to regain the "political status" they had been granted previously, but was subsequently denied by decree in March, 1976 by the British government. This status allowed for more freedom than the general prisoner population enjoyed, and included the freedom to unlimited access to other prisoners, a ban on wearing typical prison garb, no hard labor, and several other prohibitions.

These coins were pulled from circulation in the early 1980's by the seller's late father, a coin collector and member of the Irish Numismatic Society. The seller presently lives in Belfast and requested that I don't use his name, or his father's, in any research I do in regard to these pieces. I will of course honor that request. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't even disclose his father's name to me. Apparently there's still a real fear of retribution to those who are too obvious in their support of either side (his father was a strong IRA supporter).
It's not clear who struck these pieces but, apparently, they were placed in circulation during the 7 month duration of the hunger strike to commeorate those who died as well as for propoganda purposes. These counterstamps are probably quite rare, as they were withdrawn from circulation and destroyed as they surfaced at banks and post offices. An interesting fact about these particular coins is that the seller's father made notes as to where and when he acquired them. For example, the Patsy O'Hara / INLA coin was recovered at the site of a riot near the Springfield Rd. in West Belfast. These recollections provide an invaluable historical insight into these troubled times. As always, comments are most welcomed. Thanks for looking.

Bruce
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Hi would you sell these

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Jeremiah smith · Jul 25, 2021

BRandM said: ↑

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I bought this counterstamp from the same collector I acquired the hunger striker stamps from. This piece was issued by the South Armagh Brigade of the IRA, the most efficient, ruthless, and most feared IRA unit by the British and RUC security forces in Northern Ireland. The IRA was organized much like a regular military unit with similiar command structures. For most of their history they had five brigades in the "war zone" of the Northern Ireland counties and the northern border counties within the Irish Republic. They were in Armagh, Belfast, Derry, Donegal, and Tyrone/Monaghan. The Armagh Brigade had three battalions, two very active ones in South Armagh and one less active in North Armagh. They were generally known as the South Armagh Brigade for this reason. It's uncertain who actually counterstamped these coins, but they were issued either by the IRA or by their sympathizers for propaganda purposes.
This particular English 50p coin was bought from a pub owner in Bessbrook, South Armagh in July, 1971 by the father of the collector I bought it from. In his notes he stated that the man who sold it to him was suspicious of his interest in the coin, but couldn't turn down the money offered. He noted that he bought the coin and "left quickly and continued on". The IRA had a real fear of infiltrators into their ranks and were suspicious of anything at all out of the ordinary.

Bruce
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Hi would you sell this

BRandM · Jul 26, 2021

Jeremiah smith said: ↑

Hi would you sell this
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No, I'm not interested in selling but thanks for the offer.

Bruce

Beckie143 · Nov 29, 2021

Hello, I’m so glad I found this feed. I had absolutely no clue about the £2 coin I got in my change with RIRA stamped into it and now I do!
I was wondering if anyone would know the value of it and whether it’s worth putting on eBay? many thank Beckie

scottishmoney · Nov 29, 2021

Beckie143 said: ↑

Hello, I’m so glad I found this feed. I had absolutely no clue about the £2 coin I got in my change with RIRA stamped into it and now I do!
I was wondering if anyone would know the value of it and whether it’s worth putting on eBay? many thank Beckie
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The problem with something like that is that it is counterstamped with commonly available punches so anyone can do it. If someone gave that to me in change, I'd give it back since I wouldn't want to be caught passing something like that. It is about as bad as getting the lead based forgeries of the £1 coin before the BRM changed them to a bi-metallic.

BRandM · Nov 29, 2021

Beckie143 said: ↑

Hello, I’m so glad I found this feed. I had absolutely no clue about the £2 coin I got in my change with RIRA stamped into it and now I do!
I was wondering if anyone would know the value of it and whether it’s worth putting on eBay? many thank Beckie
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I've seen dozens of these RIRA counterstamps , all on high value British coins like yours. Though scottishmoney is correct about the possibility of fakes, this one has all the little details I look for in determining authenticity. IMO, this one is genuine, Beckie.

You could put it on eBay...it might sell, it might not. Please see my PM for a possible alternative.

Bruce

john-charles · Nov 29, 2021

BRandM said: ↑

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As some of you know I'm an avid collector and researcher of primarily 19th Century U.S. counterstamps. I've also had an interest for some time in the political stamps of Northern Ireland, those I call "troubles counterstamps." Just within the past 6 months or so I decided to branch out into this area of collecting and try to put together a comprehensive group of these tokens. So far I've only acquired a small number of the three dozen or so documented issues definitely linked to the Catholic / Protestant conflict in that region. Undoubtedly, there are many others that haven't been identified as belonging to this series. The "end game" for me is not only to collect them, but also to document new ones and research their history, the issuers involved, and the purpose of each. Eventually, I plan on writing an article detailing my findings and submit it to the Token and Medal Society (TAMS) Journal for possible publication.
The two examples here are from my collection and promote a pro-Protestant sentiment commonly seen on Irish coins of the 1960's and 70's. "REM / 1690" is an abbreviation for the phrase "Remember 1690", 1690 being the date of the Battle of the Boyne fought near Drogheda, Kingdom of Ireland. The combatants were the Protestant King William III (William of Orange) and the deposed (in 1688 by William) Catholic King James II. William's army won handily and James fled the country. The victory guaranteed the supremacy of Protestant rule in the region. Today, the battle is commemorated by the Orange Order every year by parades sometimes refered to as "The Twelfth."
The example of this slogan found on the 1931 Irish Penny proves that these issues predate the commonly found examples from the 60's and 70's. What's interesting about this one is the style of the punches used. They are very similiar to font styles used in the mid to late 1800's which indicates very old punch sets were used to counterstamp the coin, likely in the 1930's or 40's. They show an interesting contrast to the sharp, "sterile" looking lettering appearing on the newer coin.
I still have a lot to learn about these issues, and would appreciate hearing from any CT members who have some knowledge of them. I plan on updating this thread on occasion when new information or examples of these tokens come my way. In the meantime, thanks for looking.

Bruce
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I like what you want to do, but must caution you against a common error I see all the time. Unless you collected the 1931 coin before 1969, you have no way of knowing that it was marked before the latter date. It be much more recent. the date can only be known as no later than whatever date you or someone you absolutely trust has collected them.

scottishmoney · Nov 30, 2021

Have read through the whole of the thread again. Jus canna imagine living with all that animosity and worse on a daily basis.

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Irish political tokens

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