There is no way to know if yours was stamped by the IRA or was done by some schmoe at home with the right tools. I did find this article from 2009 about a shopper who received one as change: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/...d-by-50p-coin-stamped-with-rira-28498131.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Irish_Republican_Army And https://rira.com/ And https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rí Rá
I believe that @BRandM collects these. It does seem to fit the Irish theme. But He would now the best.
The link rickmp provides above pretty much tells the story, Laurakai. Since RIRA was the last major paramilitary of any significance formed, mostly all their stamps appear on late date English Pound coins. A few were struck on 2 Pound coins and smaller denominations, and just a handful on Irish coins. Yours is authentic and has all the typical characteristics of RIRA issues. Struck heavily across the Queen's portrait, they all have the same look. I've seen about 3 dozen or more of these, and I've never seen one struck on the reverse. RIRA is still active, but not in a big way. They joined another Nationalist group called Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) several years ago. They're sometimes referred to as the New Irish Republican Army. Could you tell me where you got the coin? Thanks for posting it. Bruce
Hi thanks for reply.i just found it in my change and just put it in search engine as id never seen anything like it before.
I would think it's a bit unusual to find these in change anymore. Years ago it was very common, as tens of thousands of coins were stamped with many different slogans / acronyms. UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) stamps were most often found, as many were mass-produced in the Belfast shipyards and machine shops. The workforce was heavily Loyalist at the time. Bruce
I think thats why it stood out as iv never seen before.but yes i got in my change yesturday afternoon .
