Irish political tokens

Very interesting thread Bruce,

It´s wonderful how coins can bring out history in so many ways. You are a true numismatist buddy.

Siggi

 

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Hello, this is my very first post. I purchased a coin from a local market today with a hunch that it may be an Irish political token. A friend has a 50 pence coin stamped with 'RIRA', so I seeing this one I thought it may be in the same theme, albeit with the different letters 'F B', and not across the royal portrait. Could it stand for Fenian Brotherhood? I don't think they were doing much around 1936 or after...





Apologies for the low quality image; any thoughts or comments are very welcome!

 

Thanks Siggi. I love the history behind the coins, tokens and currency I collect, maybe more than the pieces themselves.
Smeashy: I don't think yours is a political token like your friends "RIRA" piece is, but let me look into it for you. Thanks for your comments and the pic.

Bruce

 

Thanks Bruce!
After a bit more research I found this medal with the similarly positioned 'F B' but from 70 years previous.
View attachment 138063
In the 30's Ireland was engaged in an 'economic war' with Britain, which might be a compelling idea for Republicans back then to deface British currency; and in this form perhaps as a homage to earlier independence movements...
There was an increase in Republican feeling during this period too, IRA membership rose significantly in the years before 1936. There was also the inclusion of a territorial claim to Northern Ireland in the 1937 Irish Constitution, perhaps prompting an upsurge in acts of defiance on British symbols like this.

Having said that, why not just punch 'IRA' into the coin rather than 'FB'?

It could just be someone's initials after all!

 

Thanks for the info smeashy. I think your "FB" counterstamp was a reference to something other than the Fenian Brotherhood, but it's hard to be certain. The Fenians disbanded in 1880, so it's a long time between then and the 1936 date on your coin. I couldn't find a reference to any political issues of the Brotherhood. It would also be more likely that the initials would have been struck over the portrait as a means of defacing the monarch, rather than around it if it were meant as a political protest. Typical Republican issues were done this way and generally only on English coins, not Irish ones.

Bruce

 

LOL, yea but those Austrians are cheap and easy to find! I can't say that about Iceland or Ireland, prolly 2 of the top ten hardest to collect, LOL! I do need to get at least 1 IRA counterstamp though. What kind of respectible Ireland collector would I be without it! The ONLY other Ireland coin I need is a King John penny, and NOW I need an IRA counterstamp, LOL! Thanks BUDDY! I though we were FRIENDS!

Mark

 

I just bought this Irish political counterstamp from a former bank teller in Ballynahinch, Down, UK who pulled it from his drawer a number of years ago. This stamp, an issue of the Ulster Volunteer Force is probably the most common example encountered of any Northern Ireland political stamps.

The UVF was a Protestant Paramilitary group organized in 1913 in opposition to the Catholic IRA and the English intent to grant home rule to Ireland. Early in their existence they were known as Carson's Army, as many of the members joined the British Army at the outbreak of WWI. They were officially known as the Ulster Division. It was after the war's end that they became the Ulster Volunteer Force. The new organization was made up of many veteran members of the Ulster Division as well as of the old Carson's Army group.

The group was banned by the British at some point, re-legalized, and finally banned for good in the early 1970's. They were succeeded by what's known today as the Ulster Defense Association or UDA. There are also a handful of Irish coins stamped with the UDA initials, but these are much scarcer than the UVF stamps. As I posted earlier in this thread I'll update it as I get new examples of the troubles tokens or information that might be of interest to you guys. I'd appreciate any comments. Thanks for looking.

Bruce

 

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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

 

Here are a few more of the 10 counterstamps.

Bruce

 

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

 

Bruce, the history you have on this is amazing by itself but the provenance of the coin adds another dimension to this specific coin all together. A lot of fine art and antiques have such curated provenances attached to them, but we don't see that as much with coins except for those from mega collections by notable collectors who get their names attached to coins and notes. This is really something to behold indeed. Thanks.

 

I'm very lucky to have made the acquaintance of this man who lives in Belfast Chris. His father collected these what he called "unusual coins" because he realized their historical significance. Since I acquired these coins he's sent me pictures of nine more all related to the troubles, but some earlier than that. Most are nationalist issues, as he was a strong nationalist himself, but he also has some that were struck by the loyalist groups like the UVF. The fact that his father kept meticulous notes as to where, when, and how he came into the possession of each coin is amazing, and as you say very unusual.

Bruce

 

This 1929 George V Penny stamped with a "WAR" counterstamp is a possible Northern Ireland political token though not a troubles counterstamp. The troubles era is generally considered to have lasted from about 1969 to 1998, and was the the most violent period in the long history of Irish sectarian warfare. I feel this may be an issue of the IRA dating to the Sabotage Campaign waged against the British Government in 1939/1940. I noticed this coin offered on E-bay months ago and finally decided to buy it and research the possibility of it being a protest coin of some sort. It's possible of course that "WAR" represents something as simple as someones initials, but I believe there's a possibility that it propagandizes the IRA's declaration of "war" against Britain declared in January, 1939.
The purpose of this Sabotage Campaign (also called the S-Plan) was to attack and destroy the economic, civil and military infrastructure of Britain as to compel her to withdraw her military from Ireland. This would in effect make it possible to establish an Irish free state, long a goal of the nationalists. The violence began on January 16, 1939 with the bombing of power stations and water mains in London,Coleshill, Alnwick, and other cities. There were many additional acts of violence carried out over the next 2 years, but the campaign effectively ended on August 25, 1939 with an IRA bomb attack in the shopping district of Broadgate, Coventry. In the attack five civilians were killed and over 50 wounded. The incident so outraged people that much of the support for the campaign was lost. By late 1940 with the introduction of various anti-violence laws in both England and Ireland, Many members of the IRA were arrested, imprisioned, and deported.
It's unclear if this counterstamped coin is a political prapoganda coin or just the stamp of an individual or a commercial enterprise. If more examples should surface in the future it would make it more likely that it's a protest coin. If none do or no additional information surfaces as to the purpose of it, then it's just a guess.

Bruce

 

I haven't posted on this thread for quite awhile but not because I haven't acquired anymore political stamps. I mentioned earlier that I made the acquaintance of an Irish collector sometime ago who was disposing of his father's collection of "unusual coins" as he called them. They're actually all political issues, but all unusual and some may even be unique. While I've seen pictures of some of them, I haven't actually gotten any coins yet other than 11 pieces I bought from him last year. Anyway, I'm not giving up on getting the rest, or at least descriptions or pictures of them. I believe he has at least 20 more counterstamps and maybe more.
The Australian coin I've posted a picture of was bought from a dealer in Melbourne, Australia a month ot two ago, and may be a "sympathy" counterstamp in support of the Irish Nationalist movement. There was a strong nationalist movement in Australia as well dating back to the mid to late 19th century, but there was little or no violence attached to their effort to free themselves from British rule. There were known attempts by the IRA to influence the Australian movement, but generally they met with little success. Still, there were those who supported their Irish brothers with financial and moral support. These crossed IRA stamps applied over the portrait on this coin is reminiscent of those stamps struck by the Irish Nationalists over the face of the reigning monarch to deface it.

The "foreign" counterstamped coin isn't mine, but it may be a political stamp as well as it has the "look" of typical politicals. I haven't been able to determine what it means if it is a political statement, but it's interesting nevertheless. Any comments would be appreciated. As always, thanks for looking.

Bruce

 

A question for the forum

Hello everyone.

In the last few days I came into possession of a British pound coin with the slogan "RIRA" etched into it. Having done a quick internet search I turned up this thread and discovered that there may be someone out there with an interest in this type of thing. Just wondering if this would be of any value to any coin collectors? Coin is dated 1984, but I suspect it had the initials punched onto it sometime in the late nineties, early 2000's.

Any sort of feedback would be very helpful, thanks.

 

Welcome to C/T DC79. I started this thread awhile ago to post parts of my collection of Irish political counterstamps and graffiti coins for the members to see and comment on. I have a fairly large collection of them, most dating to the Troubles years of 1969/1998, but others going much further back. The English/Irish conflict has been going on for centuries and I have a great interest in its history. Your "RIRA" counterstamp was probably struck in the late 90's as you guessed. "RIRA" stands for the Real Irish Republican Army, a splinter group of the regular IRA, also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army or PIRA. If you check post #15 you'll see an example of one I have in my collection. RIRA split from the main organization in 1998 because they felt they were becoming too involved in the peace process that was going on at the time. RIRA wanted to continue the armed struggle, which they did with abandon. All the coins I have represent a brutal period in Irish history, one that needs to be understood. By researching these issues I learn more about the conflict with each passing day.

If you could post a picture of your coin I'd like to see it. If you have an interest in selling it please send me a p/m.

Bruce

 

Thanks for your reply Bruce. I actually live in Northern Ireland myself and this particular coin was still in circulation. I'm not 100% sure how I got it but I think it came out of a self-service checkout of a supermarket in Newtownards, Co. Down. I didn't notice the initials at first, but a couple of days later I was buying some food in a canteen, and the girl at the checkout handed me the coin back with a confused look on her face. She was Spanish and had no idea what "RIRA" stood for. I'd never seen anything like it before, but a friend told me that there were quite a few of these types of coins in circulation around Nationalist areas of Northern Ireland in the early 2000's. I don't have my camera at the minute, but as soon as I get home tonight I'll take a photo and upload it to the forum, (If I can figure out how).

David

 

Apologies for the quality of the pictures, my camera isn't great.

 

Thanks for the information and the picture of the coin David. It looks exactly like the other examples I've seen...heavily struck across the Queen's portrait in large, plain style letters.

Bruce

 

I finally got the rest of the collection from the Irish collector I've been talking to for some time now. The total collection of political counterstamps and graffiti coins numbers 30 pieces. Twenty three are counterstamped and seven are graffiti coins with political slogans or initials scratched into them. I've just posted these two but will put up more later.

The "STB / CC" stamp on the 1995 Eire Punt stands for "Simply The Best" / "C Company". This is a reference to the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association, Company C from the lower Shankhill in Belfast. This unit was known for its ruthless killings of nationalists and Catholics. The picture posted is one of their murals painted on the side of a building in Belfast (very common by both sides). It's said that they got their slogan from the title of Tina Turner's song with the same name. The coin was received in change in Ballybay, County Monaghan several years ago.

The crudely struck "NF" on the 1951 English Florin stands for Na Fianna (Fianna Eireann) the youth wing of the IRA. This stamp has an interesting history behind it. It was given in change in December, 1977 at a shop in Ballymurphy to the man who collected these coins. They were actually made by a young Na Fianna member who worked in the shop. Later notes by the collector tell us that he was killed when a bomb he was making exploded prematurely. Thanks for looking and as always comments are welcomed.

Bruce