Irish pound coin

The Irish pound coin was introduced on June 20, 1990 using the plan of a red deer, by the Irish artist Tom Ryan. The 2000 Millennium was used to issue a memorial coin, the design was based on the "Broighter Boat" in the National Museum of Ireland; the coins design was by Alan Ardiff and Garrett Stokes and were issued on November 29, 1999. The coin featured a milled edge - unique in Irish coinage.

The "Broighter Boat" issue for 2000.The Irish pound coin, which was introduced in 1990, residue the largest Irish coin introduced since decimalisation at 3.11 centimetres diameter and was 10 grams weight. The coin was nearly identical in dimensions to the old penny coin that circulated before 1971, and was quite similar in diameter to, but thinner, than the half-crown coin.

During the early movement of the coin, many payphone and vending machines which had been changed to accept the pound coin also accepted the old penny because of the similar size, the latter coin which was no longer legal gentle and had little value to collectors. As a result losses accrued to vending machine operators due to the substitution of the penny coin and further costs were associated with updating the machines so they would no longer accept the penny.