Dr. Smith on the Irish Coins of Edward the Fourth. 15 



that *Hhe obverse may have been changed by a subsequent proclamation."* 

 This conjecture is not consonant with the evidence which I shall presently 

 offer. 



In the year 1467, at a parliament held in Dublin, it was enacted, as Ireland 

 was destitute of silver, that a piece of silver called a Double should be coined, 

 having on one side the print of a crown, with this inscription, " Edwardus Dei 

 Gratia, Dominus Hybernias ;" and on the other side a sun, with a rose, and the 

 name of the place of mintage, which coin shall pass in Ireland for eight pence, 

 and that ten such pieces shall make an ounce, according to the rightful standard 

 of the tower of London. Groats, half groats, pence, half pence, and farthings, 

 were also ordered ; and the said coins to be made in the castles of Dublin and 

 Trim, the cities of Waterford and Limerick, and the towns of Drogheda, Gal- 

 way, and Carlingford.f 



Hence it appears, that silver was at this time raised to double its former value 

 in Ireland, for the Double was of the same weight as the groat of the last year of 

 Henry the Sixth, according to which standard, the coinages of the three first 

 years of this reign were regulated. 



Some months ago, a coin, belonging to the Rev. Mr. Butler, of Trim, was 

 submitted to my inspection. It has on one side the king's head crowned, within 

 a double tressure of nine arches ; on the other side, a sun of twenty-four rays, 

 having a small rose in its centre : it weighs only ten grains. 



The weight of this piece would lead one to suppose it was a penny, but it 

 occurred to me that I had never seen either an English or Irish penny with the 

 head within a tressure ; hence I concluded that it must be a half groat of the 

 year 1467 ; and as its type differed from every other coin described in the Acts 

 of this reign, I conjectured that Simon had committed an error in transcribing 

 the description of the Double in the Act of 1467. 



Shortly after, I called on Sir William Betham, and mentioned to him my 

 conjecture ; he very kindly permitted me to inspect his manuscript notes from 

 the Irish records, and immediately produced the volume containing the extract 

 from the Act of the seventh year of Edward the Fourth. I was highly pleased 

 to find my conjecture confirmed, for the coin called a "double" was described 



* View of the Coinage, p. 41. t Simon, Appendix, No. IX. 



