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



fifteen rays" on their reverses ; yet in the engravings, figs. 20 and 21 have suns 

 of sixteen rays ; and fig. 25, a sun of only ten rays, although it is full as large 

 as fig. 21. Fig. 20, from its small size, and the absence of the tressure round 

 the head, I believe to be the penny of this coinage ; but its weight is said to be 

 eleven grains and a half, which must be a mistake, as I have already shewn that 

 the weight of the half groat ought to be eleven grains and a quarter ; besides, 

 according to the clause which I have given, on the authority of Sir William 

 Betham, the penny should weigh about eight grains and a half; and by the Act, 

 as published by Simon, it should weigh only about five grains and a half. — (See 

 p. 16.) Fig. 21 corresponds in size with the Dublin half groat which I have 

 published, but differs from it in having a rose for its mint mark ; and the legends 

 on the obverse and reverse are also different ; besides, the sun has only sixteen 

 rays, instead of twenty-four, the number on the five pieces in my plates. Its 

 weight is stated to be twenty-two grains, being only half a grain less than the 

 groat published by Simon. — (PI. IV. fig. 72.) 



Fig. 25 is very remarkable ; its obverse is similar to an English penny of 

 Edward the First or Third ; yet from the sun on its reverse, it cannot be appro- 

 priated to any king but Edward the Fourth ; it has no rose in its centre, and 

 the legend, civitas dvblini, is not divided into four parts by suns and roses, as 

 in all the coins which I have published : its weight is said to be fourteen grains 

 and a half. 



Mr. Lindsay conjectures that this piece may have been a pattern for a penny ; 

 it presents several anomalies in its type, concerning which I cannot oflFer any 

 explanation, as I have not seen the coin. 



The Act of the seventh year of Edward authorized coins to be made in the 

 castles of Dublin and Trim, the cities of Limerick and Waterford, and the towns 

 of Drogheda, Galway, and Carlingford. 



The coins from the Dublin mint are the most numerous, viz. : the double 

 groat, groat, half groat, and penny. Of Trim, there are the groat and half 

 groat, both unique. And of Drogheda, the double groat, which Is also unique. 

 None of Limerick or Waterford have been discovered ; and it does not appear 

 that silver coins were ever minted in Galway or Carlingford. 



It Is a remarkable circumstance, that during the first seven years of this reign, 

 seven distinct coinages were issued from the Irish mints ; some of them present 



