Ireland George III 1804 Six Shillings Bank Token

Ireland, George III (1760-1820), silver Bank of Ireland Six Shillings, 1804, laureate and draped bust right, top leaf of laurel wreath points to upright of E, C.H.K raised on truncation, legend and toothed border surrounding, GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX., rev. struck en medaille, Hibernia seated left, holding spray of leaves, harp to right with 10 strings, date and value in exergue, 1804 / SIX SHILLINGS, legend around upper half, BANK OF IRELAND TOKEN, the whole coin struck over a Spanish Empire Eight Reales of 41mm diameter, weight 26.82g (Vice 1 dies 1a/A2; Davis 81; D&F 614; S.6615). Toned with light hairline short scratches, some light digs, rim nick and bruise, otherwise very fine.

These Irish pieces interestingly have a Latin legend on the obverse that translates as "George III, by the grace of God, King" and on the reverse carry an English language legend.

David Vice in his 1993 article in the Format list detailed the story of the striking of the Bank of Ireland Six Shilling pieces where he records that 790,509 were struck from the 31^st May to the 19^th June 1804 at the Soho Mint, Birmingham. The finished coins were shipped in 144 casks containing 5,000 ounces of coins each, by two canal barges with an armed guard of twelve soldiers to Liverpool, where they were then transferred to a Man O War and went by sea to Dublin, all without incident.

David Vice recorded the different dies and varieties of these Bank of Ireland pieces and this is his first obverse with second reverse which occurs on the 41mm diameter dies.