Coins, Paper Money, Tokens and Historical Medals

Ireland, Free State, Pattern Halfcrown, 1927, by P. Morbiducci, in bronze, harp, stamped prova, rev. horse right, edge grained, 10.55g/6h (Brady, SNC June 1976, p.238, this specimen not listed; S –; DF 849; KM. Pr. 9). Virtually as struck with considerable original brilliance, of the highest rarity, very few specimens known £4,000-5,000

Provenance: From the artist to the vendor’s grandfather in Italy before World War II, and by descent.

The patterns entered by the Roman sculptor Publio Morbiducci (1889-1963) for the competition to design Ireland’s new money in 1928, in which he was ultimately unsuccessful, have, as Gerard Brady stated, ‘an ageless character and beauty.’ Struck by the Milanese medallists Lorioli Castelli (now Lorioli Fratelli), the precise numbers of pieces which exist are uncertain, although the best previously published estimates were by Brady in 1976. At that time, Brady only knew of one bronze specimen (SNC May 1970, item 6270, then held in a private collection in Dublin). That piece is inferior in condition to the present specimen