The Irish pound (English) or punt Éireannach (Irish) was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the usual notation was the prefix £, or IR£ where confusion might have arisen with the pound sterling or other pounds. The Irish pound was superseded by the euro on 1 January 1999, when the Irish pound legally became a subdivision of the euro; actual euro currency did not begin circulation until the beginning of 2002.
The ea...
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The Irish pound (English) or punt Éireannach (Irish) was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the usual notation was the prefix £, or IR£ where confusion might have arisen with the pound sterling or other pounds. The Irish pound was superseded by the euro on 1 January 1999, when the Irish pound legally became a subdivision of the euro; actual euro currency did not begin circulation until the beginning of 2002.
The earliest Irish coinage was introduced in 997 and was initially equivalent to that of England, with the pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. After a period of debasement, equivalence to sterling was reestablished in the 1180s. However, from 1460, issues were made with different metal contents to those of England and the values of the two currencies diverged. During the Civil War, 1689-1691, James II issued an emergency, base-metal coinage known as Gun money.
In 1701, the relationship between the Irish pound and sterling was fixed at...
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