Description

By 1760 small copper coins were scarce in Ireland, partly due to the death of King George II in October of 1760.  Due to these circumstances the Voce Populi underweight farthings and halfpennies first appeared in Dublin.  The dies where made by a button maker named John Roche.  

After the arrival of the new ‘regal’ coppers, it is thought that Dublin speculators bought the Voce Populi tokens in quantity and shipped them to America, where they were used to support commerce during the Early Colonial Times, and circulated widely until the Revolutionary War. 

 The obverse shows a male bust wearing a Laurel wreath (personification of the People) with the legend Voce Populi (By the voice of the people).  The Reverse has Hibernia (Latin for Island of Ireland) and the year 1760 wrapped around a a seated woman on a rock with a harp.

An Exact Replica
IR-2