The Central Bank has revealed the winning designs for the coins that will mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Next year, the national mint will issue 4.5m commemorative €2 coins that will come into general circulation starting in January of next year. This design will also be included in a proof set with the annual mint set for the year.
A second coin design will be used for the Central Bank’s gold-and-silver proof collector coins, which will be made available to coin collectors from March 2016.
The winning design, designed by Emmet Mullins, will replace the standard harp symbol for the period of the official run, and features a depiction of the statue of Hibernia, the historic personification of Ireland. The statue currently stands atop the GPO in Dublin, the headquarters of the self-proclaimed revolutionary government during the Rising.
The winning designs feature depictions of the statue of Hibernia, the historic personification of Ireland, on top of the GPO in Dublin, the headquarters of the provisional government during the Rising. The coin face also features “hand-rendered lettering” of the word Hibernia “influence by the Book of Kells,” according to the Central Bank.
This is the first time Ireland will issue its own commemorative €2 circulation coin and the design for this coin was by Emmet Mullins. The coin features a representation of Hibernia, the centenary dates and the name ‘Hibernia’ in hand-rendered lettering influenced by the Book of Kells.
Michael Guilfoyle created the winning design for the proof-collector coins. His design also features the GPO statue of Hibernia, along with a quote from the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, which was read aloud by Padraig Pearse on April 24th, 1916.
