1689 And 1690 Irish Gunmoney Halfcrowns Opinions?

The coins are 1689 Ireland Half Crowns, issued by James II in brass, supposedly using melted down cannons because he could not afford the silver. This is how the coins get the name 'gun money".

The top coin is the March 1689 variety. I believe it to be in VF, which the catalog lists as $70. However, there are issues with the surface at the % o'clock position on the reverse, so I would cut the coins value by approximately 20%, just because the reverse is not very appealing and would probably get a details grade if you submitted it to a TPG.

The second coin is the March 1690 variety, which I also believe to be VF. The catalog values run the same for this coin as the other one. The difference with this coin, however, is the surface of the reverse is very poor, much worse than the first coin, so I would estimate the value of this coin to be only $30-35 retail. The obverse is still nice, though.

I hope this information helps!

I have sold fifteen of these over the last year and all have exceeded catalogue values. There is a good market for them at present.
One point of interest is that the legal new year began on Lady Day, March 25th. This meant that the March 1690 Gun Money was issued to cover just seven days.