Sale of commemorative coins nets €3m in five years for Central Bank

(Left to right) The Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Mark Cassidy, and the minister for finance Paschal O'Donohoe launch a Gold Proof Coin commemorating 100 years since the establishment of the State in 2022. It cost €663,939 to produce 750 of them. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

The Central Bank has made more than €3m from the sale of commemorative collector coins in the past five years, new figures have revealed.

The bank acts as an agent for the minister for finance in issuing collector coins to commemorate national figures and significant historical events. Typically, four or five new products are launched each year.

A €15 silver proof coin marking the 80th anniversary of Luke Kelly’s birth was among the most popular items during the five-year period, along with a €15 coin commemorating St. Brigid, and a coin marking 100 years since the establishment of the Defence Forces.

Each of these retailed for €65, and they were among 53,996 collector coins sold by the Central Bank between 2020 and 2024, generating revenue of just under €3.2m.

A total of 18 products comprising 54,750 coins were issued by the bank during that period at a cost of almost €1.6m. The costliest of these was a €100 gold proof coin marking 100 years since the foundation of the State.

It cost €663,939 to produce 750 of these coins. They retailed at €1,225 and had all been sold by the end of 2023, generating €917,219 in revenue for the Central Bank. The coin is currently being offered for sale online by private sellers for €2,300.

Items that have proven less popular include a €15 silver proof coin commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in 2018, and a number of coins marking the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s visit to Ireland in 2013.

Records released under freedom of information show that the Central Bank still has stocks of these coins on hand. The 2018 coin retails for €63, while the JFK products cost between €50 and €130.

The bank recorded its best year for sales of collector coins in 2022, selling 12,832 products for a total of over €1.2 million. This was boosted by the launch of the €100 gold coin marking the foundation of the State, and high demand for the Luke Kelly €15 coin.

In 2020, a total of 8,983 products were sold for €620,102. A €50 gold proof coin marking the centenary of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic was among the biggest sellers, with 939 of the coins generating revenue of €352,125.

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The number of items sold the following year increased to 9,698 but revenue fell to €323,711, with 1,444 Europa Star Series Gothic Architecture €10 silver proof coins selling for €76,301.

In 2023, the bank made €561,162 from the sale of 10,484 products, including 143 of the €100 gold coin marking the State’s centenary, which netted a total of €175,175.

Last year, sales decreased by around 15% to €475,007, although the number of products purchased increased to 11,999. Two €15 silver proof coins commemorating St. Brigid and 100 years of the Defence Forces accounted for sales of just under €103,000 each.