Wood's Coinage Pubblico Deposited
The name given to a copper coinage introduced into Ireland in 1722, which caused great dissatisfaction, although the coins were of superior work- manship to the English coins of the same reign. As the want of copper coin had long been felt in that country, the Duchess of Kendall obtained from Sunder- land a patent for coining half Pence and Farthings to the value of ?108,000. This patent was subsequently sold to William Wood, an iron-master and mine proprie- tor, who, under the vice-royalty of the Duke of Grafton, proceeded to strike the coins and introduced them into the coun- try.
Sir Isaac Newton was at that time the master of the mint, and, according to his statement, Wood appears to have carried out his contract faithfully, but the Irish people raised a clamor against the new coinage, and Dean Swift, in the Drapiers' Letters, poured forth his sarcasm concern- ing them. Cartaret, then Lord Lieutenant, offered a reward of ?300 for the discovery of the author of these invectives, but with- out success. Harding, the printer of the Drapiers' Letters, was apprehended, but the grand jury threw out the bill, and themselves lodged a protest against the coins, which protest was drawn up by Dean Swift himself.
It was now seen that the only way to put down the dissatisfaction was to cancel the patent; this was accordingly done, and to compensate Wood, a pension of ?3000 was granted to him in 1725. For an ex- tended account of these coins see a paper contributed by Philip Nelson to the British Numismatic Journal (i. 201-211).
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)