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The Central Bank of Ireland has released their third and final coin in the immensely popular series entitled “Modern Irish Musicians,” which focused on the country’s most well-known singing stars who were acclaimed in Ireland and internationally. The third coin focuses on the co-founder and band member of The Dubliners, Luke Kelly (1940–1983), which was originally scheduled to go on sale in 2020 and coincided with his 80th birthday anniversary, but was delayed due to disruptions resulting from the impact of COVID-19 and operational challenges. The other two coins in this series featured Rory Gallagher in 2018 and Phil Lynott in 2019. The coin was launched by Irish President Michael D Higgins at St. Lawrence O’ Toole School, the boyhood academy where Kelly attended and in the presence of remaining members of the Dubliners band.
Designed by Mary Gregoriy, the coins are dated 2020, with the obverse side including a contemporary image of Kelly depicted with his trademark flowing locks of curly hair and facing three-quarters to the left. To the left of the portrait is a banjo, one of the instruments Kelly is known for, and also included in the design are the masks of comedy and tragedy, representing entertainment and the styles of songs the Dubliners were known to perform. The text Luke Kelly and the years 1940 – 1984 are placed along the lower-left edge. The reverse side depicts the national insignia of Ireland, the cláirseach (or Celtic harp), which is centred. The text EIRE and 2020 are positioned on either side of the harp.
| Denom. |
Metal |
Weight | Diameter | Quality |
Maximum Mintage |
| 15 euro |
.925 Silver |
28.4 g | 38.6 mm | Proof |
3,000 |
The coins are encapsulated and presented in a custom case branded with the Central Bank of Ireland’s logo and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. For additional information, please visit the Central Bank’s retail website.
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Hi Michael,
This was sold out in less than 60 minutes…would like to get your point of view …do collectors ( or flippers) get such coins only in anticipation to make profits since the previous coins in the series did well or you think people genuinely acquired this coins for its beauty/ theme…
Hello Mahesh,
Well, that is the problem Mints do see with some coins, people who only buy the coin to list on an auction site and sell them for a quick profit. The Mint’s have no way to distinguish who is who so, genuine collectors have to wait in line on websites and hope for the best.
The Monegasque coin museum had a similar problem with their €2 commemoratives a few years ago where buyers would camp out overnight for the release of the coin and immediately list them for sale, making alot of €€ in the process. They moved the sale of these coins exclusively to their website to enable more collectors the chance to buy direct which despite a long waiting period on the website seemed to work better. The problem of course is there aren’t enough coins to satisfy the demand.
I have often suggested to Mints and Central Banks to open a timeframe to pre-order and the final mintage is whatever is ordered & paid for. If a collector wants a particular coin, they should have one. This method would also be beneficial for the secondary market and future collectors. I didn’t make it to Dublin for the launch so, I also missed out on the coin – better luck next time.!
Hi Michael,
What surprises me more is …it’s happening despite order restrictions ( one coin per transaction/ per household) …perhaps mints have to devise a new method / technique to solve this problem. At the other end of the spectrum we have Bank of Greece, since you can’t buy online ( doesn’t have a online shop in this age…!!!) their product sales remains very opaque….