View source for Two pence (Irish coin)

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox coin
| Country             =  [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
| Denomination        = [[Irish pound|Two pence]] / Dhá phingin
| Value               = 2
| Unit                = [[Irish pound|pence]]
| Mass                = 7.12
| Diameter            = 25.91
| Thickness           = ([[Bronze]]) 1.85 mm<br>([[Steel]]) 2.03
| Edge                = Plain
| Composition         = Bronze (1971–1988)<br>{{nowrap|[[Copper]]-plated [[steel]] (1988–2000)}}
| Years of Minting    = 1971–2000
| Catalog Number      = —
| Obverse             =
| Obverse Design      = [[Clàrsach|Irish harp]]
| Obverse Designer    =
| Obverse Design Date = 1971 (first use 1928)
| Reverse             = Irish two pence (decimal coin).png
| Reverse Design      = Ornamental [[bird]]
| Reverse Designer    = [[Gabriel Hayes]]
| Reverse Design Date = 1971
}}

The '''two pence''' (2p) ({{langx|ga|dhá phingin}}) coin was the third smallest denomination of the [[Irish pound]], being worth {{frac|50}} of a pound. It was first issued on [[Decimal Day]], 15 February 1971. The coin was struck until 2000. It was the third of three new designs introduced all in [[bronze]], the others being the halfpenny and penny. All featured ornamental birds on the reverse.

The coin was designed by the Irish artist [[Gabriel Hayes]] and the design is adapted from the Second [[Bible]] of [[Charles the Bald]] held at [[Bibliothèque Nationale]] in Paris. The coin originally had a diameter of 2.591 centimetres and weight of 7.128 [[gram]]s consisting of [[copper]], [[tin]] and [[zinc]].

In 1988, it was announced that the two-pence coin would be redesigned to incorporate the hare from the [[Threepence (Irish coin)|pre-decimal threepence]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cooney |first1=John |title=Lightweight £1 coin to make debut today |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1990/0620/Pg002.html#Ar00202 |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 August 2022 |work=The Irish Times |date=20 June 1990 |page=2}}</ref> but this plan was abandoned in the face of the imminent adoption of the [[euro]]. In 1988, the decision was taken to produce the coin on a copper plated [[steel]] [[planchet]] as [[bronze]] had become too expensive. The copper plated steel coins are magnetic. After reducing the size of the five and ten pence coins introduced in the early 1990s, the two pence coin was the fourth largest Irish coin, with only the twenty and fifty pence and the pound coin coins being larger in the series.

The two-pence coin was withdrawn when [[euro coins]] were introduced on 1 January 2002.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Ireland|Money|Numismatics|Republic of Ireland}}
*[http://www.irishcoinage.com/DECCAT.HTM#dec2pe Irish coinage website – catalogue – decimal two pence]
*[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1969/en/si/0160.html Coinage (Dimensions and Designs) Regulations, 1969]
*[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1990/en/si/0100.html Coinage (Weight and Composition of and Remedy for Certain Copper Coins) Regulations, 1990]

{{Irish currency and coinage}}

[[Category:Coins of the Republic of Ireland|two pence (decimal coin)]]
[[Category:Two-cent coins]]