New coin marks 150 years of WB Yeats
A special set of coins has been minted to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of poet WB Yeats.
The €15 limited issue silver proof collector’s item features the Nobel laureate as the artist, poet and romantic.
The face of the coins shows Yeats’ hair entwined with linnets and bees from one of his best-known, loved and quoted works The Lake Isle Of Innisfree.
Only 8,000 of the sets have been minted.
Central Bank Commission member Des Geraghty launched the unique offering at a special event at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, which Yeats was central to establishing.
“This coin honours the Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature, William Butler Yeats,” he said.
“Yeats was central to the creation of both our first National Theatre and our first national coinage and one could hardly think of a more appropriate place to launch a coin celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth than the Abbey Theatre.”
