"Voce Populi" Coins

About This Coin

Bearing the Latin legend VOCE POPULI ("By the Voice of the People"), these copper coins of approximately 7 grams and 27 mm diameter with plain edge were produced in Ireland, attributed to a Dublin manufacturer known as Roche. The obverse features a laureate bust — a generic authority figure rather than a specific portrait — while the reverse displays a seated Hibernia with a harp, imagery drawn from contemporary Irish halfpenny coinage. The democratic legend resonated in the colonial American context, where popular sovereignty was increasingly central to political discourse. A notable result of $41,000 in XF40BN at Stack's Bowers demonstrates strong collector demand. These coins belong to the broader category of Irish-made coppers that found secondary circulation in the American colonies, where chronic shortages of official coinage created a market for any copper piece of acceptable weight. The series includes both halfpenny and farthing denominations with several die varieties, providing scope for die variety collecting within this popular Pre-1776 series.