Wooden halfpence

• Wood's halfpence: Attempt in 1722 by William Wood, an English ironmonger, to begin minting copper halfpence for circulation in Ireland. King George I granted Wood a patent to supply £100,800 in coins. The Irish public responded with outrage and protest, suspecting Wood's halfpence to be of inferior quality; sentiment moved against the coins especially after Jonathan Swift published the three Drapier's Letters in opposition. The conflict was ultimately resolved by the withdrawal of Wood's patent in 1725.