World Coins

Ireland honors American inventor John Philip Holland with €15 coin

A new Proof silver €15 coin from Ireland honors Irish-American inventor John Philip Holland, the father of the modern submarine.

Images courtesy of the Central Bank of Ireland.

The Central Bank of Ireland has issued a Proof 2014 .925 fine silver €15 coin commemorating Irish-American John Philip Holland, inventor of the first modern U.S. submarine.

USS Holland (SS-1) was the United States Navy’s first modern commissioned submarine, and is named for its inventor. The boat was originally named Holland VI, and launched on May 17, 1897. The submarine was officially commissioned by the U.S. Navy on Oct. 12, 1900, at Newport, R.I.

Holland’s design was the first to combine an electric motor for submerged travel and an internal combustion engine for use on the surface.

Holland also created the first Royal Navy submarine, the Holland 1. 

He died in 1914.

The reverse was designed by Mary Gregoriy and features the inventor’s hand poised to complete a technical drawing of the USS Holland, complete with a decorative nautilus spiral.

The obverse bears the traditional Irish harp design. 

The coin, released Sept. 2, is the first in the Irish Science and Inventions coin series. 

The coin weighs 28.28 grams, measures 38.61 millimeters in diameter and has a mintage limit of 10,000 pieces.

Coin & Currency Institute offers the coin for $82 in U.S. funds. 

To order, telephone the firm at 800-421-1866, write to the company at P.O. Box 399, Williston, VT 05495, contact the distributor vie email, or visit its website.

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