Halfcrowns and florins dated 1943 were minted for Ireland by the British Royal Mint, but were recalled, and theoretically melted as, due to rising silver prices, the Irish government had decided to switch to cupro-nickel instead of silver. As often happens, small numbers of coins escaped the melting pot, and have achieved a near-legendary status as amongst the rarest of Irish coins, the florin being extremely rare, and the halfcrown very rare.