The 1943 Ireland Halfcrown is the key date for the Halfcrown series.  There were initially 1000 of these coins struck in London but only 500 are known to exist. What happened to the rest....the other 500?  Possibly lost or sent back to the mint to be melted.  These were minted to be regularly circulating coins... nothing different than any other coins, just a lot less of them made. The finest known example (pictured) sold for over $1600 a few years ago.  I am currently in the process working with a dealer in Dublin to find me one since I'm working on this series. Are there any other collectors of Irish coins in the group?  How difficult did you find putting a set of Halfcrowns together?  Sorry for the short blog.... I'm working on a better one on a different coin.