HUNDREDS of Irish tokens - a form of privately-issued coinage - come up for auction at Whyte's of Marlborough Street next Friday evening. The tokens were issued by merchants, traders, banks, mines, taverns, railway companies and others from around the mid-17th century to 1900.

One of these (estimated to make £50-£60) was issued in 1670 by Abraham Christian "in Gallway" - and shows a bull on one side and a fish on the other, while a silver example was issued by Ben Bowen in Dublin around 1740 (estimate £350-£300). There are tavern tokens from the early 19th century, as well as Victorian tokens issued by clothes shops and railway companies.

In addition, the sale includes a wide range of Irish coins from the Viking period to the present century, such as an Edward IV Dublin groat, estimated at £400-£450 and a Charles I "Inchiquin" shilling estimated at £1,500-£1,700. Banknotes include an 1812 Joyce & Blake three-guineas note from Galway (estimate £275-£325) and a Provincial Bank of Ireland three-pound note of 1873 (estimate £175-£225).

There are also three GAA All-Ireland championship medals: 1896 football final, won by Commercials of Limerick (estimate £600-£700); 1922 football, won by O'Toole's of Dublin (£500-£600); and 1944 hurling won by Cork (£700-£800).