Voce Populi copper halfpenny and farthing coins appeared in Dublin Ireland in 1760. It is believed that Mr. Roche, a button maker on King Street, was responsible for minting the Hibernia-Voce Populi. The coins display a male bust wearing a laurel wreath with the legend VOCE POPULI (By the voice of the people) on one side and a seated figure of Hibernia with a harp above the date and the legend HIBERNIA (Ireland) on the reverse.
There are a variety of Voce Populi coins. They were all intended to bear the date 1760 however, a bad engraving situation led to the numeral 6 being cut as a 0 giving the coin the date of 1700. Later a correction was attempted to alter the 0 by putting a tail on the top transforming it to a 6. There are also a variety of designs that accompany the legends. It is believed that there are some 16 different combinations of designs, including different busts, and at least 5 different border designs. Other varieties include the VOOE POPULI variety, the variety with the letter P in front of the face or under the bust, and the Small and Large Letter Farthings.
The coins eventually made their way to the American colonies where it is believed they went into circulation as a part of the colonial series.
