A James Joyce collectors' coin featuring an erroneous misquote from the author's masterpiece Ulysses will go on sale as planned, the Central Bank has confirmed.
The bank said it regretted the error but added “the coin is an artistic representation of the author and text and not intended as a literal representation.
The special €10 coin depicts the first lines of chapter three of the novel pouring out of the top of the writer’s head in a stream of consciousness.
Joyce’s words read: “Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read.” However, the Central Bank coin includes the word ‘that’ in the second sentence.
Some 10,000 of the coins go on sale today and can be bought from the Central Bank at a cost of €46.
In a statement the Central Bank said “the coin will continue to be available for purchase. Anyone purchasing the coin will be informed as to the error in the text. Anyone who may already have purchased the coin and wishes to return it will be facilitated with a full refund.”
Joycean scholar Terence Killeen described the error as "very unfortunate".
“One would expect accuracy on an item like this. It’s a direct quotation from Joyce so I don’t think it’s a trivial thing really.”