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(LEOPARD) / CORKE / (PALM BRANCHES)


Image Information

Type Coin
Title (LEOPARD) / CORKE / (PALM BRANCHES)
Date 1677
Country Ireland
Institution
/Catalog #
PI-54
Denomination penny
Description Originally thought to date back to the English Civil War era (1642-1651) of King Charles l and the siege of Cork, Ireland, research efforts later placed these Corke Tokens in the period of the Williamite War of 1688-1690. They're now considered siege tokens employed during the attack on Cork in September, 1690. It was discovered that some examples, perhaps all of them, were overstruck on William Ballard merchant tokens of 1677. Ballard was a Cork merchant / tradesman (possibly a tinsmith) and, interestingly, the mayor of Cork City in 1690. Some known examples exhibit portions of the undertype while others don't. This example doesn't. This example was purchased from a collector in western Pennsylvania. She recounted to me that it was included in a huge collection of pre-1900's British and Irish coins acquired from an old English gentleman in 2016 / 2017. The accumulation had been in the family for generations but he decided to sell as he had no family to pass it on to. The token is brass and 22mm with a significant planchet split at 4 o'clock and a small hairline crack at 11 o'clock radiating from the left shoulder of the counterstamp. Nearly all examples I've seen exhibit similar damage. The origin of the counterstamp, which appears to be a crest or coat-of-arms, hasn't been identified. There are two varieties of the issue, this being a Variety 1. For a discussion of the two known varieties see my remarks in #28 in the Notes section of this report. Purchased from Michelle Lisak / Zelienople, Pennsylvania, USA. (Ar. 22, 2022) ($300).

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