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DG08664

Ireland, James II Cork siege countermark over William Ballard Token

Ireland, Cork, countermark over a William Ballard Cork token of 1677, leopard's head over CORKE, over two palm branches, all within a beaded circle, weight 4.07g (Withers 206; Day 7; Lindsay 35 plate 7 no.151). The flan flat with only some rim decoration of undertype apparent, the countermark good very fine and very rare.

At the time John Lindsay was writing in 1839 such pieces were thought to relate to the earlier Civil War period of Charles I when Cork was a City under siege. However, by the time Day was writing in 1877 it had been discovered that these pieces were often struck over brass Penny tokens of William Ballard of Cork dated 1677 with some struck on totally blank brass flans. It would seem these Cork pieces are therefore much more likely to relate to the 1688-1690 period when William III was opposing the forces of his Father in Law James II. It is a shame the Cork city records from this period do not seem to exist any more as it would shed more light perhaps on the issue.

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