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Ireland, "Corke" Token from 1688-90 period
Ireland, Cork, countermark on a blank brass flan akin to the flans used for William Ballard Cork tokens of 1677, leopard's head over CORKE, over two palm branches, all within a beaded circle, weight 4.39g (Withers 206A; Day 7; Lindsay 35 plate 7 no.151). Good very fine countermark, flan with some surface marks and two small rim splits, 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 flans as seen here. 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.