Cornish currency
Encyclopedia
Cornish currency has been issued in various forms since medieval times and possibly earlier. One early story tells that the Cornish people
raised the money by popular subscription to pay a ransom for the release of the Duke of Cornwall, Richard the Lionheart. The 15 Bezant
s on the arms of the Duke of Cornwall are said to represent the money raised. In heraldry
, bezants are gold discs (roundel
s). Their name as a charge probably comes from the name of the coins.
Another early reference to the Cornish currency, the "dynar", is found in a thirteenth century Cornish
play in the line "dhodh a dela pymp cans dyner", which translates as "he was owed five hundred dyner". The only English coin at the time was the silver penny: presumably the dynar was equivalent to this.
The earliest known Cornish mint was at Launceston (originally at St Stephen by Launceston), which operated on a minimal scale (before Cornwall received full diocesan jurisdiction in the year 994 AD) at the time of Ethelred II, 976. Only one specimen is known to exist. The one available early coin is heavy (1.61g). However after the Norman Conquest the Norman Earl acquired Dunheved and rebuilt the castle there. He expropriated the market and mint of the canons and the townspeople followed them to Dunheved. The mint was reopened half-way through the Conqueror's reign.
A Royalist mint was established in Truro in 1642-43 during the English Civil War by Sir Richard Vyvyan
; in September 1643 it was moved to Exeter.
family of Penzance
. The Consolidated Bank of Cornwall was taken over by Barclays Bank in 1905. In 2004 a rare banknote from the Falmouth bank sold for £540. Several other examples of Cornish banknotes are held at the County Museum in Truro
.
in 1974 under the name of the ‘Cornish National Fund’. The Cornish National Fund was established with the objective of raising funds to assist with a "campaign for the restitution of Cornwall
’s legal right to partially govern itself and to raise appreciation within Cornwall of the aims of the Stannary Parliament."
The 1974 banknotes were issued in denominations of 5 shillings, 10 shillings, 1 pound and 5 pounds. Cornish language text on the front of the 5 shilling note can be translated as: 'The National Fund of Cornwall promises to pay the bearer one day after sight the amount of five shillings.' In 1985 the Cornish Stannary Parliament issued notes of two denominations –- 50 pence and 1 pound—and were sold at a premium as a matching pair as a fund raising exercise. In 2000 the Cornish Stannary Parliament issued new banknotes in the denomination of 500 Dynars to commemorate the 200-year anniversary of Richard Trevithick
's steam car climbing Camborne
Hill on Christmas Eve 1801. On the front of the note there is a depiction of Saint Piran
(Peran Sans), carrying his banner and standing before a stone cross.
On 15 December 1974, it was announced that Frederick Trull, styled "clerk to the stannary", was to issue banknotes in four denominations. Following an incident on 26 February 1975 when Trull attempted to arrest the clerk and magistrate while being tried for a motoring offence at St Austell Magistrate's Court, he was found guilty of using threatening words and behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace on 2 June 1975. He produced twenty-five pages of documents in an attempt to prove that the court had no jurisdiction but was fined, ordered to pay costs, and bound over to keep the peace for twelve months. He was subsequently dismissed from his post as clerk to the stannary and expelled from the organisation. The banknotes, which bore Trull's signature, were burnt.
For example
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
raised the money by popular subscription to pay a ransom for the release of the Duke of Cornwall, Richard the Lionheart. The 15 Bezant
Bezant
Bezant is a medieval term for a gold coin from the Byzantine Empire, which term is derived from the Greek name Βυζάντιον for the relatively minor city which in the 4th c. became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, renamed Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great...
s on the arms of the Duke of Cornwall are said to represent the money raised. In heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
, bezants are gold discs (roundel
Roundel
A roundel in heraldry is a disc; the term is also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours.-Heraldry:...
s). Their name as a charge probably comes from the name of the coins.
Another early reference to the Cornish currency, the "dynar", is found in a thirteenth century Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
play in the line "dhodh a dela pymp cans dyner", which translates as "he was owed five hundred dyner". The only English coin at the time was the silver penny: presumably the dynar was equivalent to this.
Cornish mints
A Royalist mint was established in Truro in 1642-43 during the English Civil War by Sir Richard Vyvyan
Sir Richard Vyvyan, 1st Baronet
Sir Richard Vyvyan, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1665...
; in September 1643 it was moved to Exeter.
Cornish Banks
Several Cornish towns in the mining districts set up their own Banks and even issued their own banknotes. One example is 'The Mounts Bay Commercial Bank' which was set up 1807 by the BolithoBolitho
Bolitho is a small village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately one-and-a-half miles east of Praze-an-Beeble and is in the civil parish of Crowan.-Bolitho family:...
family of Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
. The Consolidated Bank of Cornwall was taken over by Barclays Bank in 1905. In 2004 a rare banknote from the Falmouth bank sold for £540. Several other examples of Cornish banknotes are held at the County Museum in Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
.
Stannary money
In more recent times Cornish currency was issued by the Cornish Stannary ParliamentRevived Cornish Stannary Parliament
The Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament , is a pressure group which claims to be a revival of the historic Cornish Stannary Parliament last held in 1753...
in 1974 under the name of the ‘Cornish National Fund’. The Cornish National Fund was established with the objective of raising funds to assist with a "campaign for the restitution of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
’s legal right to partially govern itself and to raise appreciation within Cornwall of the aims of the Stannary Parliament."
The 1974 banknotes were issued in denominations of 5 shillings, 10 shillings, 1 pound and 5 pounds. Cornish language text on the front of the 5 shilling note can be translated as: 'The National Fund of Cornwall promises to pay the bearer one day after sight the amount of five shillings.' In 1985 the Cornish Stannary Parliament issued notes of two denominations –- 50 pence and 1 pound—and were sold at a premium as a matching pair as a fund raising exercise. In 2000 the Cornish Stannary Parliament issued new banknotes in the denomination of 500 Dynars to commemorate the 200-year anniversary of Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive...
's steam car climbing Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
Hill on Christmas Eve 1801. On the front of the note there is a depiction of Saint Piran
Saint Piran
Saint Piran or Perran is an early 6th century Cornish abbot and saint, supposedly of Irish origin....
(Peran Sans), carrying his banner and standing before a stone cross.
On 15 December 1974, it was announced that Frederick Trull, styled "clerk to the stannary", was to issue banknotes in four denominations. Following an incident on 26 February 1975 when Trull attempted to arrest the clerk and magistrate while being tried for a motoring offence at St Austell Magistrate's Court, he was found guilty of using threatening words and behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace on 2 June 1975. He produced twenty-five pages of documents in an attempt to prove that the court had no jurisdiction but was fined, ordered to pay costs, and bound over to keep the peace for twelve months. He was subsequently dismissed from his post as clerk to the stannary and expelled from the organisation. The banknotes, which bore Trull's signature, were burnt.
Cornish tokens
Cornish tokens sometimes called Cornish Pennies were trade tokens widely used in the 18th and 19th century in Cornwall.- One dated 1811 had the words, "For the accommodation of the county," in the centre was a pilchard between cakes of copper and ingots of tin. On the other side were the words Cornish penny, in the centre a view of a mine pumping engine and winding gear.
- The 1791 Cornwall Conder Token, (halfpenny) had "Cornish Copper Half an Ounce" written around a Duchy bezant shield and a druid's head on the reverse.
- Cornish pennies issued by John Williams of ScorrierScorrierScorrier is a village in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It is about 2 miles northeast of the centre of Redruth and 3 miles south-east of the coast at Porthtowan, on the A30 road at the junction of the A3047 road that leads west to Camborne and the B3298 road south to Carharrack...
are also found: one dated 1812 has on the obverse the badge of the Prince of Wales (three plumes) and on the reverse a view of a mine pumping engine and winding gear and "Payable at Scorrier House / One pound for 240 tokens".
Local Exchange Trading Schemes (LETS) in Cornwall
The LETS scheme which runs across the UK. Of the schemes that run in Cornwall, each has its own local currency that is thought of as equivalent to £1 but this can be flexible.For example
- PECs (Penwith Exchange Currency) in Penzance .
- LANS in Launceston
- CELTS in Falmouth
- CARTS (Camborne & Redruth Trading Scheme) in Camborne and Redruth