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17th Century Tokens : St_Columb-St_Ives in Cornwall

W Numbers refer to Williamson's  Trade Tokens Issued in the Seventeenth Century in England, Wales and Ireland, (1891)

See also other Counties issuing 17th Century Tokens

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W80: Cornwall, St Columb (Farthing): (1664)
O  The Mercers' Arms
IOHN OXNAM
R  I O
IN ST CVLLAME 1664 I O
Image not available
The Oxenhams are an old Devonshire family, with whom the Cornish Oxnams are probably connected. An Oxnam was sheriff of the county in 1810, and the name has continued in the vicinity of St. Columb to the present day.
W81: Cornwall, St Columb (Farthing): (1663)
O  The Mercers' Arms
RICHARD EDWARDS
R  R E
IN ST CVLLOM 1663 R E
Image not available

St Ives

In the first edition of this work every token dated St. Ives was credited to St. Ives, Huntingdon, whereas the Cornish St. Ives was formerly quite as important a community. Twenty-four out of the 64 tokens described for Huntingdonshire were given to the eastern St. Ives against nine only to Huntingdon--a proportion that was clearly incorrect. Moreover, while in the other towns of the county halfpence predominated, in St. Ives the characteristics of the western county were seen in the preponderance of farthings. After careful investigation, it now seems probable that something like three-fourths of the St. Ives tokens can be correctly divided between the two rival claimants; but there are so many doubtfuls left that St. Ives still remains the great crux of the Cornish numismatologist. Those to which a doubt seems to attach are classed in the following list. We do not, however, include the halfpenny and farthing issued in 1669 by the Overseers of St. Ives, the device on which has been variously interpreted "two women washing in a tub," or "packing fish." No other town-pieces are claimed for Cornwall, and these tokens have never been found in that county, while they do occur in the Hunts.
W82: Cornwall, St Ives (Farthing): (1658)
O  The Haberdashers' Arms
HENRY CORDALL
R  H E C
IN ST IVES 1658 H E C
Image not available
This token seems unquestionably Cornish, though nothing is known of the issuer. Cardell is distinctively a Cornish name, and there are Cardells yet in St. Erth, close to St. Ives. The change of the "o" to the "a," or of the "a" to the "o," is nothing uncommon in connection with either names or tokens.
W83: Cornwall, St Ives (Farthing): (1657)
O  W H
WILLIAM HARRISON
R  1657
OF ST IVES 1657
Image not available
W85: Cornwall, St Ives (Farthing): (1660)
O  The Salters' Arms
IOHN HICKMAN OF
R  I E H
ST IVES 1660 I E H
Image not available
[Note for No. 86, a halfpenny]: The issuers of the two last tokens [No. 85 and No. 86] were, of course, father and son. The device and the names seem to concur to give them to Cornwall. Hicks is a name of very common occurrence; and Hickman was formerly in use in West Cornwall, but is now represented by Higman. Mr. Hickman was one of the chief inhabitants of Truro in the time of Hals.
W87: Cornwall, St Ives (Farthing): (1667)
O  1667
IOHN HVTCHINS 1667
R  I H
OF ST IVES I H
Image not available
W88: Cornwall, St Ives (Farthing): (1666)
O  Three roses
RICHARD HVTCHINS
R  R W H
OF ST IVES 1666 R W H
Image not available
Hutchins and Hitchens are well-known local names. John Hutchins, the issuer of No. 87, was nominated one of the inferior burgesses of the town in a charter granted by Charles I. No. 88 is classed as Cornish in the Bodleian.
W89: Cornwall, St Ives (Farthing): (1667)
O  Two swords crossed
IOHN KING
R  I K
IN S IVES 1667 I K
Image not available
King is an old county name. It occurs at Penzance early in the seventeenth century. John King, afterwards Rector of Chelsea, was born at St. Columb in 1652.
W90: Cornwall, St Ives (Farthing): (Date Unknown)
O  The Haberdashers' Arms
IONATHAN READ IN
R  I R R
IN SAINT IVES I R R
Image not available
Read is a very old West-country family. The name was very common in the neighbourhood in the seventeenth century, and still flourishes in West Cornwall.

Among the other St. Ives tokens which it once seemed possible to identify with the Cornish town are those of Andrews, Browne, Hallsey, and Stocker. Each of these names occurs in the locality, and the two latter seemed to have special claims. They are now given up to Huntingdonshire.

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