| Cornish currency | |
|---|---|
 £5 and £1 issued by the Cornish stannary parliament 1974 | |
| Unit | |
| Unit | pound sterling |
| Symbol | d, £, /~ |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄100 | dynar |
| Banknotes | 500d, £1, 5/~, 10/~, 50p |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) | Cornwall see also Constitutional Status of Cornwall |
Currency, in the form of coins, has been issued in Cornwall periodically since at least the 10th century AD, while banknotes were issued into the 19th century.
The earliest known Cornish mint was at Launceston (originally at St Stephen by Launceston), which operated on a minimal scale at the time of Ethelred II, in 976 AD (that is, before Cornwall received full diocesan jurisdiction in the year 994 AD). Only one specimen, a heavy (1.61 gram) coin, is known to exist. [1] [2] After the Norman Conquest, Robert, Count of Mortain (William the Conqueror's half-brother) was given much of Cornwall, including Dunheved and rebuilt the castle there. He expropriated the market and mint from the canons of St Stephen and the townspeople followed these to Dunheved. [3] The mint was reopened halfway through the Conqueror's reign.[ citation needed ]
Another early reference to the Cornish currency, the "dynar," is found in a thirteenth-century Cornish play containing 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.
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. [4] [5]
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 Bolitho family of Penzance. The Consolidated Bank of Cornwall was taken over by Barclays Bank in 1905. [6] In 2004 a rare banknote from the Falmouth bank sold for £540. [7] Several other examples of Cornish banknotes are held at the County Museum in Truro.
In more recent times Cornish currency was issued by the Cornish Stannary Parliament 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." [8]
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 Revived 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. [9]
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 sometimes called Cornish Pennies were trade tokens widely used in the 18th and 19th century in Cornwall.
The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories is denominated in pennies and pounds sterling, and ranges in value from one penny sterling to two pounds. Since decimalisation, on 15 February 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 (new) pence. Before decimalisation, twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound.
Sterling is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word "pound" is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.
The pound was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £. The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin circulation until the beginning of 2002.
The British West Indies dollar (BWI$) was the currency of British Guiana and the Eastern Caribbean territories of the British West Indies from 1949 to 1965, when it was largely replaced by the East Caribbean dollar, and was one of the currencies used in Jamaica from 1954 to 1964. The monetary policy of the currency was overseen by the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB). It was the official currency used by the West Indies Federation The British West Indies dollar was never used in British Honduras, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, or Bermuda.
The pound was the currency of Scotland prior to the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was introduced by David I, in the 12th century, on the Carolingian monetary system of a pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The Scottish currency was later devalued relative to sterling by debasement of its coinage. By the time of James III, one pound Scots was valued at five shillings sterling.
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The pound is the currency of Guernsey. Since 1921, Guernsey has been in currency union with the United Kingdom and the Guernsey pound is not a separate currency but is a local issue of sterling banknotes and coins, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes.
The Jamaican dollar has been the currency of Jamaica since 1969. It is often abbreviated to J$, the J serving to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents, although cent denominations are no longer in use as of 2018. Goods and services may still be priced in cents, but cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest dollar.
The dollar has been the currency of Barbados since 1935. Globally its currency has the ISO 4217 code BBD, however, unofficially in Barbados the International vehicle registration code code BDS is also commonly used, a currency code that is otherwise reserved for Bangladesh outside Barbados. As such the present dollar has the ISO 4217 code BBD. The Barbadian dollar is divided into 100 cents.
The pound is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of banknotes and coins by the States of Jersey denominated in sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes.
The pound is the currency of the Isle of Man, at parity with sterling. The Manx pound is divided into 100 pence. Notes and coins, denominated in pounds and pence, are issued by the Isle of Man Government.
The tālā is the currency of Samoa. It is divided into 100 sene. The terms tālā and sene are the equivalents or transliteration of the English words dollar and cent, in the Samoan language. Its symbol is $, or WS$ to distinguish it from other currencies named dollar.
The pound was the currency of the Gambia between 1965 and 1971. Gambia used the British West African pound until it issued its own currency on October 5, 1964. In 1971, the dalasi replaced the pound at a rate of £1 = D5. 1 pound was made up of 20 shillings, each shilling consisting of 12 pence.
The pound was the official currency of Jamaica between 1840 and 1969. It circulated as a mixture of sterling coinage and locally issued coins and banknotes and was always equal to the pound sterling. The Jamaican pound was also used in the Cayman and Turks and Caicos Islands.
The pound was the currency of the Australian Territory of New Guinea between 1915 and 1966, and replaced the New Guinean mark when Australia occupied the former German colony at the end of World War I. The New Guinean pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence, and was equal to the Australian pound.
Canada has an extensive history with regard to its currencies. Prior to European contact, indigenous peoples in Canada used items such as wampum and furs for trading purposes, which continued when trade with Europeans began.
The pound was the currency of the Canadas until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d). In Lower Canada, the sou was used, worth 1⁄2 penny. Although the £sd accounting system had its origins in sterling, the Canadian pound was never at par with sterling's pound.
The Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament, is a pressure group which claimed to be a revival of the historic Cornish Stannary Parliament last held in 1753. It was established in 1974 and campaigned, up until 2008, against the government of the United Kingdom's position on the constitutional status of Cornwall.
The history of Australian currency commences with the first European settlement of Australia on 26 January 1788. At the time, New South Wales was a British colony, and the English currency was in formal circulation, though the supply was insufficient and alternative forms of exchange were resorted to. A national Australian currency was created in 1910, as the Australian Pound, which in 1966 was decimalized as the Australian Dollar.
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