"Enniskillen Token"

1657

Clements, Abraham

[Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh]

Minted

Width: 0.18cm

Six Enniskillen tradesmen and merchants – Abraham Clements, William Cooper, James Reid, David Rynd, John Rynd and James Wornock - issued their own copper penny tokens in the second half of the 17th century. Normally only the monarch had power to grant licences to mint coins but during the Cromwellian regime, following the execution of Charles I in 1649, no coins were minted for Ireland and low denomination coins became very scarce. Throughout Ireland and England, traders and merchants disregarded sovereign prerogative and minted their own trading tokens. The practice came to an end in 1680: King Charles II forbade anyone from issuing tokens without a royal licence. The symbols used on Enniskillen tokens are typical of Irish tokens in providing little or no information about the occupations of the issuers. The fleur-de-lys on the Clements’ token was probably inspired by 17th century French coins called 'double tournois'. (Monument Fellowship Information)

FCM_1988_002