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Cornish Stannary Parliament - un puns
| Issuer | Cornish Stannary Parliament |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | SENETH STENORYON KERNOW a-ambos tylly dhe'n deger un jeth wosa gweles hemma UN PUNS yn amont No 1877 Cambron 1985 ARGHANSER SIGILLVM COMMVNITATIS STANGNATORVM CORNVBIE |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in black on pale olive paper within a Celtic knotwork border. To the left, a circular portrait vignette of Richard Trevithick is set against a finely engraved landscape. To the right, a detailed technical illustration of the Pen-y-darren locomotive of 1804 is shown, with a ribbon cartouche above and the Cornish cross flag in the upper right corner. A rectangular panel at foot carries the English promise text. |
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| Comments |
The Cornish Stannary Parliament claims legal continuity from medieval tin-mining jurisdictions that operated under a distinct charter system separate from English common law — a genuinely unusual constitutional argument that underpins the note's existence. When the Parliament was revived in the late twentieth century, issuing currency was partly a political act, asserting an autonomy that Westminster has never formally acknowledged but has also never cleanly extinguished.
These notes have no legal tender status anywhere and circulated, to the extent they circulated at all, as novelty instruments among supporters of Cornish devolution. The "un puns" denomination — one pound in Cornish — reflects the Parliament's broader effort to rehabilitate the Cornish language alongside its constitutional claims.