Obverse: WHITEHAVEN 1825 , around linear inner circle, W.S within.
Reverse: IRON ORE TICKET .(flowerhead). , around linear inner circle, 4 within.
Edge: Plain in collar.
Composition: Copper. Weight: 15.4 grams. Diameter: 32.09mm.
Ferguson 6. D & W 297/158. Finlay 133.

Extremely fine with contact marks.

It has been suggested, by a Mr Tomlinson in 1899, that this token was issued by William Smith, of Birmingham who worked the High House Mines at Frizington in 1825. A William Smith, "(whether the same, a son or another of the clan) had an Iron Ore pit at Frizington in 1855 and later". The 4 perhaps refers to bogies, a type of sledge on wheels, four of which amounted to a pit ton, (by which measure the miners were paid), weighing two imperial tons or more. According to another source, the High House Mine was started conciderably later, in 1853, Samuel Wagstaffe Smith.
Michael Finlay, The Mining and Related Tokens of West Cumberland, p. 116.

Thanks to a wonderful piece of detective work by David Powell, I can now add the following information:

W.S. on these two pieces stands for William Steward, not William Smith as
postulated by Ferguson in 1899 and repeated by Michael Finlay in 2006.
Putting "Iron Ore"+ "Whitehaven" into the British Newspaper Archive produces
frequent references to Steward, starting precisely in 1825 and continuing
until Steward's death on 1 October 1843.

Cumberland Pacquet, and Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser - Tuesday 12 July 1825:

"TO MASTERS OF VESSELS
OWNERS and Masters of Vessels by calling at
Whitehaven, can be loaded with IRON-ORE, with-
out delay, to Cardiff, in South Wales, at 10s 6d. per
Ton Freight. The Ore being in Whitehaven, the quick-
est dispatch can be given.
Apply to Mr. William Steward, at the office,
16, Catherine Street.
Whitehaven, June 4th 1825."

Death notification in the Carlisle Journal - Saturday 7 October 1843:

"At the Cumberland Iron Ore Office, Whitehaven, on Sunday, Mr.
William Steward, many years agent for Messrs. R. and A. Hill, Cardiff."

Sold Aug 25