CJ 43 .P7 Copy 1 xxIE PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM AND SCHOOL OF INDUSTEIAL ART PHILADELPHIA NUMISMATICS NOTES UPON THE Collection of Coins and Medals DEPOSITED BY THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA By Henry Phillips, Jr. AND UPON THE Collection of Chinese Coins BELONGING TO THE MUSEUM By Stewart Culin MEMORIAL HALL Fairmount Park 1885 Price, 10 Cents THE PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM \ AND SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL ART PHILADELPHIA NUMISMATICS NOTES UPON THE Collection of Coins and Medals DEPOSITED BY THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA By Henry Phillips, Jr. AND UPON THE Collection of Chinese Coins BELONGING TO THE MUSEUM By Stewart Culin MEMORIAL HALL Fairmount Park 1885 Price, 10 Cents o ** o d being probably the ap- pellation of the chieftain to which it had been presented. A series of well-executed medals represents scenes in the lives of Louis XV, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Lord Howe, Lord Corn- wallis, Suwarrow, and others. There are fine medals of Rousseau, Lafayette, Liebnitz, Gauss, Thiersch, R. M. Patterson. David Rit- tenhouse, Berzelius, Charles XII of Sweden, Louis XVIII, Napo- leon (commemorating the introduction of vaccination), Napoleon and Josephine (accolated), Maiquis of Granby, Earl Kildare, one commemorating the millennial anniversary of the Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, one of King Augustus of Poland, and other celebrated persons and events. A series represents the " Medallic History of the American Rev- olution," on which appear Franklin and Washington with various symbolical reverses. There are medals of Pitt, of Penn, and quite a number of Washington, embracing the "Manly," the "Sansom," the " Eccleston," the " C. C. A. U. S.," " He is in glory," etc., etc., etc. ; medals commemorative of the peace of 1 814 and that of 1783; one given to Defleury upon the capture of Stony Point; a fine gilt medallion of the Earl of Essex, cut by the celebrated Simon in the days of the Commonwealth. There is an interesting series of medalets in copper ranging in date from 1584 to 1620, representing various occurrences in the wars between King Philip II of Spain and the United Provinces, among which the following are of the most interest : No. 34141 bears on its obverse upon a sea violently in commotion, lashed by storms, a ship whose topmasts have been broken off, above which is the date 1565. Inscription, Incertum . quo . fata . ferent. NUMISMA TICS. 5 On the reverse a female figure, holding her right hand toward heaven, and in her left an anchor; from above rays are streaming down upon her head. Inscription, Spes . alma . supersit. This jetton was struck in reference to the dissensions and lack of unity then prevalent in the Netherlands and the unfavorable outlook of the times. Xo. 34179 has on the obverse the inscription, Lapis . reiectus — caput . anguli. Within a circle of very fine lines a three-cornered stone, showing its broadest part downward : below is a crowned lion with a shield near the inscription on the border. Reverse, dns. fecit, hoc. et. fu (it) mi. (rabile) in oc. (ulis) h. (ominum.) 1574. The sacred name of Jehovah in Hebrew letters within a circle, be- neath which are clouds, whence beams and rays are spreading down- ward. No. 34214. Obverse. Afflictos . docet . viam . suam. 1577, and a five-leaved rose. In the lower foreground is the figure of a man resting upon the earth (the prophet Elijah), receiving in his right hand a piece of bread which a hand is reaching to him from out of the clouds. In the background of the landscape appears a city. In the clouds the name of Jehovah in Hebrew letters. Reverse, Librat . a . condemnantibus . animam . ejus. Daniel in the lion's den by the side of two lions. Above the name of Jehovah in a cloud (as on the obverse), and a hand stretched out. This piece refers to the gloomy state of affairs, and is intended to recall to the mind of the distressed or doubting Hollanders the two signal examples of the Divine beneficence that are commemorated upon this coin. No. 34379. Obverse, Zelus . domini . exercituum . fecit . hoc. Upon the upper portion of the field the name of Jehovah in Hebrew letters surrounded by a cloud, from which a naked arm holding a sceptre is projecting ; below is a landscape in which several cities and towns are visible. Reverse, Stenovico. | Otmarsia. | covor- DIA. I CAPTIS. J HOSTE. | REPULSO. | SEX. | FCED. PRO. | F. | F. | M'D^xcii. This piece refers to the capture of the cities named. No. 34404. Obverse, Castracon | spexit inse | adversaria Selvolda cum I Bislechio ad | nov mdxcv. Reverse, a battle- mented tower, at whose base a battering-ram, worked by eight war- riors, is being operated, and has effected a breach. This and the next jetton commemorate the capture of the towns of Selvold and Bislich. No. 34405. Obverse, Qu^rere. Within a circle of vines Mars stands armed with lance and shield ; by his side the trunk of a tree, upon which a bird is resting; in the foreground a mass of infantry. Reverse, Et. tueri. mdxcv. A female figure seated, facing front. with a large helmet upon her head, holding in her right hand a shield, upon which is displayed the Lion of Holland ; in the left a lance ; at her right side is seated an owl upon a branch. In the background is an encampment of tents. This relates to Prince Maurice's prudence in preserving his conquests and to his Mars-like valor in effecting them. Q NUMISMATICS. No. 34407. Obverse, Frustra . oppugnat . usquedum . prote- git . deus. Soldiers standing by a river bank with a crowned leader ; the other side of the river is protected by a shield which a hand holds out from heaven. Under the shield are four soldiers ready for the fray, and behind them are seen kneeling three persons in prayer. Reverse, Vigilate . et . orate . deo . confidentes . mdxcvi. A seated female figure with folded hands; upon her right a sentry is keeping watch; on her left a shield displaying a crowned lion, by the side of which is a tower, upon whose summit there is also a sentinel. This jetton refers to the province of Zeeland being threatened by the Archduke Albert. No. 34423. Obverse, Ordin. | Auspic. prin. | Mauri, ductu. | HOSTE AD TUR I NOUTUM C^ESO. | DECEM OPIDIS. ET. | TRIBUS. ARCI- BUS. I EXPUG. ET. TOTA. | CISRHE. DITIO | NE. PACATA. | 1597. Re- verse, Soli. deo. honor et gloria. The Belgian lion rampant, holding a sword and bundle of arrows. This celebrates the victory at Turnhout and the recapture of nine towns. No. 34457. Obverse, imperator. Maris, terr^e Dominus. A full-rigged ship under sail. Reverse, Luctor et emergo. 1602. A four-leaved rose between small crosses. This relates to commerce and navigation once more beginning to be lively. No. 34461. Obverse, Ars. grave, tollit. onus. A man bend- ing down over a lever is endeavoring by its means to raise .a huge millstone. Reverse, Industria et labore. A spade transpiercing a crown. In the exergue MDCII. This relates to the surrender of Grabe. No. 34491. Obverse, Servat. vigilantia. concors. mdcvi. A ship in a storm-tossed ocean, whose waves are breaking its masts ; clouds are in the heavens. Seven figures are to be seen upon the ship who are busied in taking necessary measures for the preserva- tion of the ship and bringing it to its destination. Reverse, Mod- icm. I Fidel quid. | timetis. | s. c. This refers to the general depression and consternation of the Netherlanders. No. 34518. Obverse, fortitudo . belgica. A-bundle of arrows with their points upward. Reverse, mdcxii. | induciar. | iiii. | s. c. I This commemorates the fourth year of the truce. A quaint silver medalet of the sixteenth century has on the ob- verse, David playing upon the harp before Saul, and on the reverse, David slaying Goliath. A medal of Sir Humphrey Davy and one of Matthew Boulton are especially noticeable for the boldness and finish of their execution, as well as one cut by Key (the medalist of the United States Mint), bearing on the obverse a magnificent female head with the inscription, "Light, Liberty, Law." There is also a medal issued to commemorate the twenty-first an- niversary of the foundation of the Numismatic and Antiquarian So- ciety of Philadelphia (January 1st, 1879) an( ^ tne twelfth presidential term of the Hon. Eli K. Price. Its process of manufacture is like- NUMISMA TICS. 7 wise shown. First, there is the large plaster cast taken from the wax medallion originally modeled from life; this latter, being per- ishable, has not been preserved, but the plaster representation ex- hibits a perfect facsimile of the original. Secondly, is the same portrait in plaster reduced by mechanical means to the size it is to occupy in the die. Third, is the hub upon which the portrait is cut in alto relievo by a machine which reproduces in any desired size the figure which it is to bear, and which is afterward tempered to hard steel. Fourth, the die which is struck from the hub, and shows in intaglio the portrait intended to be impressed upon the medal. It is at first soft, so as to easily receive the impression, and it is then afterward hardened so as to bear the necessary amount of pressure and blows. There are also leaden trial impressions of the dies. These show the whole process of making the dies. The medal bears upon its obverse the portrait of the venerable gentleman in whose honor it was struck, surrounded by the inscrip- tion, Eli K. Price, President, 1879. On the reverse the seal of the Society and the inscription, The Numismatic and Antiqua- rian Society of Philadelphia, founded January 1, 1858. The meaning of the devices on the seal is as follows : The owl, which is the crest, symbolizes wisdom and learning \ it is taken from the device upon the coins of Athens, issued in the fifth century before the present era, and is a faithful copy of that archaic work of art. The shield, upon which the quarterings are displayed, is the Saxon shield, emblematic of English ancestry and associations ; the em- blems on each of the four portions of the shield represent, respect- ively, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Europe presents the cross as found upon the coinage of the first Christian Kings of England ; Africa, the Egyptian sphynx ; Asia, a Chinese coin, and America, the stone arrow-heads, axes, and implements of the Aborigines. The motto (vestigia rerum sequi) refers to the nature of the Society's occupations. There is also a medal (in bronze) of the late Joseph J. Mickley, the first President of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia. This medal was cut by Mrs. Lea Ahlborn, of Stock- holm, medalist and designer of the Royal Swedish Mint, who like- wise cut the medal commemorating the four hundredth foundation of the University of Upsal. The execution of the flesh is remark- ably well done, and the whole medal is a credit to the skill of the female artist. There are also medals of Lavater, Cervantes, Shakespeare, of the Series JVu??iismatica, and of Alexander I of Russia, and Louis XVI of France, deposited by H. Dumont Wagner, Esq., of this city. There is a very large silver medal (size forty-two of the scale of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society qf Philadelphia) bearing on the obverse a view of the city of Amsterdam ; in the foreground the river Amstel filled with vessels containing armed men. Above the city and below a shield charged with its coat-of-arms a hand ap- g NUMISMA TICS. pears holding a heart projecting from a cloud and surrounded by luminous rays. The inscription consists of these Hollandish verses : Ons hert en handt is voor het landt. On the reverse a garland of olives incloses the words, Godt Heeft ons Bewaert. Around the wreath is the inscription, Zyn Hoog- HEYT WlLLEM PRINS Van ORANGE HEEFT DE STADT AMSTERDAM beleegert den 30 July ende Wederom Afgetrocken den 4 AUGUSTY, 1650. This medal appears to have been chased entirely by hand, and not to have been struck from a die. Dissensions arose among the States comprising the Dutch Federation during the early summer of 1650, and the Prince of Orange, after endeavoring to procure a peaceable settlement of the existing difficulties, resolved to obtain justice by force of arms. To this end he sent a secret order to the troops in garrison at Nimeguen, Arnheim, and elsewhere to march against Amsterdam, rendezvousing there on the 30th day of June, at an early hour of the morning, to force the sturdy burghers into submission. The Prince joined the army, after arresting treacher- ously six of the prominent men of Horn, Delft, Dort, and Harlem, and proceeded in his enterprise, which, however, failed of success, the citizens of Amsterdam having received timely warning. They had placed themselves in a condition of defense, and were prepared to open the sluices and dykes in order, if necessary, to flood the country and render it uninhabitable for an army. The Prince, seeing that he could not capture the city, had recourse to nego- tiations, the result of which was that, after an agreement had with the burghers, he withdrew his troops from before the city on the 4th of August, 1650. The present medal is one of a series struck to commemorate this occurrence. (Van Loon, Vol. II, p. 329 et seq.) A beautiful silver medal bearing on the obverse a Janus bust on a pedestal, female head facing left, male head facing right. Above is the inscription, VERGANGENHEIT, GEGENWART, ZUKUNFT, AUS ALLEN SCHOEPFE DIR FREUDEN. Reverse. Upon a band in centre extending from side to side of the medal is the sign of Aquarius between Capricornus and Pisces. Above is the sun in full glory, sending down beams which fill the whole field and penetrate a cloud which is below the band referred to. A grand silver medal commemorates the repulse of the Turks be- fore the city of Zenta on the Theiss. Obverse. A river god standing holding on his left hand a victory NUMISMATICS. , ^ which is offering him a crown. In his right an urn, from which a river is flowing. Under his left arm is a tablet with the inscription, AUSPICIIS LEOPOLDI MAGNI VIRTUTE EUGENII Sabavdice D. EXERCIT. TURCIC. CLADE XX. Host. Facta Primariis ducib. DELETIS castris univers. Torment, xcviii. omnique apparatu BELLICO INTERCFPTIS. CGESUS PROFLIGAT D.Jj. Sept A- 2 - MDCXCVII Reverse. A besieged city, in the background a river and bridge and mountains; over the town the word Zenta. In the foreground,, cannon, horsemen, infantry, camp, etc. Above is the inscription, INTERFECIT EXERCITUM EORUM ET SUBVERTIT ROTAS CURRUUM FER- EBANTURQUE IN PROFUNDUM EXOD. 1 4. On the edge in raised letters is the Chronogram, En novvs ex yofo/ehix LeopoLDe triwMphws., making the date 1697. A silver medal shows on obverse a winged female figure standing by a monument overhung with floral wreaths and on whose summit is a casket of flowers, and around whose base plants and flowers are growing. Inscription, Dein Schutz Geist kr^enze Deine Tage. Reverse. A branch with flowers horizontally across the field and dividing the inscription, mit Freundschaft lieb und freude stets — (branch) — wunsch aus reinem herzen gluck. There is a noble medal in gold with a clasp, evidently to be worn as a decoration, of Frederick III of Denmark and Sofia Amalia, his Queen, in commemoration of the courageous defense of Copenha- gen against the Swedes under Charles Gustavus in 1658. Obverse. A finely executed male laureated bust in high relief. Inscription, Dominus providebit. Reverse. A laureated female bust with the inscription, Spes Mea in deo. The peace of Rodschild (February, 1658) had scarcely been con- cluded when Charles Gustavus of Sweden formed the design of conquering the whole Kingdom of Denmark, and, under the pretext that the stipulations of the treaty were not being carried out, in the 1 NUMISMA TICS. month of August he unexpectedly blockaded the roadstead of Co- penhagen. All was consternation, and the courtiers begged the King, Frederick III, to take to flight for safety into Norway. But his noble spirit revolted, and with Roman bravery he resolved to defend his capital to the last gasp, gave his personal superintend- ence to all the necessary preparations for its defense, planted the Royal Standard on the ramparts, armed the citizens, assigned to his officers the command of different portions of the city, and, animated by the hopes and promises of succor held out to him by the Nether- landish provinces, whose interests were in common with those of his kingdom, he resolved to perish beneath the ruins of Copen- hagen, with his whole family and court, rather than fly or fall into the hands of his enemies. Nor were his hopes unfounded. When the States of Holland knew the design of the King of Sweden to be the conquest of Denmark so as to fall upon the Elector of Branden- burg and be avenged upon him for his having deserted the Swedish cause, and saw that his efforts were to obtain the complete control of the Baltic Sea to the exclusion of their commerce, they resolved to send a fleet and an army to the relief of the threatened nation, although by some it was argued that to do so might imperil their relations with France and England, which were supposed to be fa- vorable to the Swedish pretensions. On the 17th of October Ad- miral Obdam set sail to succor the King of Denmark, who was continuing to defend his capital with valor and fortitude, although the enemy had became masters of the Castles of Cronenbourg and Helsinbourg and held the mouth of the Sound blockaded by their ves- sels, so that the Hollandish fleet, in order to bring relief to the be- sieged, would be obliged to run the gauntlet of the fires of these two fortresses and at the same time manoeuvre their ships in a narrow passage to avoid the dangers of an intricate navigation. On the 3th of November the Admiral divided his fleet into three squadrons and proceeded to engage the enemy's vessels, manned chiefly by Scotch and Irish sailors, and commanded by the illustrious Wran- gel, as Captain General of the Kingdom of Sweden. About nine o'clock in the forenoon the conflict began and raged for six hours with great fury in the presence of the King of Sweden himself, who, in company with his wife and sister and other personages of high rank, watched from the Castle of Cronenbourg the fortunes of the fight. The Swedes fought bravely as ever, but the extraordinary valor of the Hollanders was ultimately crowned with success. Of the enemy's vessels they captured three and burned and sunk eight others, forcing the rest to take to flight, thus permitting a juncture to be made with the Danish flotilla under Admiral Bielke. The Sound was opened by valor and force of arms and the Swedes chased out of that sea by a most glorious victory, whose memory was pre- served in this and some other medals. A silver medal presents on the obverse Neptune boldly engraved standing in a chariot drawn by two horses upon a stormy ocean whose waves' are lashed into fury by ^Eolus in the right corner. In NUMISMA TICS. \ \ Neptune's left hand is his trident upright; his right is extended open, pointing right. Upon the seat of the car is a crown. Inscrip- tion, MOTOS. PR/ESTAT. COMPONERE. FLUCTUS. Reverse. Upon a calm and stilly sea is floating a nest in which are two halcyons. On the right the setting sun is illumining by his rays the whole field of the medal. Above on a band is the in- scription, Halcionibus. reductis. Senatus. Amstelod. civibus. SUIS. HOC ANTIQUE. VIRTUTIS SPECTAT/EQ. F1DEI PREMIUM. LARGITUR. In the exergue, mdcxcvi. (Vide Van Loon, Vol. IV, p. 221.) It would be hardly credible what a tumult could always be started in the Netherlands from the most trivial causes were not history so very explicit The present medal was struck to commemorate a sedition which grew out of an ordinance regulating the number and the salaries of the criers at the public funerals. Those who were excluded from this employment felt at one blow their whole sub- sistence taken away from them ; were full of discontent and clam- ored loudly against the Magistracy, alleging that their offices had been wrested from them in order that the underlings and parasites of their rulers might be provided for comfortably. To further aug- ment the popular feeling it was given out that the bodies of the poor were mutilated by branding previous to interment. The people be- came inflamed and maltreated the new criers wherever they met them, till at last, emboldened by the usual applause and serenity of the bystanders, on the night of the 30th of January, the day pre- ceding that on which the new regulation was to go into operation, they assembled in great numbers on the Dam, a public place in front of the Hotel de Ville. The troops were called out, but their pres- ence only served to increase the tumult, while the populace, armed with stout cudgels, formed themselves regularly into companies, rallying under aprons of blue cloth and beating for drums upon empty beer-barrels. The mob continued to grow and traversed the streets like mad- men, followed by a troop of children. Arrived at the Aelmoesse- niers Huts, they put to flight the soldiers placed there as a guard to the syndics of the criers of funerals, and fired by their exploit in thus having overturned constituted authority, they turned to pillage the houses of obnoxious officials. The Burgers were called to arms, now realizing that the rioters intended to sack the city if possible, using their grievances merely as a stalking horse. Night fell upon the scene, but in the early morning, before the citizens had assem- bled to take arms, the rabble came together again, and, after pil- laging with renewed fury, laid siege to the house of Burgomaster De Vries. The Magistracy now issued an order declaring that force must be resisted by force; the citizens assembled and marched to- ward the field of battle, fired upon the riotous assembly, killed two, and put the others to flight. Whilst this was taking place, a por- tion of the mob engaged in sacking the house of a rich Jew named Pinto (and could there ever be popular uprising in Europe without a Jew's house being pillaged?) was fallen upon by another detach- 1 2 NUMISMA TICS. ment of citizens, who drove them away at the point of the sword. The bridges were all raised, arid the gatherings in other quarters dispersed by a summary administration of justice. Two of the robbers taken in the field were hung to the neighbor- ing lamp-post, and a strong force was posted on the Dam and other exposed parts of the city. At the first news of the insurrection the regiment of Guards, which was stationed at 'S Gravemoer, had taken up its march toward the city to assist, if needed, in quelling the disturbance, but' when distant only two leagues from Amster- dam, the Council did not judge it expedient to receive the troops, but thanking them heartily for their zeal, begged them to hold their present position unless it should so happen that the riot could not be put down by the fidelity and the valor of the citizens. Volunteers under the command of Messrs. Hinlopen, Six, Burg, and Huydekooper patrolled the streets to preserve order until the 4th of February. On the 6th, six of the rioters were executed, and the corpses of four others, who had been killed in the tumult, were hung by the feet on the same gallows. Several of the sur- vivors were shut up in the House of Correction. The Magistracy, sensible of the zeal and courage of the train bands and of the volunteers, and desiring to exhibit in an honor- able way the gratitude of the citizens, caused the present medal to be engraved in three different sizes, which, on the 28th of Novem- ber of the same year, were distributed publicly to all the troops, each man receiving a different size according to his rank. A silver medal bears upon the obverse a widow seated between two children in a cemetery, pointing to the all-seeing eye in the heavens in a triangle surrounded by rays from which an angel is descending and emptying upon their heads the contents of a cornu- copia. On the left is an obelisk (upon which is engraved the letter C), surrounded by English yew-trees. Above, on a ribband, is the inscription, Hy is der weezen vader. In the exergue, Ter ge- dachtenis aan de weezen uit gedeeld. The reverse exhibits three sides of a building inclosing a court- yard ; above is the inscription, Luth. Diac. Weeshuis. In the exergue, gesticht mdclxxviii. Jubile gevierd 24 Aug. 1778. A bronze medal commemorates an Industrial Exposition, held at Berlin in 1844. Obverse, Germania seated upon a rock holding a wreath in right hand, a sword partially drawn from its scabbard reposing on her lap Her left hand rests on the rock, which bears the inscription, Seid einig. Exergue, Germania. Inscription, Erinnerung an die austellung deutscher gewerbserzeug- nisse Zu Berlin, 1844. Reverse, a locomotive crossing a bridge. Around this is a wreath on which are five shields with emblems respectively representing navigation, manufactures, mining, philoso- phy, and agriculture. Inscription, Vorwaerts mit deutschen FLEISSE UND DEUTSCHER KRAFT. A bronze medal represents on the obverse a King standing by a throne, with his right hand extended in the act of swearing, between NUMISMA TICS. \ 3 two female figures. The one on the left holds a tablet on which is inscribed grond wet; that on the right, a spear. Inscription, Nederland 12 mei 1849; exergue, Je maintiendrai. Reverse, a female uncovering a male portrait before a throne, and a kneeling female inscribes upon tablet xxv Jaar. Inscription, Nederland 12 mei 1874; exergue, Ju bilceum. A fine bronze medal exhibits a beautiful laureated head of Napo- leon within a wreath tied with ribbands on which are inscribed, Wagram, Tivoli, Pyramids, Marengo, Luneville, Amiens, Codes, Legion d 1 honneur, Austerlitz, Jena, Tilsit, Simplon. Reverse, a view of the Island of St. Helena, with ships in the foreground, setting sun to right, eagle on branch in air. In- scription, II mourut sur un rocher. Exergue, He Ste Helene. 3 Mai 18 21. A gilt medal bears on obverse, a male bust in costume of the fourteenth century and inscription, Joan Galeatus vice com. a FUNDAMENTIS INCHOAVIT AN. MCCCLXXXVI. Reverse, the Cathedral at Milan, with the inscription, Latus. ECCL. METROP. MEDIOLANI. A bronze medal bears on the obverse a Cathedral with date in exergue, 1342-15 16. Inscription, Der Vater frommer Sinn rief dich ins leben. Reverse, the rear of the same building in a ruined, incomplete condition ; in exergue, zerstort am 7 Mai 1842. In- scription, VEREINTE KRAFT WIRD WURDIG DICH ERHEBEN. A white metal medal, on obverse an unfinished Cathedral with date in exergue, 1242. Inscription, as follows: Das alte Coln hat einst gegrundet Dies Wundervolle Gotteshaus; Reverse, the same finished with inscription, Doch Deutschland hat sich jetzt verbundet Und baut mit Gottes Hulf' es aus. Exergue, the date 1842. A bronze medal commemorating the Massacre of St. Bartholo- mew bears on the obverse the head of Pope Gregory XIII ; on the reverse an angel armed with sword and cross destroying and put- ting to flight a multitude, with the inscription Hugenotorum Strages. It may be observed in regard to this medal that doubts have been cast as to whether it was actually issued by the Papal authorities, but rather that it was done by those inimical to the Church of Rome, in order to cast discredit upon it by appearing to exult over such a scene of carnage. The present medal, however, is of most undoubted genuineness, having been purchased in Rome with the whole series of the Pontifical Medals direct from the Superintend- ent of the Papal Mint. The author of La Science des Medailles (Paris, 1 715), says, il ne faut pas confondre avec les veri tables me- dailles des Popes, certaines que les ennemis du Saint Siege ont fabri- 1 4 NUMISMA TICS. quees pour les ins u Iter, ou pour les rendre odieux. Telle est celle du Jules III avec cette inscription qui lui sert de revers, Gens et Reg- num quod non servierit tibi peribit. Telle est la Medaille de Paul III, $EPNH ZHN02 ETPAINEI, que V on ne doit jan ais placer par mi les medailles veritable s. (No. 5 2 in the Hockley collection. See post. ) Pinkerton, however, is of the opinion that this latter described medal is genuine and was cut by Michael Angelo. It is certainly a handsome piece of workmanship, and would do no discredit even to that great artist if the attribution be correct. All the medals before Paul II, according to the same author, were issued during the Pontificate of Alexander VII. It is stated that the Abbe Bizot had the design of issuing a full line of all the Popes, which he was prevented from accomplishing by the death of the reigning Pontiff under whose auspices the undertaking had Been begun. Pinkerton states that the medal of Julius II, ''contra stimulum ne calcitras," is the first medal which was struck instead of being cast. He attributes to Cellini the medal of Clement VII, " ut bibat populus /" that of Gregory XIII, upon the reformation of the Calen- dar (130) to Parmegiano and to Bassiano and Cavino (the cele- brated Paduan forgers) the dies of the medals of Julius III. CASES 17-21. An especial attention should be given to a remirkably complete series of Papal medals, seven hundred and sixty-four in number, starting from Pope Martin V (141 5), and ending with Pius IX. These medals were deposited by Thomas Hockley, Esq., of Phila- delphia. They are of fine execution and of great historic interest. Among them maybe found two engraved by Benevenuto Cellini, one of Clement VIII (15 23-1 534), No. 47, representing Joseph making himself known to his brethren (being in allusion to the Pope's fraternal feelings toward the Florentines, his compatriots, despite their slight gratitude toward him) ; another, No. 52, of Paul III (1^34-1549), exhibiting a bust of that Pope with Ganymede, and an eagle on the reverse. This magnificent series is replete with interest, historical, archi- tectural, artistic, and numismatic. Many of the public works and buildings of Rome are figured both in their former and present conditions ; churches, basilicas, facades, palaces, aqueducts, armo- rial bearings, sepulchres, canonizations, victories, are all repre- sented in this (very rarely) complete collection. The workmanship is of the highest order of merit, and the medals are in the finest possible condition. According to Henin, there are six grand chronological epochs of coinage, all of which may with great certainty be known from the indications afforded us by the metals, the legends, the form of letters, methods of fabrication, and style of art. NUMISMA TICS. \ 5 First. From the first invention of coinage to the time of Alex- ander I, King of Macedonia, i.e., from about the seventh cen- tury B. C. to the year 454 B. C. This was the rudest epoch of the art ; the metal was mainly silver, some little gold, and no copper. The form of the coins was globular and irregular, bear- ing on the reverse the rude punch mark (creux earre), and some- times the incused figure of the obverse. The legends were of the simplest character, being only the names of cities or magistrates, sometimes from left to right, sometimes in the contrary direction, and sometimes returning in the manner known as Boustrefihodon. The artists who produced these coins did so without models or the accessories of a later age, and arrived, nature led, at a style both sublime and true. A remarkable difference exists between ancient and modern coins, the former being of extremely bold exe- cution and high relief, while the latter are comparatively flat and low, the haut relief preserving the types of the coins longer after entering into circulation. Second. From the death of Alexander I to the time of Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, B. C. 359. It was during this period that the arts obtained a very high per- fection in Greece, and it has been believed that the fine engraving upon coins was executed by the hands of artists skilled in the work- ing of precious stones. Copper coinage, but in small quantities, now began to be used as currency, being first struck (in Macedonia) by Amyntas II (307 B. C.), and is referred to in a passage in The Frogs of Aristophanes as having been but lately introduced into Athens. Simplicity was still preserved in art, leading to the grandest results. Third. From the accession of Philip II to the subversion of the Roman Empire by Augustus Caesar (B. C. 30). Now the arts had reached their apogee, and coin after coin may be cited as masterpieces of the skill of the ancients. The inscrip- tions became more complex, embracing titles of magistrates, divinities, dates, monograms, and similar indications. Regularity and exactness are now more characteristic of the coinage, and the art of striking reached a greater degree of precision than ever before. The mechanical means employed were still simple, and remained so for many centuries ; the remarkable results obtained from such slender appliances are the more noteworthy from that fact. Fourth. From Augustus to Hadrian (A. D. 117). The decadence of art and the diminution of the importance and prerogatives of the Grecian nations began now more sensibly to make themselves perceptible. The moneys struck by independent cities lessened in number and excellence, and many nations lost their former right of coinage. Copper began to usurp the place of other metals, being issued in much larger quantities than formerly, and the art of coinage commenced to exhibit symptoms of decay, although faint suggestions of former grandeur occasionally occur. I Q NUMISMA TICS. Fifth. From Hadrian to Gallienus (A. D. 260). Great and rapid was the decline of art in this period, full of troubles of al 1 kinds for the Empire, surrounded by barbarians, and torn by in- testine dissensions. Sixth. From Gallienus to the fall of the Eastern Empire (1453). The arts fell completely into barbarism during this long interval. There is but little to attract in the coinage of either the Eastern or Western Empires and much to repel. The coins became harsh and hard and finally lost all traces of any pretensions to the name of art. The imperial Greek, the Colonial, and the Autonomous series had long disappeared; the only circulating medium was the Roman coinage, now become barbarous in the extreme and small in number. 1 CASE I. The exhibition of coins naturally starts with one* of the earliest of all known coinage • (about 600 B. C), the Persian Daric, of which an example in silver is shown. It bears on the obverse a kneeling archer, while the reverse is simply the rude punch mark, such as is found only on the most ancient coinages. It is to these coins thai allusion is made in the story told of Agesi- laus having been overcome by thirty thousand archers, meaning that that amount of Persian daric had been expended to procure his defeat. Two large silver coins of Athens (known as Tetradrachms from their size), one about 400 B. C., the other perhaps two hundred years later, exhibit the modification of type and change of work- manship. On the reverse, the rude archaic owl in bold relief with great staring eyes has given place to a less aggressive bird ; the simple inscription agh has received in addition the names of the moneyers; the diota and olive branch lend additional significance to the bird of wisdom. On the obverse, the thoroughly Egyptian Jype of face displayed on the helmeted head of Pallas has been metamorphosed into the now generally received conventional type of Greek art. In antiquity these coins were known as maidens, referring to the spinsterhood of the goddess represented upon them, and also as " owls," from the figure upon their reverse. In one of the Greek dramas a miser is spoken of as having myriads of owls roosting beneath his roof, meaning that he had large quan- tities of these coins concealed in his house. A fine Cistophorus of Apamea presenting the sacred cista of Dionysos enveloped by serpents is worthy of particular notice. The cistophori are tetradrachms, which bear as their generic type a wreath and berries of ivy, surrounding a chest whence issue ser- pents, being in reference to those carried in procession by the Bacchantes in their orgies, especially in Asia Minor, where the snake was revered and considered as an emblem and tutelary god. All the cistophori which exist are tetradrachms of silver, uniform 1 Henin, Numismalique Ancienne, passim. NUM1SMA TICS. 17 in weight and fineness, and were struck by some one of the follow- ing cities, viz. : Apamea in Phrygia, Ephesus in Doria, Laodicea in Phrygia, Pergamos in Mysia, Sardes and Tralles in Ionia. They were of such exceeding purity and fineness that the Romans would receive no other coins in payment of the tribute moneys exacted from the cities of Asia Minor. For this purpose they were coined in great abundance, and in ancient days were very plentiful, although at the present time they have become of quite rare occur- rence. M. Acilius, in his triumph from Corinth, bore in procession 288,000 cistophori, Cn. Manlius Vulso, 250,000; L. Amilius Re- gillus, after a victory over the Antioch fleet, 131,000; Scipio Asiatica, 331,070. It is probable that these pieces, upon their arrival at Rome, by reason of their superior fineness and quality, were at once recoined — a fact which would account for their present scarcity. Cista mystica existed in the sacred rites of Panathenaea, of Diana, Eleusinia, Ceres, Theogamia Proserpine, and the Dionysia or orgies of Bacchus. Upon the tetradrachms of Eleusis, serpents were the symbols surrounding or issuing from the cista, either as representing divine attributes or the fable of Erichthon. On others, surrounding the chest were various emblems, such as combs, the pudenda muliebre, food, drink, or fruits, and it was looked upon as a heinous sacrilege to divulge the meaning of these recondite objects. A type also exists in which Bacchus, in womanly garb, is figured seated upon the cista mystica, holding in his right hand a thyrsus, below which are two serpents knotted and twined together. Chests, whence serpents are out-issuing, are found on the coins of Anchialis in Thrace, Sardis Nikaea, Pergamos, Perinthos, and Teos. A quinarius of Augustus Caesar exists on which is engraved the cista between two serpents, and over which hovers a victory with the inscription Asia Recepta. A fine tetradrachm of Bceotia exhibits on the obverse the familiar Boeotian shield, and on the reverse a cippus. The type of the buckler took its origin from the renown acquired by the workmen of this nation from their skill in this manufacture. In Homer we find mention made that the shield of Ajax was made at Hyle in Bceotia. Some authors have imagined it to be a perverted type of the Egyptian scarabaeus, while the cippus represents the purifica- tions and lustrations used in the worship of Bacchus. This latter opinion seems to be further borne out by the fact that the head of the Indian Bacchus is also frequently found upon the coins of this country. A didrachm (7. e., a piece of two drachmas) of Tarentum exhibits Taras, the fabled founder of the city (a son of Neptune), riding upon a dolphin. The coinage of Tarentum is numerous, presenting many different types, is always well executed, and exhibits a high degree of culture and art. A didrachm of Argos shows on the obverse a running wolf, while 2 1 g NUMISMA TICS. the reverse has solely the letter " A " within the rude punch mark characteristic of the ancient period of its coinage. On Messana we find the type to be a running hare, on the reverse a figure in a chariot, of which the execution while bold is rather rude. Messana is fabled to have been founded about 1600 B. C. under the name of Zancle, an appellation which was changed about 594 B. C. Destroyed by the Carthaginians in 396 B. C., it was subsequently rebuilt, and in 282 B. C, after having been captured by the Mamertines, it received the name of Mamertina. . Rhodus presents the radiated head of Apollo, and on the reverse a rose, being a so-called speaking type. Spanheim, however, con- siders this flower not to be a rose, but the Punic apple {Balaustus), citing Isaac Vossius as his authority. This plant was used for dye- ing vestments, and is still known to the modern Arabs. According to Theophrastus, its flower resembled that of the rose, and Clement of Alexandria states that in the Thesmophoric rites women were not allowed to make use of it. Upon the coins of Massilia (now Marseilles) we find a walking lion of fine workmanship; on Syracuse, the head of Proserpine in an incuse surrounded by dolphins, on the reverse a figure in a chariot. In the coins and medallions of Syracuse ancient art reached its highest pinnacle of perfection ; they are beautiful of design, grand and graceful of execution, bold of relief. There are coins of Alexander the Great of Macedon, and a fine Tetradrachm of his father, King Philip II, bears upon the obverse a powerful head of Zeus, on the reverse, a horseman wear- ing the hat peculiar to Macedonia, surrounded by the inscription $IAinnor. The celebrity of the Macedonian and Thracian horse probably led to its adoption as a national type. An extremely rare and fine silver coin of Juba II, King of Numidia, is noteworthy on account of its historical interest as well for its artistic merits. • It bears on the obverse the head of that monarch with curly hair and a conical cap; on the reverse a temple. Tetradrachms of Antiochus, and one of Lysimachus, of magni- ficent workmanship and grand design, in the finest possible preser- vation, must especially claim the attention of the student as exam- ples of Grecian art in its finest stage of development. There is a very interesting silver coin of ancient Spain. It bears on the obverse ahead with a stern, forbidding countenance, and crisp, curled hair and beard, calling to mind the conventional Assyrian type. There are also certain rude letters both on the obverse and on the reverse. It is the current opinion among Numismatists that these coins were copied after those issued by the early Greek mon- archs with such changes as the lack of skill on the part of the artists would naturally cause. The reverse exhibits a horseman charging with a lance, seated upon a steed whose forefeet are raised in motion from the ground. The action is spirited, and by no means so stiff as the low state of the arts would have warranted us in expecting. NUMISMA TICS. \ 9 The head on the obverse does not, in my opinion, bear out its presumed Greek origin, and I incline to the belief that it is rather .a representation of. some one of their gods, possibly the Phoenician Hercules. The first settlements in Spain were those of the Carthagenians, established ages before the earliest known periods of classical history. There exist numerous varieties of those early Spanish coins with various inscriptions, which have only been deciphered in the last few generations, and even as yet their true signification is in doubt. The author of La Science des Medailles (Paris in 1715) speaks of these coins as being truly medallas desconnocidas, which no one had undertaken to collect or reduce in order, although " Lastanosa ait crdi rendre un grand service aux airieux, de se donner la peine d 1 en /aire un Volume, qui futimprime a Hues c a en 1643 ou il a fait graver environ deux cents de ces medailles qu } il avail dans son Cabinet, la jpltipart d 1 argent. ' ' Lastanosa had an insight into the true status of these coins which had been considered as bearing Punic letters. He maintained that the characters on them were those of the early language of Spain, and that it was to these coins that Pliny referred when speaking of the booty carried away by the Romans from Spain, argentum signa- tum oscense. The coin of which we have been speaking has been ascribed by both Henin and Akerman to the city of Tarragon, the capital of the province of the same name, much celebrated in ancient authors for its beauty and opulence. Pliny writes of it that it was Scipiorum opus ut Carthago Pamorum. Augustus erected in honor of his visit an altar, upon which subsequently a palm-tree grew. It issued coins while under the dominion of the Romans, and there are some extant bearing the heads of the Gothic rulers of Spain. Carthage is probably one of the best known cities of antiquity, and abundant specimens of its coinage have descended to our own times. The pieces in the exhibition are small bronze coins bearing on the obverse the head of Demeter (or Persephone) adorned with necklace, earrings, etc., and on the reverse the figure of a horse and a palm-tree. The Carthaginians adopted from Sicily the worship of Demeter and Persephone, and the horse possibly refers to Libya, which was famous for its horses, or perhaps to the horse's head fabled to have been dug up at the foundation of the city. Carthage was ultimately destroyed by the Romans 146 B. C„ and the coin was probably issued about the third century before the present era. There is a very fine didrachm of Velia. in Lucania, a large and prosperous city founded by the Greeks, bearing on the obverse a beautifully executed head of Apollo, and on the reverse a lion in the act of leaping upon a stag, which it is rending to pieces. The muscles are admirably portrayed, and the action is depicted entirely without stiffness, but with the ease and grace which arises from the 20 NUMISMATICS. consciousness of power and strength. Greek culture alone could have produced such fine specimens of Art. Velia is now known as Castela mar della Brucca, and lies between Policastro and the Gulf of Salerno. It was mentioned by both Strabo and Pliny, and was the seat of the Eleatic sect of Philosophers, who received their ap- pellation from the city ; their leaders were Zenophanes, Parmenides, Zeno, and Melissus. The speculations of this school rose to a higher region of pure thought than those of the Ionic or Pythagoric schools,, and among the Eleatics for the first time comes distinctly into play the dialectical movement in human thought. Corinth, in Achaia, is represented by a fine didrachm, bearing on the obverse helmeted head of Venus ; and on the reverse, Pe- gasus, with the letter 9 (Koph), the ancient or Phoenician form of K. "A city," says Strabo, "large, rich and prosperous; replete with men fit for the handling of every sort of affair, civil, artistic,, and political." Founded by Bellerophon, the type of the reverse refers to his subjugation of the steed Pegasus. The coinage of this city exhibits a high degree of artistic culture, a thorough proof, were any wanting, of the truths which history records of its refinement and luxury. From the earliest days of its coinage, when the reverse was simply the rude punch mark, to the last periods when its money was issued, the pieces struck and engraved for this city are worthy of a high rank and possess a great merit. The very first coins issued by Corinth bear on the obverse Pe- gasus, with the archaic o (Koph), which disappeared from the later Greek alphabet. Reverse, the so-called key pattern punch mark. The execution of the flying horse is very bold. This city was colonized at a very early period by the Phoenicians,, and was destroyed by the Romans under L. Memmius, B. C. 146. The present piece was issued about 480 B. C. It is interesting to compare the coinage of this city with that of Sybaris, both of infamous renown for the pursuit of pleasure. There are also specimens of what is known as the incused coinage of Magna Grsecia. These pieces were issued by the Grecian colo- nies settled in lower Italy, and are probably the most remarkable specimens of the monetary art which have ever been produced. Instead of being thick and hemispherically raised toward the centre, they are thin and flat, and bear on the reverse in intaglio the same subject which the obverse bears in alto relievo. This coinage had been abandoned before the sixth century B. C. and all these coins are of very great antiquity, yet their workmanship is fine and artis- tic, even when the design is of the simplest. What the object for the adoption of so peculiar a form could have been, has been the subject of numerous conjectures, but as yet none seem satisfactorily to explain this abnormal condition of coinage. The specimens which the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society has placed on exhibition are Sybaris and Metapontum. The coinage of Metapontum bears on the obverse an ear of corn,. NUMISMATICS. 21 on the reverse the same incused. This city was founded about 700 B. C, by a colony from Northern Greece, and its prosperity became exceedingly great, owing to the fertility of its soil, which was especially rich in wheat. The Metapontines sent annually to the temple at Delphi a golden sheaf of wheat, and considered Ceres as their tutelary goddess, impressing her emblem, the ear of corn, upon their coinage. Sybaris presents, on the obverse, a bull standing and looking backward, and the same type incused on the reverse, with the in- scription ym, being written from right to left, in the most ancient manner and with the sz'gma of an archaic type, resembling a mu. The history of Sybaris and its successor city, Thurium, is well told b>y Dr. Cardwell. " The people of Sybaris, on the bay of Tarentum, were conquered and their city destroyed by the Crotoniats about the year 500 B. C. Fifty-eight years afterward the Sybarites endeavored to rebuild their city, but were again driven away six years later by their old enemy. The aid of Athens and the Peloponnese was invoked, which in 444 B. C. laid the foundations of Thurium, near the site of the ancient Sybaris, taking the name from a fountain in its neighborhood. Soon the foreign element prevailed over the Sybar- ites and put them to the sword. * * * What then is its numismatic history ? We have several coins of Sybaris, bearing in the form of their brief inscriptions and workmanship the strongest evidence of • high antiquity, so that we may fairly assign them to a period fully five centuries before the Christian era. The constant device on these coins was Bos stans et respiciens, showing that it was the ac- knowledged cognizance of Sybaris. The next coins belonging to the place are more recent, as we may judge from the form of their letters and their highly finished style of workmanship, and, taken on the analogy of coins in general, they might be assigned to a period not much anterior to the time of Philip and Alexander. But we find from these that the devices of the place have under- gone an important change. The ancient cognizance of Sybaris is now of secondary consequence, and has given way on one face of the coin to the Caput Palladis, the well-known badge of Athens. The inscription, too, is in one instance the abbreviated word Sybaris, in another a similar abbreviation of the newly contracted name, Thurium. So then, these coins strictly mark the period when the natives and foreigners were living together in compact, mutually endeavoring to conciliate each other, each party pre- serving tokens of its hereditary attachments. " The next set of coins is distinguished by a minuteness of orna- ment which marks them decidedly as the most recent of the three, and these coins, in perfect accordance with the historical narration, bear no memorials of the ancient Sybaris. The inscription in every instance is of Thurium, the Caput Palladis is prominent, and the ancient cognizance of the Bull is no longer stans et respiciens but irruens et cornupeta. Doubtless there was found in the meaning of 22 NUMISMA TICS. the word dovplov, a reason for the difference they adopted ' a bull running and butting.' "The symbol of the bull 1 plays an important part in many mythoses. This animal was intended to represent power of body and unwearied masculine energy, two great attributes especially coveted by ancient kings and great men. The bull seemed to be, in a manner, sacred to Venus, whilst the lion was emblematic of the male creator. The bull and the lion, among the Assyrians, occu- pied much the same place as the lion and unicorn do in modern heraldry. Lajard (Cu/te de Venus) has summed up the matter in the following words : " Les deux principaux attributes characteristiques de Venus furent en orient comme en Occident le taureau et le lion, l'un symbole du principe de la chaleur et du pouvoir generateur actif, l'autre, sym- bole du principe humide et du pouvoir generatif passif ; et tous les deux signes du Zodiaque, mais avec cette difference que le taureau etait le premier signe de l'equinox vernol et la domicile de la lune a l'epoque de sa plus grande exaltation, et que le lion place au solstice d'ete etait le domicile du soleil pendant la canicule. Ces deux ani- maux furent done aussi les hieroglyphes ideographique de 1' her- maphroditisme de Venus, divinite a laquelle les anciennes traditions assignent, comme a Mithra, une place entre les equinoxes et les sol- stices et donnent pour monture le taureau." In another passage he writes thus : "Premier etre sorti des mains d'un dieu createur du monde, le taureau, symbole de vie, est appelee d'un nom qui signifie a la fois vie et taureau. Par une consequence immediate d'une doc- trine qui enseignait que les premiers etres vivants etaient ne dans l'eau, il est, en meme temps, le symbole de principe humide, du pouvoir passif de la generation ou du sexe feminine." (Inman's Ancient Faiths, Vol. i, p. 376, et sea.) Not a trace now remains of Sybaris, this great city which once ruled over twenty-five of its neighboring towns, and sent into the war that resulted in its downfall three hundred thousand fighting men. Nothing is known of its mansions and palaces; not one stone is left to show the spot where " men slept upon beds of roses and those renowned banquets took place to which women were bidden a year in advance that they might have the whole interval for rendering their beauty more irresistible." There is a fine Tetradrachm of the famous city of Tyre (in Phoe- nicia), bearing on the obverse a laureated head of Hearcles, on the reverse an eagle on rudder behind a palm branch, to left date HI (year 18), inscription, TYPOY IEPA2 KAI A2YA0Y- 1 The types that occur on the coinage of the ancients are manifold. The bull, the emblem of strength and force, is often found joined to a human head, as on the coins of Gelas (Case 1) where it signifies human intellect and physical per- fection. The bull occurs also in combat with the lion, symbolizing the conflict of the fire element (or the sun), and that of water (*". 2>. 8 Ibid. 36 NUMISMATICS. operation. The pieces are then strung on slips of bamboo, and the workmen then takes this in his hand and rolls the coins back- wards and forwards on a flat stone until the edges are smoothed round. 1 The mode of coinage is identical with that in vogue for the last two thousand years, no advance having been made for centuries ; in fact, the present coinage is inferior to that of two hundred years ago. The issue of money is a government monopoly, but there is an enormous amount of spurious and debased money in circulation. The " knife' and "cloth" coins are no longer in circulation, and are seldom seen except in numismatic collections or treasured as charms. The Chinese are an extremely superstitious people and much given to wearing amulets to ward off evil influences or invite good fortune. In common with Western nations, their most popu- lar form of charm is a piece of money, and they believe the older the coin the greater its virtues. 2 Copies of the old currency are made for this purpose, and pieces resembling coins, inscribed with happy phrases, and symbols which are believed to be efficacious against evil influences, are in common use. 3 The collection of Chinese coins in the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art numbers eight hundred and seventeen specimens arranged upon thirty trays. Tray I contains twenty of the pieces cast for amulets. Several of them, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, bear on one side representations of the twelve animals used as horary characters; No. 13 has on the obverse t\\tfta-kwa or eight diagrams used in divination. Each is designed for some special purpose : No. 1 is hung upon the curtains of the bed, others are worn by children, and all of them are supposed to keep away the demons which the followers of Taou, one of the three great religious bodies in China, believe to be everywhere present. To the priests of Taou, who derive large sums of money from their sale, many, if not all, of these charms may be attributed. No. 6 bears on the reverse a representation of Chang Teen-sze, the principal of the Taou sect, who resides in the province of Kiang-si, and who, like the Grand Lama of Thibet, is supposed to be immortal. He is the ruler of the world of spirits, and appoints and removes the deities of various districts, just as the Emperor does his officers. 4 Tray II contains a series of pieces known as "horse coins," from the design of a horse which appears upon them. Their era, and whether they are coins or amulets, is unknown to the writer. Tray III contains nineteen specimens of the "cloth coins," attributed by the Chinese to the earliest periods of their history. 1 Holt (N. C. p. 89). 2 N. B. Dennys. The Folk Lore of China. London, 1876, p. 55. 3 Rev. Justus Doolittle. The Social Life of the Chinese. N. Y., 1867. Vol. ii, p. 145. * W. H. Medhurst. China; its State and Prospects. Boston, 1839, p. 167. NUMISMA TICS. 37 To No. 15 they give a date of 2852 B. C, and assign the others to various periods down to the close of the Cheu Dynasty (255 B. C). In Tray IV are two remarkable wedge-shaped pieces (1, 2) and four kniYe or sword coins (3-6) of extraordinary size, No. 5 meas- uring over seven inches in length. Nos. n-i4are specimens of the earliest circular coinage. In Tray V these early coins are continued in Nos. 1-6. Nos. 7-13 are known as pwan leang, and with them commences our more accurate knowledge of Chinese coinage. 1 Nos. 7, 8, were issued by Che Hwang-te, first ruler of the short-lived Tsin Dynasty (255- 206 B. C). The coins of the Han Dynasties, which lasted from 206 B. C. to 264 A. D., succeed (Tray V, 14-25 ; Tray VI, 1-10). During these dynasties the cloth and knife pieces of the earlier age were revived, it is said, by King Wang, an usurper, who seized the throne (A. D. 9-25). Noticeable among them is the knife coin, No. 23, in Tray V, which has two characters above and below the hole inlaid with gold, arid is said to present the only instance of the use of this metal in Chinese currency. No. n, of Tray VI, was issued by the State of Woo, one of the celebrated " Three States" which succeeded the Han Dynasty, and Nos. 12 to 22 under the Sung, Ts'i, Liang, and Ch'an Dynasties, which rapidly followed each other between 420 and 589 A. D. Nos. 23-30, Tray VI, are the coins of the independent States of Wei and Chou. In Tray VII, Nos. 1-19, are found the coins of the T'ang Dy- nasty. Nos. 23-30 were issued during the disturbed period which pre- ceded the establishment of the Sungs. With No. 1, of Tray VIII, and continuing to No. 3, of Tray XVI, are found the coinage of the Sung and Southern Sung Dynasties. During their continuance, A. D. 960-1280, the empire is said to have reached its greatest prosperity, and the fine collection before us, embracing the coinage of sixteen of the eighteen Emperors, fit- tingly represents this illustrious period. The coins of the Yuen Dynasty established by the Mongols after their conquest of China under Kublai Khan follow in Tray XVII, Nos. 1-2 1. These pieces were issued by the third, fourth, and eleventh Em- perors, Kublai, the founder of the Dynasty, not being represented. Upon the overthrow of the Mongols the Chinese established the Ming or " Bright " Dynasty, A. D. 1368, the coins of which com- mence with No. 22 of Tray XVII, and continue to No. 21 of Tray XX. China was again conquered, this time by the Manchu Tartars, about the middle of the seventeenth century, and the present Ts'ing or "Peace" Dynasty established upon the throne of the Mings in 1 Holt (N. C). 38 NUMISMATICS. 1644. Nos. 22-30 in Tray XX, and Nos. 1-7 in Tray XXI, were issued by Ming claimants to the throne after the Tartar conquest, and Nos. 8-30 by rebel leaders of the same period. The coinage of the present Dynasty deserves a more than passing notice in this hasty survey. 1 T'ae tsoo, the founder of the now reigning Manchu line, issued No 1, Tray XXV, about the time of his installation as Prince of that nation in 161 6. It bears at the top and bottom the inscription, T'een Ming, "Heavenly Mandate," that being the national de- signation adopted for his reign, and, on the right and left sides, tung pabu, " current coin." Nos. 2, 3 bear the same legend writ- ten in the Manchu character. It was not until 1643 that She tsoo, the third of his line, ascended the throne of China, taking the name of Shun che, " Compliant Government." Nos. 3-30, Tray XXV, and Nos. 1-7, Tray XXVI, represent his reign. They bear on the obverse characters in Man- chu and Chinese, indicating the mints of issue. Shing-tsoo succeeded She tsoo in 1661, taking K'ang he, " Peace- ful Lustre" for his title. Nos. 8-30, Tray XXVI, and Nos. 1, 2, Tray XXVIII, were coined by him. She Ts'ung succeeded in 1722 under the name of Yung Ching, " Agreeable Rectitude." Tray XXVII, Nos. 3-12. In 1735 Kaou ts'ung ascended the throne, taking the name of Keen Lung, "Celestial Support." This Emperor, who reigned like his predecessor, She ts'ung, for sixty years, may be justly re- garded as the second greatest, if not the greatest, sovereign China ever produced. The coins of his reign, represented by Nos. 13-30, Tray XXVII, and 1-3, Tray XXVIII, are superior in design and execution to those of the other issues of this Dynasty. No. 2, Tray XXVII, was coined for the use of the Mohammedan tribes of Soun- garia, newly subjected by this Emperor, in 1759, and bears on the reverse Yerkiyang (Yarkand), in Manchu and Arabic. Jin tsung succeeded Keen Lung in 1796, taking the name of Km K'ing " Increasing Felicity," and issued the coins Nos. 4-24 in Tray XXVIII. Seuen tsung ascended the throne in 1820, on the death of K'ea K'ing, under the title Taou Kwang, " Lustre of Reason." Tray XXVIII, Nos. 25-30; Tray XXIX, Nos. 1-12. He w r as succeeded in 1850 by Heen fung, "Prevailing Abun- dance." Nos. 13-27, Tray XXIX, and Nos. 1-14, Tray XXX, were issued by him. The T'ae ping insurrection, which nearly over- threw the government during this reign, was a source of great financial embarrassment, and the pieces Nos. 1-14 in Tray XXX, having a nominal value much beyond their intrinsic worth, were coined to meet the emergency. No. 4 had a nominal value of one hundred tsien ; No. 3, fifty tsien ; Nos. 6, 7, twenty tsien, and 1 Dr. A. Wylie. Journal of the Shanghai Literary and Scientific Society, No . I, June, 1858, p. 44. NUMISMA TICS. 39 Nos. 8-13, ten tsien. They were taken very reluctantly by the people, and at present have nearly passed out of circulation. No. 32, Tray XXIX, was issued by the Triad rebels, who took possession of the city of Shanghai in 1853. Tung Che, the last of the Emperors represented, ascended the throne in i860. He issued the pieces Nos. 28-30, Tray XXIX, and Nos. 15, 16, Tray XXX, the last two being of the denomination of ten cash. The form and character of the Chinese coinage were adopted by many of the neighboring countries at an early period. In A. D. 675 Japan issued a copper coinage, probably cash, similar to the Chinese, 1 and has retained this form of currency to the present day. Nos. 1-6, Tray XX, are Corean, Nos. 7-10 Japanese, Nos. 11-19 Loo Choo, and commencing with No. 21, Tray XXIII, are to be found the coinage of Cochin China from the early part of the fifteenth century. The ease with which the cash may be cast has led to the issue not only of an enormous volume of counterfeits, but of irregular pieces, usually weighing less than the legal standard and bearing inscrip- tions not found upon the legitimate issues. A collection of these pieces, coined by private individuals, is embraced by Nos. 22-30, Tray XXIII, and Nos. 1-36, Tray XXIV. In concluding these brief, imperfect notes, a word might be said upon the value of these memorials, the earliest authentic records of a nation whose history extends back almost to the dawn of civiliza- tion. We find upon them names of Emperors and Kings who ruled a people skilled in the arts and sciences while the Western World had scarcely emerged from a condition of barbarism. We discover in the rude knives which served as a medium of ex- change among the primitive people the origin of a monetary system which has lasted until the present day. We may trace in the varying weights and composition of these coins indications of the periods of famine and internal commotion, when the government sought to relieve its needs by debasing its coinage, and again of wealth and prosperity in superior weight and excellence of workmanship. Confirming record' and tradition, they furnish clues to the development and civilization of a mighty na- tion, revealing data valuable both to the historian and the student of mankind. 1 From information kindly furnished the writer by Mr. Naito Ruijiro, Secretary of the Japanese Legation, Washington. 40 NUMISMA TICS. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF CHINESE DYNASTIES. 1 Began. I. 2. 3- 4- 5- 6. 7- 8. 9- io. ii. 12. !3« 14. 15- 16. i7- 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 2 3- 24. 25- Hia B. C Shang Cheu Ts'in Han Tung Han A. D. Heu Han Tsin Tung Tsin Sung TVi Liang Ch'an Sui T'ang Heu Liang Heu T'ang Heu Tsin Heu Han Heu Cheu Sung Southern Sung. Yuen Ming Ts'ing , 2205 1766 1122 2 55 206 2 5 221 265 3 2 3 420 479 5° 2 557 589 620 907 9 2 3 936 947 95 1 960 1127 1280 1368 1644 A. D Ended. 1766 1122 255 206 ' 2 5 221 264 322 419 478 502 556 589 619 907 923 93 6 946 95 1 960 1127 1280 1368 1644 Number of Sovereigns. 17 28 34 2 14 12 12 4 11 8 5 4 5 3 20 2 4 2 2 3 9 9 9 16 to 1885. 1 S. Wells Williams, LL.D. Shanghai, 1874, p. ^. A Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language.