32 REPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 



Although not a i)art of the costume collection, it supplements it in a 

 commendable way and adds to the attractiveness of the room. 



COINS, MEDALS AND POSTAL TOKENS. 



The northwest court is assigned to these subjects and also to the 

 assemblage of musical instruments, the latter displayed in the wall 

 cases, on the tops of which a large number of plaster busts of histori- 

 cal personages have been arranged. From the entrance, which is on 

 the west side, a broad passage leads eastward through the court, and 

 is flanked in the middle by two large upright cases for the stamp col- 

 lection. The remainder of the floor space, partly abutting on the 

 passageway, is occupied by table cases of several patterns, in which 

 the coins and medals are installed. 



Coins and medals. — The coins and medals, aggregating over 6,000 

 specimens, exclusive of the many and varied examples of the latter 

 in the memorial section and those in the reserve series, were installed 

 during the year. They had previously been in storage, accessible only 

 to students, and their preparation for this purpose involved consider- 

 able labor, since it was necessary to reclassify the entire collection, 

 clean each individual piece, and select the best of them for exhibi- 

 tion. It was also required to fully describe the specimens in the card 

 catalogue, which had not previously been practicable, and to prepare 

 copy for the labels. Although the series is far from complete for any 

 country, each nation is sufficiently well represented to indicate, in a 

 general way at least, its numismatic history, and it is hoped that this 

 public display will lead to the filling of many of the gaps. "V^^iile no 

 very rare pieces are to be found among the coins, the importance of 

 this part of the collection resting upon its extent and comprehensive- 

 ness, the collection of historical medals is one of the best available to 

 the public in this country, being probably surpassed only by those of 

 the United States Mint at Philadelphia and the American Numis- 

 matic Society of New York. The exhibit is supplemented by 102 fine 

 examples of small plaster bas-relief reproductions of ancient and 

 modern works of art. 



The installation occupies 27 flat-top cases, of which 8 are devoted 

 to the United States and its possessions, 11 to European countries, 

 and 8 to Asia and Africa. The series of United States coins begins 

 with a number of originals and copies, showing the type of currency 

 used in America during the colonial period. Massachusetts, the first 

 Colony to strike its own coins, is represented by the two silver pieces 

 known, respectively, as the " New England shilling " and the " Pine- 

 tree shilling," both issued as early as 1652. Among other colonial 

 tokens are the Maryland pennies of 1660 and several pieces of the- 

 Eosa Americana series made in England for colonial circulation dur- 



