automation in banking, a necessary development in 

 our modern credit-based economy. It is our mission 

 to follow these developments and to preserve historical 

 records typifying this evolution while it is in progress 

 and while documentary material is relatively easy to 

 obtain. What might be obvious to us today should he 

 documented for the enlightenment of future genera- 

 tions. 



Fig. 59. — Onza Struck in 1836 at the La Rioja 

 Mint in .Argentina. 



The continuous, it should be repeated, reappraisal 

 of the scope of numismatics and the recognition of its 

 ever developing duties should not be swayed by tra- 

 ditional concepts like the prevailing mctallistic ap- 

 proach. Also, in our quest for history there is little if 

 any place for the curious, the unusual as such. 

 Emphasis must be placed instead on the historically 

 significant aspects. 



We expect that the growth rate of the collections 

 will remain high, at least for some years, in contrast 

 with the slow rate of growth of up to ten years ago. 

 For comparative purposes we will mention the United 

 States Mint collection which increased in 85 years — 

 from 1838 to 1923— to around 18,000 specimens, or 

 by a yearly average of 212 items. The United States 

 National Museum collection showed an increase of 

 595 pieces each year during the period from 1881 to 

 1923. The national numismatic collections continued 

 to grow from 1924 through 1956 at a yearly average 

 of 531 items. In fact, during the latter period 17,000 

 items were added to the collections. In the past ten 

 years instead the average yearly rate of growth in- 

 creased to approximately 20,000 objects, the number 

 of items added varying, of course, greatly from year 

 to year. 



It will be necessary to assemble and preserve the 

 [)ertinent documentation that will enable us to 

 study and better comprehend the development of 

 money and of media of payment in their broad 

 historic and economic context. True comprehension 

 of these phenomena is possible only based on primary 

 "numismatic" source material. Modern instances of 

 regression to more "primitive" forms of monetary 

 exchanges in times of need or economical stress 

 pro\ide case studies of enormous practical meaning. 

 Thus it will be necessary to assemble documentary 

 material to foster the study of monetary history in 

 all its complexities. This difficult task might be aided 



Fig. 60. — Set of Gold 2-, 5-, 10-, and 20-peso Peruvian coins struck at Philadelphia in 

 1855 for the Lima Mint as samples from American minting machinery purchased by Peru. 



34 



BULLETIN 229: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



