suljstanlially Ijy Frcclcrick's predecessor, George 

 William (161<)-i640), this coin cabinet in 1686 ab- 

 sorbed the famous collection of the Rhinegrave Charles 

 Louis. The latter assemblage numbered over 12,000 

 pieces, of which a catalog had been published in 

 1685 in Heidelberg by Laurenz Beger. By 1690 the 

 Berlin collection contained over 22,000 coins. 



Often mentioned in connection with the Great 

 Elector of Brandenburg is one of the most significant 

 names in the field of numismatics in the 17th cen- 

 tury- Ezechiel Spanheim (1629-1710). .Swiss by 

 liirth, this eminent scholar s[)cnt many years in the 

 ca|)itals of Europe. He joined Queen Christina's 

 learned group of friends in Rome and mo\ed in the 

 dijilomatic circles of Paris, where for twelve years he 

 was a sjjccial en\oy (fig. 16) of Frederick \\'illiam 1. 

 His cnc\clo|H-dic knowledge in history, art. geography, 

 art history— all based on a full mastery of the ancient 

 authors- made him one of the prominent numis- 

 matists of his day. His chief publication Dissiitalio 



--iMIf.s 



Fig. i(). — Ezr.ciiiF.i. Si'ANHiaM (1629-1710), 

 Prussian amliassador to Paris and distin- 

 guished iiumismalisl (photo courtesy Biblio- 

 theque N'alionalc, Paris). 



Fig. 17. — Ch.ari.es P.'\ti.n, famous French coin 

 collector of the 17th century (photo courtesy 

 Bibliotheque Xationale, Paris). 



dc piacslnnliii rl iisti mimisrnatum ari/K/iio/iini (1664) must 

 certainly be considered the work of a master. 



From Spanheim's notes on his life at the French 

 court should be quoted a passage which casts vivid 

 light on the way in which numismatics and coin 

 collecting were practiced in Paris in the late 1600s. 

 At the home of the Duke of Aumont, Spanheim 

 would meet with a group which can be designated a 

 coin collectors' club, con\ening weekh' to discuss nu- 

 mismatic problems. "They imposed on themselves 

 the task of illustrating Roman history through in- 

 scri]3tions and ancient coins, and in this connection, 

 describing the life of the emperors by assembling all 

 coins struck under their reign. Every member of the 

 group had to discuss the ein[)eror's life and to lecture 

 on ii before the gathering in order to benefit from 

 the acK ice of those present. . . ." *° Although this 

 was in the full reign of the "siecle dcs kunicrcs" — 

 that peak of I'"rench cultural life when the brilliant 

 conversations of the literary circles, "les salons," of 

 a Mnie. de Sevigne. were the model for high societv — 



*" Sec B.VBELON, haili-, vol. 1, col. 154. 



24 



BULLETIN 229: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM 1111, MUSEUM OF HISTORY .VND TECHNOLOGY 



