139 



" cratis nummis, redire solent." From hence, as he asserts, the Jews 

 in those parts took occasion to fabricate coins, and obtained from 

 the sale thereof considerable gain. He then relates a story, extracted 

 from a German annalist,* which I shall give from the original, of 

 a Count Ruodolfiis de Fumdorf, who visited the Holy Land in 

 1 1 80 ; and, being commissioned b}^ the Abbot of St, Gallus, 

 procured several relics from a monastery in Palestine, " quod Sm. 

 f' Abraham nominatur." These relics were transmitted home with 

 much care ; and, as the Count concludes, " in altari S. Galli, cum 

 " reliquiis nostris, sunt collocatae." 



So far of these ancient Hebrew shekels and coins. Wagenseil 

 then proceeds to observe, that a similar observation with this con- 

 cerning their being forgeries, may be applied to the medals, " qui 

 ^' Servatoris nostri imagini Hebraicam addunt inscriptionem." He 

 argues, that if the Palestine forgers of relics were induced to make 

 coins of Abraham and of David, to impose upon the pilgrims; 

 much more so would they be tempted to strike medals of our Sa- 

 viour, the great object of these pilgrimages — " nempe alicui Chris- 

 " tiano, &c. verisimile visum est, nihil sacris viatoribus accidere 

 " posse gratius, quam si monetam Christi vultum exhibentem, e re- 

 " gione quam vivus incoluerat, iis liceret referre." 



Such is the opinion of this authority, in which he seems to 

 be partly followed by Morinus ; this latter author further adds, that 

 the division of some of the Hebrew words, so as to have parts of the 

 same word in separate lines, is an evidence of the forgery : and he 

 also says, that tlie abbreviation of Hebrew words, by a final apo- 



T 2 



* AlemaDnicarum Rerum Scriptores,tom. I. p. 18, 



