1009 



NUMISMATICS. 



NUMISMATICS. 



arcbonship of Callias, B.C. 406, and the orator who recommended 

 it went by the nickname of the Coppersmith. The oldest dated 

 copper coins are those of -Eropus II., king of Macedon, B.C. 399 ; and 

 the necessity of change diffused its use, and it ultimately superseded 

 or was current with all denominations as high as the obolos. 'The 

 principal bronze coins are the obolos, worth l^d. '5, the c/talH-oitu 

 or I of an obolos, and the lepton, 1 of a chalchous : there were sub- 

 divisions of the J, J of an obolos, and pieces of 2 oboli, worth S^d 

 Besides the oboli, there was an assarion worth ^ of a denarius, and two 

 other copper coins called the symbolon and kollybos, the value o: 

 which is unknown. Some of the monetary systems named the copper 

 currency after the silver, and struck drachms, and didrachms anc 

 tetradrachms in this metal. Under the Roman empire, the coppei 

 currency was left to the care of the Greek municipalities, but after the 

 national bankruptcy this was suppressed, and the copper issued only 

 by the imperial mints. In the clays of the republic, some of the states 

 of Magna Grsecia and Sicily used the Roman standard of the as and its 

 subdivisions. 



The types of the Greek coins had a religious aim, and eithei 

 alluded to the eponymous deity, or some local tradition : their meaning 

 was strictly religious. On the earliest coins the types consist of a single 

 emblem, generally an animal or vegetable ,placed upon one side only : 

 as the tortoise on the coins of ^Egina, the dolphin on those of Thasus, 

 the vine-leaf on C'aminis. Some pieces were familiarly known by the 

 names of their types ; thus the drachms of Delos were called boes 

 (cattle) ; the tetradrachms of Athens, korai (virgins), alluding to Athene, 

 or glautes (owls) ; the didrachms of Corinth, puloi (colts), from the 

 Pegasus ; those of /Egina, chdnnai (tortoises) ; the staters of Macedon, 

 Itippntni (cavaliers); and the darics, toxeittae (archers). Other pieces 

 were named after the princes who issued them, as, Crcosi, Alexaudri, 

 Philippi, Demerateioi, Ptolemaioi, and Berenicai. The types of the 

 two sides often have a connection with one another, as the head of 

 Apollo with the reverse of a lyre, that of Neptune with a trident, or 

 the head of Hercules with his bow and quiver on the reverse. In 

 many cages, however, no connection can be traced, as on the coins of 

 Tarentum, and the artist selected his subjects from different statues or 

 monuments. 



Besides the principal types, various smaller representations, called 

 adjuncts, are introduced upon the field on coins of the third epoch, 

 especially on those of such states as struck a long series. On the coins 

 of Alexander the Great and his successors, these adjuncts or mint- 

 marks refer to the cities at which the pieces were struck, as a bee on 

 those of the mint of Ephesus or Aradus, the club of Hercules for Tyre, 

 an anchor for Abydos, a trident for Byzantium. On the contempora- 

 neous coins of cities these episema have relation to the eponjmous 

 magistrates by whom the coins were issued ; and a remarkable instance 

 is the stag on a coin of Athens, the emblem of the great Mithridates 

 with his name, and the elephant of Pyrrhus on coins of Tarentum. 

 Such marks will be found on the currency of Athens, Corinth, the 

 Achaxm and Lycian leagues, and on the consular denarii ; but they dis- 

 appear at the time of the Roman empire. 



The coins of the earliest period have no inscriptions, the type showing 

 the state from which the coins issued ; at first a single letter was intro- 

 duced, the initial ot the name of the city, as A for Argos, for Thebes, 

 p for Corinth. By degrees these letters became monosyllabic abbrevia- 

 tions of the names of the cities, as 9PO for Croton, DOM for Poseidonia, 

 FA for Klis ; dissyllables then appear, as AGE for Athens, AIFI for 

 ^Cgiua, PEC I for Rhegium, and these continued to the latest times. 

 But as the arts developed, the inscriptions become more complete, as 

 HIMEPA (Himera), ME22ANION (of the Messenians). These inscrip- 

 tions generally give the name of the city in the genitive, as 0A2IMJ (of 

 the Thasians) ; but the nominative sometimes replaces it, as ME25ANIO2 

 (Messenian),2TPAKO2IOI(Syracusans); and unusual forms are found, 

 as 2EFE2TAZIBEMI (I am from Segesta), EPT0EMI2H (I am the stamp 

 of Erythra;), 2ET0A KOMMA (the type of Seuthes). The neuter form 

 ia also found, as APKAAIKON (Arcadian money). These inscriptions 

 follow the style of the epoch, and are written from right to left, or 

 rirt rered, and boustrophedon. Generally the name or initial of the 

 city is on one side of the coin, occasionally it is repeated on the other ; 

 it is inserted to suit the type, at one side, across the area, or all round 

 the hollow square : in some instances it is divided, the first half, as ABA, 

 on one side, and KAINON (Abaccenum) on the reverse. In some rare 

 catea it is placed on the type, as AINI (Aenos) on the petasus of 

 Hermes ; APfEI (Argos) and FAAEIflN (Elis) on the diadem of Hera. 

 Till the fall of Greece into the power of Alexander, the civic legends 

 generally continue very simple ; but after that period epithets are used, 

 as TTP (ou) IE (pas) AIT (Aou) (Tyre a sacred Asylum) ; and under the 

 Romans the states are called by their epithets, as ATTONOMO2 (self- 

 governed), ATEAEIA (untaxed), EAET0EPA (free), MHTPOITOAI2 (metro- 

 politan), NATAPXI2 (a port), A2TAO2 (an asylum), IIPnTH (first). 

 Explanations are rarely given, as AAPI22A 0E22AAflN (Thessalian 

 Larissa), NIKAIEflN TON KAI 2KT0OnOAITnN (of the Nicfcans, alias 

 Scythopolites in Samaria). The municipalities out of flattery often adopted 

 Imperial epitheta as KAATAIO-2EAETKEfiN (of the Claudian Seleu- 

 cians), TAP2OT 2ETHPIANH2 (of the Severian Tarsus), after Claudius I. 

 and .Severus. Occasionally the names of rivers are recorded, as HTTO'AS 

 (the Hypsas) on coins of Selinus, APE0O2A (the Arethusa) on those 

 of Syracuse ; and the names of local deities often accompany the types. 

 ARTS AND SCI. MV. VOL. V. 



The Demos (or people), Syncletus (or senate), and Boule (or c 

 appear on late coins. Alliances between the cities are indicated 

 ea-ly period by the initials of two cities, at a later age by the \ 

 OMONOIA. The participation in games is shown by KOINON (cc 

 munity). 



The names of persons appear first on the archaic corns of the second 

 period, and generally in the genitive, indicating the eponymous 

 magistrates. The earliest names are those of the kings of Macedon, 

 the archons of Abdera, as AAEHANAPOT, Alexander of Macedon, B.C. 

 474, and others. The title of king indeed appears with Getas, King of 

 Hedonis, about 474 B.C., but it forms an exception to the rule, the 

 title of king being first assumed by Alexander the Great. His 

 successors adopted titles in addition to their names, and Antiochus XII. 

 is called the King Antiochus, Dionysos, illustrious, father loving, 

 Victorious. Besides the title of king, others appear, as the Ethnarch 

 applied to Herod, and dynastes to Polemo of Olba. A rarer ad- 

 dress is that of Em, " under," prefixed to the name of the magistrate, 

 which occurs on the coins of Hicetas -of Syracuse, but is commonly 

 used on the imperial Greek coins. The inscriptions of these coins 

 have prefixed to the names of the magistrates the offices which they held 

 in the different cities, as the scribe (ypa^fiarfv!), archon (apxav), 

 mayor (etpopoi), pnetor (ffrpaTriyos), proprator (ai'Titrrpar-riyos), magis- 

 trate (irpurai/eus), treasurer (radios), high priest (apx'fpevs), priest 

 (ttpfvs), or priestess (lepem), president of the games in Asia (A.trtapxos') , 

 director of the gymnasium (yvnvaaiapx'n^t t the festivals (nnvr]yu- 

 ptapXTls), master of the games (ayfat/oSfnjs), theologian (6eo\oyos). Some 

 coins from the imperial times have inscriptions recording their 

 dedication by individuals or magistrates to a district or city, as Hosti- 

 lius Marcellus, priest of Antiuous, has dedicated it to the Achicans. 

 On the coins of Macedon, after its subjection to Rome, the name 

 of the people is in Greek, MAKEAONflN, that of the magistrates, 

 AESILLAS, in Latin. 



Subordinate to the names of princes and magistrates are dates 

 first introduced by the successors of Alexander. The Egyptian coins 

 are dated in the P'gyptian regnal year till the time of Diocletian, and 

 are preceded by Z. (\vitafSos), or year; the imperial coins often have 

 dates preceded by ET or ETOTS, " year " especially those of the east 

 the chief Eeras found are the Seleucian commencing B.C. 312, in Syria, 

 Phoenicia, and Judrea ; the Pompeian; B.C. 63, in Syria and Phoenicia ; 

 the Caesarian, B.C. 47 or 48, in Syria; the Actian, B.C. 31, in Syria; 

 the Egyptian, B.C. 300, commencing with Ptolemy I. ; and that of 

 Pontus, B.C. 296. 



The names of games, as KAICAPEIA, the Ciesarian, ATTAAEIA, 

 the Attalian ; and many others are inscribed on imperial coins. 



Inscriptions recording the value are seen on a few rare imperial 

 coins, as AIAPAXMON, a didrachm, on a silver coin of Nero, struck at 

 Ctcsarea, in Cappadocia ; and on a copper coin of Rhodes, APAXMH, 

 or APATMH on those of Ephesus; and APAXMA ou a bronze coin ; 

 A22APION, AVO, TPIA, HMI2V on the copper of Chios ; TPIOBOAOfN] 

 on those of Samothracia ; HMIOBEA1N on those of ^Egium ; XAAXOT2 

 on coins of Antioch ; AIXAAKON on those of Chios. 



Single letters besides the names of magistrates and cities, and ligatures 

 of letters called monograms, are of frequent occurrence on the coins. 



Sometimes the names of cities are thus compressed, as J , Parium ; 

 ', Achsea; ^, Tyre; or the name of the eponymous magistrates; 



dates are rarely thus expressed. On the coins of some cities and 

 princes, solitary letters are used to indicate the order of the issue of 

 the coins from the mint, the letters being used in alphabetical order, 

 and when the series was exhausted the letters were doubled for a new 

 series. The silver coins of Arsinoe have single, and the gold double 

 letters to mark the order of issue. 



It has been usual to consider the currency according to the system 

 of Eckhel, or a geographical order from west to east, while the actual 

 chronological sequence is from east to west, the earliest coins being of 

 Asia Minor and the Isles of the ^Egean. A still more philosophical 

 arrangement would be that of the coins of each stage of the currency. 

 The coins of Britain and Spain are imitated or derived from the coins 

 of Philip II. of Macedon, or Hiero II. of Sicily; the types of the 



are copied i 



period, and of a similar standard and type as the Dioscuri ; even the 

 iopper have the uncial globules which mark the subdivision of the o. 

 Their legends are in the Cultiberian characters, derived from the 

 Greek and Phoenician, and they are supposed by some to have been 



ssued as early as B.C. 200, by others as late as B.C. 84-74, the date of 

 ;he insurrection of Sertorius, and named the Oscense argentum, from 

 Osca, his capital. ( Livy, xxxiv. 10, 41, xli. 43. De Saulcy, 



Monnaies Autonomes de 1'Espagne,' 8vo, Metz, 1840; Gailliard, 



Description des Monnaies Espagnols,' 4to, Madr., 1852.) 

 The coins of Gaul are divisible into three periods. 1. Earliest 



mitating the staters of Philip II. & III. after the conquest of Macedon, 

 B.C. 278. 2. Those with Latin legends apparently from B.C 100-21. 

 3. Those with the names of cities and chiefs on each side, the iuscrip- 

 ions either in Greek or Latin, or both mixed. These last two classes 

 mitate the Consular silver, but with great provincial variety. Besides 



3 T 



