COINING. 



COIRE. 



10 



the hardi of gold and the pavilion ; and Henry V. salutes and half- 

 salutes. Henry VI. coined salutes, angelots, and francs in gold. The 

 equivocal specimen of silver coin, supposed to have been struck by 

 Margaret of Burgundy for Perkin Warbeck, is usually classed with the 

 Anglo-Gallic series. The British Museum possesses a most extensive 

 and interesting collection of coins, those of Great Britain being the 

 largest collection in existence, and the'collections of Sicilian, Greek, and 

 Roman coins exceedingly rich. 



Gold and silver with certain alloys have formed the material for the 

 more costly currency of all European nations, and copper for most of 

 them in those of smaller value, but France and some few others have 

 used a mixed metal for that purpose. Russia is the only country 

 which has used platinum in the manufacture of coins. 



In respect to numismatic writers, we can only enumerate a few of 

 the most important upon the various series of coins. On the Greek 

 and Roman series, the best works are Eckhel's ' Doctrina Numoruni 

 Veterum,' Rasche's ' Lexicon Universse Rei Numarise,' and Mionnet's 

 ' Description des Medailles Antiques Grecques et Romaines ; ' the last 

 work in 5 vols., 8vo, with 7 vols. of Supplement, Paris, 1806-35. For 

 the Roman alone, the reader may consult A. Morel's 'Thesaurus 

 Familiarum Romanarum,' 2 torn., fol., Amsterdam, 1734 ; and his ' The- 

 saurus Numismatum Imperatorum,' 3 torn., Amsterdam, 1752. Another, 

 which brings the Roman series to the close of the empire, will be 

 found in Banduri's ' Numismata Imperatorum Romanorum a Trajano 

 Decio ad PaUeologos Augustos,' 2 torn., Par., 1718, with Tanini's 

 ' Supplement,' in 1 voL, fol., Rome, 1791. See also Mionnet's work, 

 in 2 vols., ' De la Rarete et du Prix des Medailles Romaines,' 8vo., 

 Paris, 1827; Mullinger's 'Considerations BUT la Numismatiques de 

 1'ancienne Italic,' 1844 ; and Akermann's ' Descriptive Catalogue of 

 Rare and Unedited Roman Coing,' 2 vols., 8vo, London, 1834. 

 Pinkerton's 'Essay on Medals,' 2 vols., 8vo, 1789, with all its errors, 

 is valuable aa a general elementary treatise. A better is Mayer's 

 ' Einleitung in die iilte Romische Numismatik,' 1842 ; and also Mr. B. 

 N. Humphrey's ' History of Ancient Coins and Medals;' "The Pro- 

 ceedings of the Numisinatical Society,' of which the publication com- 

 menced in 1836, contain a large amount of valuable information. 



On English coins, the best works are Leake's ' Historical Account of 

 English money,' 8vo, London, 1745 ; Ruding's ' Annals of the Coinage 

 of Britain ; ' and Mr. Humphrey's ' Coins of England,' and ' Coin 

 Collector's Guide.' Simon hag written an ' Essay towards an Historical 

 Account of Irish Coins ; ' and Cardonnel his ' Numismata Scotiac, or a 

 Series of the Scottish Coinage.' On Anglo-Gallic coins, we have a 

 quarto volume by Ducarel ; a volume of similar size, ' A Description 

 of the Anglo-Gallic Corns in the British Museum ; ' and ' Illustrations 

 of the Anglo-French Coinage,' by Major-Gen. Ainslie, 4to, London, 

 1830. 



On the French coinage, we have the works of Bouteroue, Le Clerc, 

 .ind Millin ; on the Papal coins, Floravante ; Florez on those of Spain. 

 For the coins of Germany the reader may consult Madai's ' Thaler- 

 Cabinet,' 4 torn., Konigsberg, 1765-8 ; Weise's ' Gulden-Cabinet,' 

 2 torn., Nurnberg, 1780-2 ; and Vossberg's ' Genchichte der Preussis- 

 chen Miinzen und Siegel,' 1843. For Danish coins, the ' Danske 

 Mynter og Medailler,' 3 torn., fol., Copenh., 1791-4. For Bulgarian 

 coins, Fraehn's work, 4to, Casan, 1816. For Hungarian coins, Schon- 

 visner, ' Notitia Hungaruc rei numarise,' 1801, and Szecheayi ' Catalogus 

 numorum Hungaruc,' 1810. For Russian coins Chaudoir's ' Apercu 

 sur monnaies runes,' 1837. For Polish coins Bandske's ' Numismatyke 

 Krajowa.' 1839. For Oriental coins, Marsden's ' Numismata Orientalia 

 Illiwtrata,' 2 vola., 4to, London, 1823-5; Grotefend's 'Miinzen der 

 Griechischen, Parthischen, und Indo-Skythischen Konige von Bactrien ; ' 

 and ' Essays on Indian Antiquities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palseo- 

 graphic,' by James Prinsep, edited by J. Thomas, 1858. 



COINING. [MixT.] 



COINING. The numerous and complicated laws upon this subject, 

 passed from time to time during several centuries, as occasion called 

 for penal enactments to protect the coin of the realm, were repealed 

 by the stat. 2 Will. IV. c. 34. The making or coining of money being 

 one of the exclusive prerogatives of the crown, the counterfeiting of 

 the king's coin was in early periods of the history of English law con- 

 sidered to be an usurpation upon the royal authority, and upon that 

 principle constituted the offence of high treason both by the common 

 law and by various statutes. By the stat. 2 Will. IV., c. 34, s. 3, the 

 following offences are provided for: 1. Falsely making or counter- 

 feiting any coin resembling, or apparently intended to resemble or 

 pass for, the king's current gold or silver coin. 2. Colouring, washing, 

 or casing over any metal or counterfeit coin so as to pass for the 

 genuine gold and silver coin of the realm; and filing, washing or 

 otherwise altering silver coin so as to pass for gold, or copper 

 coin so as to pass for silver or gold. 3. Impairing, diminishing, 

 or lightening gold or silver coin, with intent to make it pass 

 current. 4. To buy, sell, receive, pay or put off, any false or 

 counterfeit coin resembling, or apparently intended to resemble or pass 

 for, any of the king's current gold or silver coin, or offer so to do, at or 

 for a lower rate or value than the same by its denomination imports. 

 5. To, import into the United Kingdom, from beyond the seas, any 

 false or counterfeit coin resembling, or apparently intended to re- 

 semble or pass for, any of the king's current gold or silver coin, know- 

 ing the same to be false or counterfeit. (The above offences were 



punishable by transportation, now penal servitude). 6. To tender, 

 utter, or put off any false or counterfeit coin, resembling, or apparently 

 intended to resemble or pass for, any of the king's current gold or 

 silver coin, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit. 7. To tender, 

 utter, or put off any false or counterfeit coin resembling, or apparently 

 intended to resemble or pass for, any of the king's current gold or 

 silver coin, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, and at the 

 time of such tendering, uttering, or putting off, having in possession, 

 besides the false or counterfeit coin so tendered, uttered, or put oft', 

 one or more piece or pieces of false or counterfeit coin resembling, or 

 apparently intended to resemble or pass for, any of the king's current 

 gold or silver coin ; or 8. Either on the day of such tendering, uttering, 

 or putting off, or within the space of ten days then next ensuing, to 

 tender, utter, or put off, any more or other false or counterfeit coin 

 resembling, or apparently intended to resemble or pass for, any of the 

 king's current gold or silver coin, knowing the same to be false or 

 counterfeit. 9. Any person having in his custody or possession three 

 or more pieces of false or counterfeit coin resembling, or apparently 

 intended to resemble or pass for, any of the king's current gold or 

 silver coin, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, and with 

 intent to utter or put off the same. (The four last offences are 

 punishable by imprisonment.) The punishment is increased for the 

 commission of any of these offences after a previous conviction. 



The provisions above abstracted relate to the protection of the gold 

 and silver coin. The following offences relate to copper coin. 1. To 

 falsely make or counterfeit any coin resembling, or apparently in- 

 tended to resemble or pass for, any of the king's current copper coin ; 

 or, 2. Knowingly, and without lawful authority (the proof of which 

 authority lies on the party accused), to have in his custody or posses- 

 sion any instrument, tool, or engine adapted and intended for the 

 counterfeiting any of the king's current copper coin ; or, 3. To buy, sell, 

 receive, pay, or put off, or offer to buy, sell, receive, pay, or put off, 

 any false or counterfeit coin resembling, or apparently intended to 

 resemble or pass for, any of the king's current copper coin, at or for a 

 lower rate or value than the same by its denomination imports. 4. To 

 tender, utter, or put off any false or counterfeit coin resembling, or 

 apparently intended to resemble or pass for, any of the king's current 

 copper coin, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, or having in 

 custody or possession three or more pieces of false or counterfeit coin 

 resembling, or apparently intended to resemble or pass for, any of the 

 king's current copper coin, knowing the same to be false or counterfeit, 

 and with intent to utter or put off the same. 



The statute also contains various provisions against making, sending, 

 or having in possession, any coining tools. By the 16 & 17 Viet. c. 

 48, the provisions of the 2 Will. IV., c. 34, were extended to the 

 colonies, and punishment provided for importing counterfeit coin into 

 the colonies. A practice which arose of defacing coin by stamping 

 and bending it for advertising purposes was met by the 16 & 17 Viet, 

 c. 102, making the offence a misdemeanour, and imposing a penalty 

 on uttering such defaced coin. The statute also makes a tender of 

 such coin invalid. 



COIRE. The manufacture of cordage, mats, matting, coarse canvas, 

 and sailcloth from the fibres of vegetables, has been known to the 

 inhabitants of nearly all countries with which we have any acquaint- 

 ance. So far, however, from the source from which the material is 

 obtained being alike in all plants, it differs considerably. In flax and 

 hemp the fibrous material is furnished by the stem, deprived of its 

 ligneous centre or core. In the Spanish broom the fibres are furnished 

 by the young pliant branches of a shrub ; and these fibres are occa- 

 sionally wrought both into cloth and into cordage. The stalks of the 

 hop-plant, and also of the common nettle, are made to yield fibres 

 applicable to a similar purpose ; and so likewise may be those of the 

 bean-plant and of the mallow. In other cases it is rather the bark of a 

 tree than the stem of a young plant that yields the fibres. Such is the 

 case with the paper-mulberry tree, the bark of which is so prepared by 

 the natives of Tahiti as to yield fibres fitted for a kind of cloth. Such 

 is likewise the case with the linden-tree, the bark of which, prepared in 

 a suitable way, is used for the manufacture of mats, baskets, bags, and 

 thatching. It is estimated that fourteen million mats are made 

 annually in Russia from this material ; that for this purpose the bark 

 of a million trees is required ; and that a traffic equal to half a million 

 sterling is thus created. Two other examples of the same kind are 

 furnished by the maho-tree (Hibiicua tiliaceiu) and the Theobroma 

 aiiffus/a, two East Indian plants, the stalks of which are steeped and 

 disentangled from the fibres of the inner bark. Another class of mate- 

 rials for similar purposes is furnished by the leaves of certain plants. 

 The Phormium tenor, or New Zealand flax, has leaves which produce 

 such fibres. The enormous leaves of the Ayare, or American aloe, yield 

 fibres capable of answering a similar purpose ; and so likewise do several 

 species of the Sromelia. 



But C'oire differs from all these in its origin. It is the fibre of the 

 husk of the cocoa-nut, bearing such relation to it as the downy fibres 

 of cotton do to the seeds of the cotton-plant. The inhabitants of 

 Ceylon make great use of it. The nut is gathered before being com- 

 pletely ripe ; and in order to remove the husk, an iron spike or sharp 

 piece of hard wood is fixed in the ground, and the nut is forced upon 

 the point in such a manner as to separate the rind from the shell. One 

 man can clear about a thousand nuts in a day by this means. The 



