NUMISMATOLOGY. 



consideration. It is observed by Pinkerton, that an 

 immense number of the medals of cities, which, from 

 their character, we must judge to be of the highest 

 antiquity, have a surprising strength, beauty, and re- 

 lie/, in their impressions. About the time of Alex- 

 ander the Great, however, this art appears to have 

 attained its highest perfection. The coins of Alex- 

 ander and his father exceed all that were ever exe- 

 cuted, if we except those of Sicily, Magna Graecia, 

 and the ancient ones of Asia Minor. Sicilian medals 

 arc famous for workmanship, even from Gelo's time. 

 The coins of the Syrian kings, successors to Alex- 

 ander, almost equal his own in beauty. But ade- 

 quate judges are constrained to confine their high 

 praises of the Greek mint to those coins struck be- 

 fore the subjection of Greece to the Roman empire. 



The Roman coins, considered as medals in a ca- 

 binet, may be resolved into two great divisions, the 

 consular and imperial. The consular coins seldom 

 or never bore the names or titles of consuls till to- 

 wards the close of the republic ; nevertheless, they 

 are not improperly called consular, because they were 

 struck in the consular times of Rome. These have 

 also been denominated " coins of families," and are 

 arranged according to the names inscribed on them. 

 The brass consular coi.is are rather uninteresting, 

 consisting chiefly of large, unwieldy pieces, with 

 types of insipid similarity. Few of them have any 

 imagery or symbol. Gold was first coined at Rome, 

 sixty-two years after the application of the mint to 

 silver. The general gold coin is the aureus. The 

 consular coins, whose number is estimated at 200 in 

 brass, and 2000 in silver, extend not to above 100 in 

 gold, most of which are curious. The name of im- 

 perial medals is applied specifically to those struck 

 after the conclusion of the republican era of Rome 

 down to the fall of the Roman empire. Caius Julius 

 Caesar was the first Roman who obtained permission 

 to put his figure upon medals. The triumvirs had 

 each his set of medals. The medals struck after the 

 death and apotheosis of Augustus bear the title Di- 

 vus Augustus. With Constantine commences the 

 series of medals of the emperors of the East or of 

 Constantinople. The series of imperial medals con- 

 cludes with those of Michael IX. The colonial 

 medals had sometimes Greek, sometimes even Punic, 

 legends ; but those with Latin only are far more 

 numerous. Some of these coins are elegant ; but 

 they are, for the most part, rude and uninteresting. 

 They begin with Julius and Antony, and occur only 

 in brass. Most of the gold consular coins are of 

 great beauty and high value. The coins of the mid- 

 dle ages embrace the bracteates,&.c., which, after the 

 dissolution of the Roman empire, were circulated in 

 th* newly-formed European states the second incu- 

 nabula of the forgotten art of coinage. 



The materials of which the ancient coins were 

 composed, were, as in modern times, gold, silver, 

 and the various modifications of copper. The laws 

 of Lycurgus also make mention of iron coins being 

 introduced among the Spartans ; and the same has 

 been said of Byzantium. But experience has not 

 confirmed this information and even if it had been the 

 case, it is not likely that coins of a metal so liable to 

 be destroyed by rust, as iron, should have been pre- 

 served to modern times. All that remains to us of 

 the ancient coinage, is composed of the three metals 

 above mentioned ; and that these were the only ma- 

 terials used, appears highly probable from numerous 

 specimens of the coins of the emperor Augustus, on 

 the reverse of which the triumviri, who had the 

 superintendence of the mint, used to denominate 

 themselves: IIIVIR.A.A.A.F.F. that is Auro Ar- 

 gento Acre Flando Ferinndo. Plate LXI. fig. 1. 



According to the testimony of Pliny the Romans 



first began to coin money in the reign of Servius 

 Tullius. This coinage was entirely of copper or 

 brass, and was estimated by weight. The regulat- 

 ing weight was the pound, (as, libra,) which was 

 divided into twelve ounces. The half pound was 

 called semis. The mark of a pound on a piece of 

 money was a straight line, like the letter I.; that of 

 a half-pound S, being the initial letter of the word 

 semis. The mark of an ounce was a small ball. If 

 the piece contained 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 ounces, this was 

 designated by as many balls. For a considerable 

 time, the as, whether considered as a pound, or as a 

 piece of money, was of equal weight; but afterwards 

 its weight, as money, gradually became much depre- 

 ciated. The impression on the a* was, on the one 

 side, the double head of Janus, and on the other a 

 ship. Plate LXI. fig. 2. 



The Romans began to coin silver money a few 

 years before the first Punic war. It consisted 

 of the Denarius, Quinarius, and Sestertius. The 

 Denarius was so called, because it contained denos 

 asses, or ten pounds of brass ; in like manner, the 

 Quinarius, or half of the Denarius, contained the 

 value of five pounds; and the Sestertius, or half of 

 the Quinarius, two pounds and a half of brass. The 

 mark of the Denarius was X., that of the Quinarius 

 V., and that of the Sestertius IIS. Plate LXI. figs. 

 4, 5, 6. In the older times, all the three coins had 

 the same impressions, viz., on the obverse, the winged 

 head of Pallas, and on the reverse, the mounted 

 Dioscuri, or Castor and Pollux. But, at a later 

 period, the subjects were chosen in an arbitrary 

 manner, as we shall have occasion to show, when we 

 come to treat of the coins of the Roman families. 

 On the Quinarii there was generally impressed a 

 goddess of victory, on which account they were fre- 

 quently called Victoriati. 



BRUT. IMP. L. PLAET. CEST. Head of M. Brutus.) 

 (Eio. MAR. The cap of liberty between two daggers. 

 Plate LXI*. fig. 7. 



L. PLAUTIUS. A female mask with serpent hair.) 

 (PLANCUS. The winged Aurora conducting the four 

 horses of the sun. Plate LXI. fig. 3. The musicians 

 who were employed at Rome during the public festi- 

 vals, having been offended by the censor A p. Clau- 

 dius, withdrew from Rome to Tibur. As the Romans, 

 however, were unwilling to dispense with them, the 

 second censor, Plautius, brought them back by- a 

 singular stratagem. He repaired to Tibur, made 

 acquaintance with them, invited them to a feast, and 

 plied them so long and so hard with drink, that they 

 at last lost all recollection. He then put a mask 

 upon each of them, placed them altogether in a car- 

 riage, carried them to Rome, and lift them in the 

 open street. When they were discovered in this 

 situation in the morning, the merriment was univer- 

 sal, the quarrel was made up ; and to commemorate 

 this ridiculous scene, an anniversary festival was 

 instituted in honour of Minerva. This coin, struck 

 by L. Plautius Plancus, a descendant of the witty 

 censor, alludes to the above incident. On one side 

 of the coin is a mask ; and on the other the figure of 

 Aurora, to denote the time at which the above de- 

 nouement took place. 



After Julius Caesar had attained the supreme power, 

 the senate allowed him to place his own portrait on 

 coins a privilege which had never before been enjoy- 

 ed by any other individual in his lifetime. He appears 

 with a lank countenance, and a bald head ; on which 

 last account he was permitted to cover his forehead 

 with a wreath of laurel. Plate LXI. fig. 12. 



MAG. Pius. IMP. ITER. The head of Pompey the 

 Great.) (PRJEF. CLAS. ET. ORAE. MARIT. Ex. S. C. 

 Neptune standing with one foot upon a ship ; on each 

 side the pious brothers carry off their parents. Plate 



