220 



KNOWLEDGE, 



[October 1, 1896. 



coins being diminished. The bust was by L. C. Wyon. 

 On the reverse the lighthouse and sliip appeared for the 

 first time. 



The changes of the last few years are familiar to all, and 

 need not be described, the more so as they have been 

 almost uniformly for the worse. It maybe noted that the 

 striking of tive-pound and two-pound pieces was revived in 

 the year of the Jubilee (when the denomination of four 

 shillings was also issued), and in 18!»H. The title of Empress 

 of India first appears in the latter year. 



Among the experiments of the reign may be mentioned 

 the pattern live-pound piece of 1880 by W. Wyon, repre- 

 senting the Queen as Una with the lion. The piece is 

 well executed, but when the design is considered it is a 

 matter of congratulation that the piece remained a pattern. 

 In 18;")5 and in 1872 mints were established at Sydney 

 and Melbourne, and in 1SG3 and 186G the coins issued 

 from colonial mints, established or to be established, were 

 made legal tender. The first Sydney coins bore AUSTRALIA 

 across the field, SYD n EY M i NT above, and the value below ; 

 but the later coins of Sydney and Melbourne are only 

 distinguished from the others by the mint marks S and m. 

 The mint mark H, which occurs on some of the bronze 

 coins, is the mark of Heaton's mint at Cirmingham. 



Among the silver patterns the most interesting is the 

 "Gothic crown" of 184G and 1847 (Fig. IG), so called 

 from the Old English lettering. 



Patterns have been struck at various times for a decimal 

 currency, some of them at the Mint, others by private 

 persons. Of the former class very few are to be seen 

 outside the Mint museum itself. 



It has already been mentioned that the scarcity of 

 small change had necessitated the production of a token 

 coinage. The great mass of the tokens belong to the 

 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Of the town tokens 

 Fig. 17 represents a halfpenny of Wimborne (FOR THE 

 VSE OF THE POORE OF WIMBORNE 1669; reverse, THEIR 



HALFPENNY; two women at a wash-tub). In London 

 an enormous number of tradesmen issued their own tokens. 

 Fig. 18 is a token of the Salutation Tavern (at YE salu- 

 tation IN LOMBARD; two gentlemen saluting each 

 other; reverse, STREET HIS HALFPENNY; in the centre 

 the initial of the owner's surname is put above, h, those 

 of his own and his wife's Christian names below, t M). 

 Of eighteenth century tokens, those of the Paris Copper 

 Mine Company, struck at Anglesea, are among the com- 

 monest. The obverse of the variety here illustrated 

 (Fig. 19) bears a Druid's head ; the reverse, the Company's 

 initials in monogram, the date 1787, and we promise to 



PAY THE BEARER ONE PENNY. On the edge : ON DEMAND 

 IN LONDON, LIVERPOOL, OR ANGLESEY. The rarity of 

 silver in the reign of George III. necessitated the issue of 

 tokens to supply the place of silver coinage. Thus the 

 Bank of England issued tokens for five shillings, three 

 shillings, and eighteen pence (Fig, 21); the Bank of 

 Ireland for six shillings, thirty ponce, ten pence, and five 

 pence. Besides these tokens, a large number of pieces, 

 some with more or less fanciful designs and legends, some 

 with political allusions, seem to have got into circulation, 

 though there is little doubt that many of them were never 

 meant to pass as coins, and were made for collectors. 

 The production of private tokens for small change fell oflf 

 after the issue of copper in 180G and 1807, but the Bank 

 tokens mentioned above are later. 



The Scottish coinage ceases to have much interest from 

 the time of the union of the two Crowns. There is a 

 considerable variety of denominations with peculiar names, 

 such as "bawbee" (derived possibly from the name of a 

 mint master, the laird of Sillebawby),"bodle" (Bothwell'.'), 



" turner" (French tnuniou). The separate coinage ceases 

 with the union in 1707. 



In the reign of Charles I. a considerable amount of 

 money was struck in Ireland. Not to mention the siege- 

 pieces, wo may note the so-called Ormonde money, whicli 

 was struck out of silver plate, with c R crowned on one 

 side and the value on the other. 



Among the most interesting of the Irish coins are the 

 St. Patrick's halfpence and farthings. The former represent 

 a king kneeling and playing the harp, with FLO R eat REX ; 

 on the reverse, St. Patrick with his ilock, ECCE GREX 

 The farthings (Fig. 22) have a similar obverse, but on the 

 reverse the saint is represented driving out snakes and 

 dragons; QVIESCAT plebs. These were struck in the 

 reign of Charles II,, but precisely for what purpose we 

 cannot say. 



The most important pieces in the later Irish coinage are 

 undoubtedly the money of necessity issued by James II. 

 after his abdication of the English throne. These are all 

 made of bronze or gun-metal, and therefore known as 

 gun-money. They were issued in the various denomina- 

 tions from the crown downwards. A peculiarity is that, 

 besides the usual date of the year, they bear the name of 

 the month in which they were struck. Thus the half-crown 

 hera illustrated (Fig. 20) was struck in March, 1689 

 (reckoning according to the civil year, which began on 

 March 25th, for the order to coin this money was not issued 

 till the 18th of June, IC80, of the historical year). 



In spite of the union in 1800, the Irish coinage does not 

 cease until 1823. 



Here our sketch of the coinage of these islands must 

 close. It has been impossible to do more than draw 

 attention to the more important features in the history of 

 our currency ; while that of our dependencies we have had 

 to pass over in silence. One point, it is hoped, has been 

 made sufficiently clear : the Mint of our own days has a 

 good deal to learn from the older coinage in the matter of 

 technique. The Gothic crown showed a praiseworthy 

 attempt to produce a decorative effect, but its archaisms 

 were out of place. And if it is impossible to find a good 

 design, it should be at least possible to strike the coins 

 clearly. The Petition crown of Simon is sufficiently 

 modern to serve as an indication of the spirit in which our 

 coins should be decorated, and the finish with which they 

 should be produced. 



OUR FUR PRODUCERS.-V. 



THE CAT TRIBE, CIVETS, AND MONKEYS. 



By E. Lydekker, B.A.Cantab., F.R.S. 



THE whole of the four preceding sections of the 

 present subject have been devoted to the furs 

 afforded by the carnivora — either terrestrial or 

 aquatic — but there still remain for consideration in 

 the same great order the cat tribe (Felidw), as well 

 as the less important group of the civets and their allies 

 {Vifci-yidce). Whereas the majority of the furs hitherto 

 mentioned are more or less uniformly coloured, and 

 are obtained from medium-sized or small animals, a con- 

 siderable proportion of those yielded by the cat tribe have 

 dark stripes or spots upon a light and frequently brilliantly- 

 coloured ground, and many of these are of large size and 

 the sknis very thick. Consequently, such are much used as 

 ornamental rugs or coverings. 



As exceptions to the general type of coloration obtaining 

 among the Fclida:, we may first of all refer to the lion of 

 the Old World and the puma of America, in both of which 



