I20 
OLD HALIFAX.* 
In this handsome volume the Hon. Curator of the Bankfield 
Museum, Halifax, has published an admirable piece of work. 
He has permanently placed on record much information relating 
to old Halifax, and particularly to the part played by the 
Halifax coiners. This information could only have been 
obtained by years of patient research, and is of such a nature 
that, had Mr. Roth not secured it whilst opportunity offered, 
it would have been exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, for 
a future worker to have gathered the facts together. There 
is much in the book which we must pass by, as it hardly 
comes within the scope of this journal. There are illustrations 
and descriptions of what some Hull—and Halifax town councillors 
might call ‘rubbish,’ but which we are delighted to see Mr. 
Roth has secured for the Bankfield Museum. Many of the 
Fig. 1.—Object found in Shibden Park. 
objects he figures and describes were likewise once familiar 
objects in other districts, and are preserved in various museums ; 
a few, however, we make acquaintance with for the first 
time. All interested in bygone times, and all collectors of 
relics of the past, should see the numerous illustrations in the 
book under notice. At least one of the 17th century tobacco 
pipes figured on p. 281 appears to have been made in Hull,T 
and some years ago a large hoard of Portuguese and other 
counterfeit silver coin was found in Hull whilst excavating 
for one of the docks. These are very similar to and of about 
the same date as the Portuguese counterfeit coin made in 
Halifax, so fully described by Mr. Roth. From these and 
* ©The Yorkshire Coiners, 1767-1783, and notes on Old and Prehistoric 
Halifax.. By H. Ling Roth. F. King & Sons, Halifax, 1906. Pages 
XXvii. + 322, with numerous illustrations. Price 21/- net. 
+ See illustrations in ‘Early Hull Tobacco Pipes and their Makers.’ 
(Hull Museum Publication No. 6). 
Naturalist, 
