COMMUNION TOKENS OF SOUTH-EASTERN BORDER 111 



parish. As time went on, farther elaboration was introduced, 

 and something of a more artistic nature was the result. 

 Starting with the simplest indication of the name of the parish, 

 a date, the minister's initials, a text of Scripture and some kind 

 of ornamentation would all follow in succession. 



When one thinks of the enormous number of ancient Greek 

 and Roman coins that still exist, particularly of the overflowing 

 abundance of the specimens of the copper coinage of the Roman 

 Empire during the first three centuries, one is surprised to find 

 that so few comparatively of the oldest Scotch tokens still 

 survive. But there are several ascertained causes for their 

 rarity. The principal of these is that the material of old tokens 

 was used in the construction of new ones. Sometimes they were 

 melted down and run into a new mould, and sometimes they 

 were simply re-stamped with a new inscription. Traces of this 

 latter process are distinctly seen on several of the older tokens 

 of this part of the country, as on the Ednam and Bedrule tokens, 

 on both of which the earlier stamp can be made out. Then again, 

 where neither of these expedients was resorted to, there are cases 

 known where the older superseded supplj'^ was buried to secure 

 disused tokens from profanation by being irreverently handled. 

 Add the careless loss of bags of old tokens when they were no 

 longer in use, by ministers or session clerks, who attached no 

 value or interest to them, and one can explain how it is that 

 the old tokens have either disappeared entirely or are rare. 

 On Sept. 27th 1710, the Kelso kirk session "appoints 18 lib. 

 Scots to be paid to Alexr. Bell, church officer, for making 2000 

 tokens for ye communion, and his extraordinary service at that 

 occasion." Of these it is doubtful whether one is known to 

 exist, and the oldest extant Kelso token is almost exactly a 

 century later, and even of it only a few specimens survive. 



In many parishes new issues of tokens seem to have been 

 frequently made. In the 17ih and 18th centuries the com- 

 munion was celebrated only once a year in each parish, and the 

 consequence was that inhabitants of neighbouring parishes 

 who desired more frequent communion used to take the oppor- 

 tunity of receiving the sacrament in other churches than their 

 own. They received the . tokens of the parish in which they 

 were to communicate, or they brought tokens with them from 

 their own parish. In this way the tokens of any particular 

 parish, several of which would always be unused, would be 



