1865.] Literary Intelligence. 47 



of the most curious facts connected with ancient oriental Numismatics 

 is that sim in Persian means both " thirteen" and " silver" which 

 confirms the statement of Herodotus that in the time of Darius gold 

 was 13 times the value of silver." 



Extract from Capt. Stubbs' letter to Mr. Grrote :-— 



" I shewed the gold stater of Diodotus, which you may recollect my 

 having, to Messrs. Vaux and Poole at the British Museum, and they 

 held a Committee on it, the result being a clear verdict in its favour : 

 so Mr. Thomas writes me word. They were much pleased with a 

 Sophytus which I gave them,* and Mr. Vaux agrees with me in thinking 

 that General Cunningham's attribution of the name ScoqWos to the 

 Latin suffes and the Aramean — JOEjii? is objectionable." 



Professor Holmboe of Christiania, in a letter to Babu Rajenclralala 

 Mitra, gives the following summary of certain memoirs lately pub- 

 lished by him on the relation which formerly existed between Asia 

 and Scandinavia. 



" V A present je prends la liberte de vous envoyer [trois petits me- 

 moires archeologiques : 1. Om Eeds-Binge c. a. d. sur des 

 anneaux a, serment. J'y ai prouve, que les anneaux, dont se servaient 

 nos ancetres payens, pour y poser la main en pretant serment, ont eu 

 la meme forme que les anneaux, qu'on voit entre les mains de quelques 

 personnes dans la procession sacrificale sculptee aux murs a cote 

 des escaliers du temple de Pesepolis. J'ai tache de prouver, que 

 l'usage de prSter serment sur an anneau ait ete en usage chez les 

 anciens Perses ; parti culierement sous la dynastie der Sassanides, 

 dont les sculptures a Nakhchi Roustam et a Nakhchi Bostan ne 

 representent pas, comme on a era, la remise solennelle du symbole 

 de la royaute au nouveau roi, mais le pretement de serment du 

 nouveau roi sur un anneau, qu'au nom de Bieu lui presente le 

 grand mobed (mobedi mobedan), ce qui demontre assez clairement la 

 tenure de la main du roi. Sur la pi. I, j'ai donne les dessins de deux 

 anciennes monnaies celtiques, dont l'obvers represente la juris- 

 diction par un homme tenant l'anneau a serment, et le revers de l'une 

 represente le sacrifice par [d' ?] un quadrupede, sur le dos duquel on 

 * It is considered a better one than Major Hay's. 



