[vn. INSTITUTE OF BANKERS. 205 



creatures, as the harvest-mouse on an ear of wheat on a 

 Metapontum coin (Fig. VI., Plate I.), and even insects, 

 as, for instance, the praying-mantis. The heads on the 

 earliest coins represent gods and goddesses, the first 

 human head being that of Alexander the Great on a coin 

 of Lysimachus (Fig. II., Plate II ), and even in this case 

 the great Conqueror is represented in his divine cha- 

 racter as descended from Jupiter Ammon, which is 

 indicated by the ram's horns. It would not, however, 

 be fair to modern mints to attribute the comparative 

 poverty of modern coins to want of skill. It is a great 

 convenience that coins should lie flatly one on another, 

 and the greater boldness of ancient coins, however it 

 may add to their beauty, necessarily rendered this 

 impossible. 



Not only were the Greek coins admirable for their 

 beauty, but they were also made of pure metal and full 

 weight, offering in this respect a striking contrast to 

 those of most other countries. There were, however, 

 of course, exceptions. Thus the money of Phoceea was 

 notorious for its bad quality. Herodotus mentions, 

 though with some doubt, that Polycrates, tyrant of 

 Samos, having to pay a large sum to the Lacedaemonians, 

 " coined a large quantity of the country money in lead, 

 had it gilt, and gave it to them ; and that they, having 

 received it, thereupon took their departure." That the 

 true theory of coinage was well understood in Greece, 

 we may see from the words of Aristotle, who thus 

 describes the origin of coins : — 



It became necessary, therefore, to think of certain commodities, 

 easily manageable and safely transportable, and of which the uses 

 are so general and so numerous, that they insured the certainty of 

 always obtaining for them the articles wanted in exchange. The 



