C 158 ] 

 31 ode of taking facsimiles of coins. — By Vincent Tregear, Esq. 



The coin is placed between two dices of lead, and the whole com- 

 pressed, either by a lever or screw, till the coin is well indented into the 

 lead, from which latter impressions, the wax ones are made, and, being 

 in relief, are of course far better than if taken from the coin itself. 



To form the dice, a piece of plank, about one-third of an inch thick, 

 is bored though with a centre bit somewhat smaller than the coin to be 

 copied, it is then cut into halves, to facilitate the removal of the lead which 

 is cast into it, the mould being placed in a piece of smooth wood, or still 

 better, on a piece of dry brick rubbed very smooth. The bottom of the 

 dice may not be smooth at first but will be so after a few castings have 

 heated the brick, or it may be heated on the fire while the lead is melting. 

 The best mould is a brass ring, the hole being bored or turned slightly 

 conical then by merely raising it the lead falls out ; it should be laid on 

 a piece of brass nicely polished, which will give the lead a bright smooth 

 face. A screw press is the best, but a simple lever will answer every pur- 

 pose ; care being taken to keep all level that the coin may sink equally 

 into the lead, and the pressure must be removed when the edges of the lead 

 meet or nearly so, according to the thickness of the coin. There is very 

 little danger of injuring the coin, the lead being the softer metal, but if 

 from any cause, the relief, for instance, on one side falling opposite a 

 hollow or plain surface on the other, there should be a chance of deform- 

 ing it, the best plan is to take each side separately, the opposite one 

 being imbedded in sealing wax. 



To obtain a perfect impression from the leaden dice they should be 

 heated, which is most conveniently done by melting a small quantity of 

 sealing wax* and leaving the dice on it while the wax for the impression 



Thes. Palat') to be none but Omphale, * accuratiore carminis Ovidiani considerations 

 inductus, ' as Bayer informs us. He himself is cautious as to giving a decisive opi- 

 nion, saying in his description of the gem, ' Iole, nisi potius Omphale, amasia 

 Herculis, cnjus ea clavam, et leoninum integuinentum jocose oblatum gestat.' The 

 identity of the design could not be more satisfactorily proved than by the ' jocose obla- 

 tum ' of Bayer, compared with Lt. Cunningham's similar expression. This instance of 

 the discovery in the East of the duplicates of gems of Grecian origin extant in the 

 "West is not the only one which 1 shall shortly have it in my power to cite, pre- 

 senting more remarkable features than those of mere identity. 



A gem (No. 4, Tab. VI.) of the Ebermayer collection is also nearly identical with 

 No. 9, of the plate before us. It represents with better execution, a crow seated on, 

 instead of beside (as in No. 9), alow shrub, in exactly the same attitude as in our 

 gem. This may represent the crow, Bayer suggests, sacred to Apollo, 'nisi rectius 

 censuit (1 c. 19) Gronovius, quod sit comix ab ilice prcedicens decantata Virgilio.' 

 The attitude and expression of the bird fully favour the ingenious suggestion, but it is 

 singular to find a passage in the Bucolics Ed. IX. illustrated on a gem from Aff- 

 ghanistan. 



* This wax can be used to heat several seals with. 





