854 Observations upon the past and present [Oct. 



to procure one and that a doubtful specimen. As the pilgrims carry away 

 with them, as relics, what has been dug out of the Juni-garh, the mer- 

 chants mix with the real antiques every old bead or piece of copper which 

 has an ancient look, and pass them off as genuine on the unsuspicious 

 natives. One man brought me a large heap of copper seals or plates 

 of chaprasses which had engraved on them modern Musalman and 

 Mahratta names, and was ready to take his oath that they had been 

 dug up, which perhaps they were, for he had probably buried them 

 that they might have the appearance at least of age. Steatite 

 " NddriUs" are also frequently brought for sale, some of them as old- 

 looking as if they had really been buried with the city. I send you 

 one as a specimen. 



Sometimes the owner of an antique cannot be induced to part with 

 it. I was told of a baniah who had a fine elephant coin, but to my 

 request that he would sell it me at any price, he urged that ever since it 

 had been in his possession, he had been invariably lucky. At length he 

 consented to let me look at his treasure, — it was a bright new fanam ! 



The difficulty of making a collection of coins in Mdlwd is very 

 much increased by the infinite variety of the currency. Every petty- 

 town has or had its separate mint, and the larger ones occasionally 

 alter their type, so that when the impression has worn away, it is 

 difficult to tell whether your specimen is an antique, or has been struck 

 at a place a few miles from you. The bankers can give no assistance, 

 they only look to the value of the piece, and care not for its author. 



Even when we have secured a coin of whose antiquity we are as- 

 sured,, it affords but little of that satisfaction which rewards Mr. 

 Masson's* labours. The surface of every silver Saurashtra coin I have 

 procured has scaled off, leaving little of the impression perceptible ; 

 and out of several hundred of the pyce (I have called them), there is 

 not a single specimen in which the letters, which seem to have been 

 round the edges, are not worn away and illegible. In introducing to 

 you my poor collection of antiques, I will commence on the approved 

 principle of " at the beginning setting forth the best wine." 



An intelligent munshi, who jealous of Kera'mat Ali's fame has 

 become an eager antiquary, informed me one morning that he had 



* I had drawn up a few notes upon that gentleman's collection, but my paper 

 has so swelled " Eundo" that I must defer them to another opportunity. Let mo 

 however assist him out of one trifling difficulty. In the second memoir he is 

 perplexed by the differences of the amount, and modern calculations of distance 

 in Afghanistan. But the measurements seem in fact the same, for the Roman 

 geographers in writing of Asia always make the distance too great from dividing 

 the stages of the Grecian authors they copied, by eight instead of 9i, when 

 reducing them into Roman miles ; either Rennel or Denville discovered this. 



