208 Peoccedinys of the Asiatic Society. [Dec. 



agate flake, bearing evident marks of Laving been artifieally made, 

 has been dug out recently by Mr. Wynne of the Geological Survey. 

 This is a fact of great importance, and we must only hope that 

 further research will tend to clear away any difficulties that now 

 remain, and add to the history of these interesting relics of the early 

 inhabitants of these countries." 



Mr. Oldham also said he had brought to the meeting an antique 

 of a very different age indeed. It was a specimen of the oldest fossil 

 yet known, to which Dr. Dawson had given the name of Eozoon 

 Canadense. These organisms were found in rocks very far below the 

 horizon to which any trace of organic life had previously been carried. 

 The specimen was a portion sliced from one of the original speci- 

 mens from Canada, for which he was indebted to Sir "Win. Logan. 

 And as it was most probable that many of the members here had 

 not previously seen any specimens of this fossil, he thought it might 

 prove interesting to the meeting. 



Major Lees read the following communication from Mr. E. Thomas 

 on double currency : — 



At one of the late meetings of the Asiatic Society, (Nov. 1864), 

 you noticed some calculations of mine, based upon Abul Fazl's records 

 of the authoritative exchange value of coined gold and silver in 

 Akbar's reign, and seemed disposed to question the accuracy of the 

 results obtained from these data, as to the ratio of gold to silver 

 having, at that period, stood as 1 to 9.4. That this was the rate of 

 exchange contemplated by the mint authorities of the day, their own 

 figures conclusively demonstrate — but I am prepared to contend that 

 the current market price of gold had been much lower, even if it had 

 then reached the limit assigned to it in the public coinage. The 

 question of degrees of purity does not affect the argument, as each 

 metal was made as pure as Indian methods of refining admitted of. 

 Now Abul Fazl, at the conclusion of a very elaborate estimate of the 

 cost of refining gold, charges for seigniorage, and comparative profit 

 to the merchant bringing gold to the Mint for conversion, states that 

 the " remainder of about half a tola of [refined] gold" is of the value 

 of four Rupees. (Gladwin's Ayfn-i-Akbari, I., p. 44.) Purchas's 

 statement, which you have quoted, calculates the exchange rate at 1 

 to 10, which latter was the authorized equivalent in rupees for the 



