■&2 



Coin and Currency in ' [No. 9, new series. 



The grain trough which is made on the principle of the manger 

 is shown in elevation and section at figs. 2 and 3. The lid " a" 

 opens with a hinge ; " b" is the reservoir for seeds, " c, c, c" are 

 holes for feeding, and " d" is the perch. Fig. 4 is a grain trough 

 of the same sort, but round in form. 



The water trough is merely a modification of the " fountains 

 used in England," and constructed of materials most available in 

 India. It is shown at fig. 5, and consists of a decanter, bottle or 

 carboy filled with water and supported over a finger glass or suit- 

 able vessel by a slight framing. 



IX. Coin and Currency in Ancient and Modern times. By 

 Henry King, a. b., m. b., Assistant Surgeon, Madras Army. 



u Empirici, farmicse more, congerunt tan turn et utuntur : rationales, 

 aranearum more, telas et se conficiunt : apis vero ratio media est, quae 

 materiam et floribus narti <-t agri elicit, sed tamen earn propria facul- 

 tate vertit et digerit." — Bacon, Aph. xcv. 



Two subjects are exciting considerable attention in the com 

 mercial world at the present time, decimal coinage, and the drain 

 of silver from Europe to Asia. These may impart to the facts col- 

 lected in this paper some of the interest which attaches to them- 

 selves. I have brought together, and arranged as systematically 

 as my ability permitted, as much information upon Coin and Cur- 

 rency, in ancient and modern times, as my own very limited 

 library, to which alone I had access, could supply. All are fami- 

 liar with Lord Bacon's celebrated illustration which heads this 

 paper. I have tried to imitate the Bee : I have, at any rate, fol- 

 lowed the example of the Ant. 



The subjects which I have endeavoured to illustrate in this pa- 

 per are ; the material of coin, the mint, systems of division, 

 depreciations, and the eastward drain of the precious me- 

 tals. Any mention of paper currencies has been impossible. To 

 treat of them even briefly would require an exclusive Essay. 



The first step in civilization is the division of labor ; the second, 

 the establishment of a circulating medium— of money in some 



