APRIL — sept. 1859.] Ancient and Modern times. 87 



ous purposes, Gun-metal, bell-metal,* and the material of bronze 

 medals are examples. The ordinary proportions for " bronze" are 

 93 copper to 7 tin, and 89 to 11. The best for medals, giving 

 maximum of tenacity, is 8 copper to 1 tin. The bronze of French 

 medals is 95 copper and 5 tin, with a very slight admixture of 

 zinc. 



Of this aes or bronze the most ancient coinage of the old Italian 

 States consisted. These are said to have coined from the earliest 

 times, but as we have seen, silver currency was not introduced un- 

 til a very late period. This fact is typified in the Italian mytho- 

 logy — Argentinus is the son of ^Esculanus. In the Latin writers 

 of every age ces is used for money in general, as we have seen 

 that the equivalent of silver is employed in Hebrew, Greek and 

 other languages. A Roman in debt is said " to have other peo- 

 ple's bronze." 



Those very doubtful personages Janus and Saturnus are rival 

 candidates for the honor of having first introduced coinage into 

 Italy. The beginning of coinage in Rome is involved in simi- 

 lar mythical mist — only a degree less dense. Pliny asserts on the 

 authority of Timseus that the Romans used stamped bars for a 

 currency, until Servius Tullius introduced coins. Other say they 

 coined from the building of the city. Both these are very sha- 

 dowy epochs. Of the material of Italian and Roman coins, there 

 is, however, no doubt whatever. 



The first Italian coin was the as, \?hich began by being a pound 

 weight of bronze. It soon fell from its high estate, in Rome as 

 well as in other States. In the former, we shall see, its weight 

 fell ultimately to half an ounce, even lower, but the depreciation 

 was not uniform throughout Italy. Hence it became necessary to 

 pay in this mixed currency by weight ; and we meet the expres- 

 sion €£s grave, meaning money so paid. One hundred ases of 

 ces grave always contained the same amount of metal. The as 

 was divided into 12 parts, and there were six of the subordinate 

 denominations represented by coins. The silver denarius of which 

 I have spoken was originally equal to 10 ases. 



* In a lecture on Bells recently delivered in London by Mr. Denison, 

 he states, that modern copper will not combiue with so great a quantity 

 of tin as the ancient metal. 



