[ 590 ] 
thority of Dr. Vaillant (4,), one of the moll cele- 
brated antiquaries of the laft age. Nor would it be 
difficult to produce a (5) fufficient number of fimilar 
initial letters, prel’erved on the anterior faces of an- 
tient coins, in fupport of fuch an opinion. 
3. As the imperfeCt characters, or rather traces of 
characters, on the reverfe of my medal, have 
fuffered fo greatly from the injuries of time ; I fhall 
not take upon me to explain, at lead with any 
degree of certainty, the words they originally 
formed. However, I hope I may be permitted to 
obferve, that there appears no (6) inconfiderable re- 
feinblance between the firft, fecond, and fifth of 
them, as it fhould l'eem, and the Alepb , Gimel , and 
Mem of the Palmyrenes. As for the confufed in- 
diflinCt lort of mark, that follows the fecond of thefe 
imperfeCl elements, it can by no means be confider- 
ed in the light of an alphabetic character, but muft 
have been occafioned bv the ravages of time j as the 
protuberance raifed by it above the field of the me- 
dal, and the remains of the letters near it, manifeftly 
proves. If what is here advanced fhould meet with 
the approbation of the learned, it may perhaps be 
allowed, that the two firft words impreffed upon the 
pofterior part of this coin were q^D equivalent 
to the Hebrew ‘prun q^DH, BAXIAETX ME TAX, 
(4) J. Foy Vaill. ubi fup. p. 321, 322, 365, 366. et alib. 
(5) Vid. Kubertum Goltzium, in Infular. Grac. Numifrn. 
Tab. vii. Num. 7, 9. et Tab. viii. Num. 4. Wife, in Nummor . 
Antiqucr. Serin. Bodleian, recondit. Catal. p. 5. aliofque id genus 
be rip tor. 
(6) Pbilojoph . TranfaR, Vol. xlviii. p. 693, 740. 
or 
