xxii 
INTRODUCTION. 
of the Exchequer, offering them the purchase of 
a rich series of the Coins of the Realm, from the 
Conquest to the present time, which he valued at 
4000 guineas.—Having, on sufficient evidence, 
ascertained the importance of the object, and 
the fairness of the estimate, they accepted the of¬ 
fer, by which means, with the addition of the 
Saxon coins just now mentioned, and those of sub¬ 
sequent dates already in the repository, they may 
safely boast of being possessed of the most com¬ 
plete national collection of coins now extant. 
DONATIONS BY TRUSTEES. 
In enumerating the multitude of additions 
made to this repository by private donations, it 
is but just to distinguish those benefactors, who 
besides gratuitously bestowing much of their time 
and attention to the concerns of the Museum as 
Trustees, have likewise enriched it by repeated 
and valuable gifts, which they have, from time to 
time, presented, either, singly, or in collective, and 
in some instances, in considerable numbers. 
Dr. Birch’s 
Library. 
The Rev. Thomas Birch, D.D. many years 
Secretary to the Royal Society, and one of the 
fifteen elected Trustees of the first nomination, 
after having rendered great services to the Insti¬ 
tution! 
