SOC M E D A L. 
which the Greek aftA Roman coins cf the collection are 
arranged according to the different cities in which they 
were (truck, 
a. Of the very rich colleftion of coins and medals in 
the Britijh Mufeum, we are as yet without a defcriptive 
work ; part of which will, however, foon be prefented to 
the public. The following (hort account* is from the 
Syncpfis of the contents of that celebrated repofitory. 
This collection, the bafis cf which was formed by the 
cabinets of fir Hans Sloane and fir Robert Cotton, has 
been from time to time enlarged by many valuable pur- 
chafes and donations, but principally by the munificent 
bequeft of the Rev. C. M. Cracberode. It is compre¬ 
hended under the three following heads, i. Ancient 
coins. 2. Modern coins. 3. Medals. The firft of thefe 
heads confifts of Greek and Roman coins. The Greek 
coins are arranged in geographical order, and include all 
thofe which are (truck with Greek characters, in Greece 
or elfewhere, by kings, ftates, or cities, which were inde¬ 
pendent of the Romans. With this clafs are placed, like- 
wife, the coins of free (tates and cities, which made ufe 
of either the Etrufcan, Roman, Punic, Spanilh, or other, 
characters. The Roman coins are placed, as far as it 
can be afcertained, in chronological order. They confilt 
of the as in its divifions ; family or confular coins; im¬ 
perial coins (truck in Rome ; imperial coins (truck in 
Egypt; imperial coins (truck in the Roman colonies; 
imperial coins (truck with Punic characters; and con- 
torniates. The i’econd head, comprifing modern coins, 
confifts of Anglo-Saxon, Englifh, Anglo-Gallic, Scotch, 
and Irifli, coins, and likewife the coins of foreign nations. 
This clafs is arranged according to the refpeCtive coun¬ 
tries to which the coins belong, thofe of each country 
being kept feparate. The third head, which comprifes a 
clafs confiderably more modern than either of thofe which 
precede it, confitts of medals ttruck in our own country, 
and of thofe which have been (truck abroad. Thefe are 
arranged in the fame manner as the modern coins. 
3. The collection of the King of France is by far the great- 
elt in Europe. The confiderabie treafures formerly col¬ 
lected by Boze, the marechal d’Etrees, Seguin, Patin, and 
in more modern times by Pellerin, are all incorporated with 
that molt valuable collection. Its bafis was formed by 
Louis XII. at Fontainebleau; Ilenry II. Louis XIII. and 
particularly Louis XIV. increafed its treafures with royal 
munificence; and the laftcaufed the large medals of this 
cabinet to be engraved by de la Bofliere. Befides the 
above-mentioned private collections, this cabinet acquired, 
in 1793; the Cabinet de Ste. Genevieve, at Paris. Some years 
after it was increafed by the antique coins of the Stadt- 
holder; and, in 1798, by the collection of the Vatican, 
the colleCtion which formerly belonged to queen Chril- 
tina of Sweden, the medallions from the collections of 
cardinals Carpegna and Albani, See. (See Hilloire abre- 
gee du Cabinet des Medailles et Antiques de la Biblio- 
theque nationale, par A. L. Cointreau, 1800.) An idea 
of the value of the prelent collection may be formed by 
the valuation made of it above forty years ago, which 
amounted to no lefs than fix millions of livres. 
4. The celebrated imperial collection of coins at 
Vienna, if we except that of Paris, hands unrivalled among 
the cabinets of the continent. It was begun by the 
emperor Ferdinand I. and foon confiderably increafed by 
the accefiion of other collections; fuch as that formed by 
the archduke Albert, under the direction of the Chiflets ; 
and the molt valuable collection formed by the archduke 
Ferdinand at Ombras in Tyrol. It was afterwards con¬ 
fiderably augmented by the collections of the learned 
monarch Maximilian I. and Rudolph II. hut particularly 
by the zeal of the emperor Charles VI. who was himfelf 
a great lover of medals, and who purchafed the cabinets 
of the Carthufians at Rome, together with that of count 
Parr. In the reign of Maria Therefa it was farther in¬ 
creafed by the purchafe of the Granelli collection. Se¬ 
veral years ago, the number of coins and medals of this 
collection amounted to upwards of 40,000, of which about 
23,000 were antique. There is a catalogue of the Vienna 
collection by the celebrated Jofieph Eckhel, publifhed as 
early as 1779, and therefore far from giving a correCt idea 
of the prefent (fate of that highly-valuable repofitory. 
5. The Prujian cabinet of medals is considered the 
greateft in Germany, next to the imperial collection of 
Vienna. The celebrated Laurent Beger publifhed a ca¬ 
talogue of this collection, in three volumes, folio, en¬ 
titled “ Thefaurus Brandenburgicus feleCtus, Coloniae 
Marchicse, 1696, 1699, and 1701.” Though Frederic- 
William I. took out a number of large gold coins, (among 
which was the very large one, eight pounds in weight, 
bearing the portraits of Frederic-William the Great, and 
his queen,) which were converted into fmall current 
money, yet the collection is (till richly furnilhed : the 
number of its antique treafures has not long fince been 
increafed by 6000 coins from the cabinet of the late mar¬ 
grave of Anfpach ; and baron Knobelfdorff, the Prufiian 
ambaffador at Conrtantinople, has tranfmitted many 
valuable contributions lately difeovered in thofe claffic 
regions which have been the field of the baron’s anti¬ 
quarian refearches, 
6. Next in importance among the collections of Germany, 
is that of Gotha , the bafis of which was formed by Ernefi: 
the Pious. It was materially increafed by the excellent 
Arnftadt cabinet of medals, which was formed by Antony 
Gunther, prince of Schwarzburg, abided by feveral ce¬ 
lebrated antiquaries and hiftorjans, fuch as Andreas Mo* 
rellus, Chriftian Schlegel, Olearius, &c. This latter 
collection was purchafed, in 1713, by John-Frederic duke 
of Saxe-Gotha, for thefum of 100,000 dollars. It is pre- 
ferved in fmall cabinets, each of which is placed on a 
table, furnifiied below with a (helf for books relative to 
the coins above. This celebrated collection has been at 
different times confiderably increafed by others, fuch as 
thofe of Schachman and Sultzer, that of Gerning, rich in 
fcarce Greek coins, that of baron Seckendorf, See. The 
coins in the Gotha collection are (till arranged after the 
old way, by the fizes and metals, and the fame mode is 
adopted in the catalogue, feven volumes of which com- 
prile the antique coins : there are alfo printed catalogues 
of the collections of Schachman and Sultzer, which are 
kept feparate. A fyltematic catalogue of the whole col¬ 
lection would be very delirable. There is an old cata¬ 
logue of the antique coins of the original collection by 
Liebe (Gotha Numaria, fiftens Thefauri Fridericiani nu- 
mifmata antiqua, 1730, fol.) A hiltory of the rife and 
progrefs of this important cabinet has been publifhed by 
Schlichtegroll in 1799. 
Of writers in this department of fcience, Mr. Pinkerton 
has enabled us to mention the following: In Italy, ./Eneas 
Vico publifhed, in 1548 or 1555, his Difcourfes on the 
Medals of the Ancients. His example was imitated in 
France by Antoine le Pois, who, in 1579, gave his Dif¬ 
courfes on the Coins and Seals of the Ancients. In 1665, 
Charles Patin publifhed his Iliftory of Medals, or Intro¬ 
duction to that Science : the lalt edition appeared in 
1695. In 1692, Pere Jobert, or Joubert, prelented to the 
public his Science des Medailles ; the belt edition of which 
is that of 1739, by Le Baron Bimard de la Baftie. In the 
year in which Jobert publilhed his book, a work fome- 
vvhat fimilar to it was publilhed in the Englifh language, 
entitled “ The Greek and Roman Hiltory illuftrated by 
Coins and Medals, reprefenting their Religion, Rites, See. 
by O. W. (Obadiah Walker,) London 1692, 121110.” In 
1695, a tranfiation of Jobert’s work appeared under the 
title of “ The Knowledge of Medals,” aferibed to Walker. 
The “ Numifmata, or Difcourl'e on Medals, ancient and 
modern,” by Mr. Evelyn, was printed in 1697, fol. In 
1720, Nicolas Haym, an Italian mufician, publifhed at 
Loudon his Teforo Britannico, or Britifh Treafury, in Ita¬ 
lian and Englifh. They who wifit to proceed in this fci¬ 
ence, fays Mr. Pinkerton, may perulc the molt excellent 
and ufeful work of Froelich, entitled, “Notitia Numif- 
matuiu 
