MEDAL. 
81 0 
rity. Hence we may argue, that gold decreafed in its rela¬ 
tion to filver perhaps four or five centuries, furnifhed mod 
European kingdoms with gold in coin, which otherwile 
would, from their want of arts and of intercourfe w ith the 
eaft, then the grand feminary of that metal, have almoit 
been ignorant of what gold was.” Thefe geld coins were 
called Bezants in Europe, becaufe fent from Byzantium 
or Conftantinople ; and were folidi of the old fcale, fix to 
the ounce. In Byzantine writers, the folidus is alfo call¬ 
ed nomifnia, or ‘ the coin cry/mos, becaufe of gold ; hy- 
perperos, from its being refined with fire, or from its being 
of bright gold flaming like fire. The folidi alfo, as the 
curd formerly, received names from the princes whole 
portraits they bore; as Mickelati , Alanuelati. Solidus is a 
term ufed alfo for the aureus by Apuleius, who lived in 
the time of Antoninus the Philofopher ; nay, as early as 
in the praetorian edicts of the time of Trajan. It was 
then a diftinftion from the femijfis, or half. In the time 
of Valerian, when aurei of different fizes had been intro¬ 
duced, it became neceffary to diftinguifh the particular 
aurei meant. Hence in the Imperial Refcripts, publiflied 
by the Hiltorise Auguftae Scriptores, Valerian ufes the 
term Philippeos nojlri vultus, for the common aurei. Au- 
felian ufes the fame term aurei Phi/ippei, for the aurei which 
he had reftored to their fize in fome degree. Gallienus 
ufes aurei Valeriani for his father’s coins. Aurei Antoni- 
niani are likewife put by Valerian for coins of the early 
Antonini, of fuperior ftandard to any then ufed. 
In the firft gold coinage at Rome, the aureus was di¬ 
vided into four parts; the femiflis, of 60 feftertii; the tre- 
mjfls, or third, of 40 ; the fourth, the name of which is 
not mentioned, of 305 and the fcrupulum of 20. But in a 
fhort time all of thefe fell into difufe, except the femijjis , or 
half, which is extremely fcarce ; fo that it is probable that 
few of them were ftruck. It is an erroneous opinion (ac¬ 
cording to Mr. Pinkerton), that the femiflis was called a 
denarius aureus. The aureus itfelf indeed had this name ; 
but the name of quinarius is applied to the femiflis with 
greater propriety than the former. Trientes, or tremiflis of 
gold, are found of Valerian and his fon Gallienus, and 
weigh about 30 grains. Thofe of Salonina the wife of 
Gallienus weigh 33 grains. Under the Conftantinopolitan 
empire, tremiffes again make their appearance ; and, from 
the time of Valentinian downwards, the thirds are the 
molt common coins of gold, being worth about 4s. fter- 
ling. The femiflis is likewife mentioned, but none oc¬ 
cur earlier than the time of Bafilifcus. The gold tremif- 
fis was the pattern of the French and Spanifh gold coins; 
as the filver denarius, in its diminiflied itate, was of the 
Gothic and Saxon penny. 
We (hall clofe this account of the Roman money with 
fome remarks concerning the mint, and method of coinage. 
This at firft feems to have been under the direction of the 
quaeftor. About the time that filver was firft coined in Rome, 
266 B.C. the triumviri monetalcs were created. They were at 
firft of fenatorial rank, but were by Auguftus chofen from 
among the equeftrian; and the title of triumviri was conti¬ 
nued till after the time of Caracalla ; but under Aurelian 
there was probably but one mafterof the mint, called ratio¬ 
nales and Mr. Pinkerton is of opinion that the change took 
place under Gallienus. He feems alfo to have permitted 
the provincial cities to coin gold and filver, as well as to 
have altered the form of the mints in the capital, and to 
have ordered them all to ftrike money with Latin legends, 
and of the fame forms; as in his time we firft meet with 
coins of mint-marks of cities and of offices. The violent 
infurreftion which took place in his reign has already 
been mentioned, as well as its probable caufe; and Mr. 
Gibbon has fhown, that the concealed enemies of Aure¬ 
lian took fuch advantage of this infurreftion, that it coft 
7000 of his bell troops-before it could be quelled. About 
this time the procurator monetee feems to have fucceeded the 
rationalis as dire&or of the mint. In the colonies, the di¬ 
rection of the mint feems to have been given to the de¬ 
cemviri, whofe names frequently occur on colonial coins 5. 
which (fays Mr. Pinkerton), though generally of rude 
invention, and ruder execution, are yet often interefting 
and important.” 
The engraving of the ancient dies ufed in coinage was a 
work of much genius and labour ; and, at Rome, Greek ar- 
tills were generally employed in it; but it has been thought 
a matter of great furprife, that fcarcely any two ancient 
coins are to be found exactly the fame. Hence fome an¬ 
tiquaries have imagined, that only a fingle coin was thrown 
oft from each die. M. Beauvais informs us, that the only 
two Roman imperial coins of the firft times which he had 
feen perfectly alike were thofe of the emperor Galba; and 
it is, moreover, the opinion of the beft judges, that a per¬ 
fect fimilarity betwixt two medals is a very great reafon 
for fuppofing one of them to be forged. “ It mud alfo be 
obferved (fays Mr. Pinkerton), that the differences in 
coins, apparently from the fame die, are often fo minute 
as to efcape an eye not ufed to microfcopic obfervatione 
of this fort. But it would be furprifing if any two an¬ 
cient coins were now found ftruck with the fame die; 
for out of each million iffued, not above one has reached 
us. Dies foon give way by the violence of the work 5 
and the ancients had no puncheons nor matrices, but were 
forced to engrave many dies for the fame coin. Even in 
our mint, upon fending for a ftiilling’s-worth of new half¬ 
pence, it will appear that three or four dies have been 
ufed. Sometimes the obverfe of the die gives way, fome- 
times the reverfe; but among us it is renewed by pun¬ 
cheons, chough with variations in the lettering or other 
minute ftrokes; while the ancients were forced to recur 
to another die differently engraven. The engravers of 
the die were called calatores-, other officers employed in 
the mint were the fpedatores, expedatores, or nummularii . 
The melters were ftyled fujarii, Jlatuarii, and Jlaturarii j 
thofe who adjufted the weight were called eequatores mone- 
tarum ; thofe who put the pieces into the di e,fuppoftores ; 
and thofe who ftruck them, malleatores. At the head of 
each office was an officer named primictrius , and the fore¬ 
man was named optio et exador." 
In order to affilt the high relief on the coins, the metal, 
after being melted and refined, was caft into bullets, as 
appears from the ancient coins not being cut or filed on 
the edges, but often cracked, and always rough and un¬ 
equal. Thefe bullets were then put into the die, and 
received the impreflion by repeated ftrokes of the ham¬ 
mer, though fometimes a machine appears to have been 
ufed for this purpofe; for Boiterue informs us, that there 
W3S a pidlure of the Roman mintage in a grotto near 
Baiae, where a machine was reprefented holding up a large 
ftone as if to let it fall fuddenly, and ftrike the coin at 
once. None of the ancient money was caft in moulds, 
excepting the moft ancient and very large Roman brafs, 
commonly called weights, and other Italian pieces of that 
fort; all the reft being mere forgeries of ancient and mo¬ 
dern times. Some Roman moulds which have been found 
are a proof of this; and from thefe fome medallifts have 
erroneoufly imagined that the ancients firft caft their mo¬ 
ney in moulds, and then ftamped it, in order to make the 
impreflion more clear and fliarp. 
The ancients had fome knowledge of the method of 
crenating the edges of their coins, which they did by cut¬ 
ting out regular notches upon them; and of this kind we 
find fome of the Syrian and ancient confular coins, with a 
few others. The former were caft in this fliape, and then 
liruck ; but the latter were created by inciflon, to prevent 
forgery, by fliowing the infide of the metal; however, the 
ancient forgers alfo found out a method of imitating this j 
for Mr. Pinkerton informs us, that he had a Roman con¬ 
fular coin, of which the incifions, like the reft, were plated 
with filver over the copper. 
The high (late of prefervation in which ancient coins 
are ufually found, is thus accounted for by Mr. Hancar- 
ville. He ohferves, that the chief jeafonis the cuftom of 
