66 
THE MUSEUM. 
The meaning of the inscriptions is the name 
of the Hong, the value, some favorite motto 
or classical quotation, and sometimes the 
value in Siamese characters. 
Mr. C. F. Gebert, of Niirnberg, has for sale 
a unique collection of 41 medals, struck on the 
occasions of the visits of Royal personages to 
foreign and domestic mints, between 1775 and 
1881. Of these, twenty-two were struck in 
Paris, the remainder in Cassel, Karlsruhe, 
Dresden, Stuttgart, Rouen, Monaco, Venice, 
Milan, Brussels, etc. 
Mr. R. Forrer contributes to Antiqua (II, 
p. 24), an interesting article upon certain Gallo- 
Italian silver coins, illustrated by plates rep¬ 
resenting these curious pieces that retro¬ 
graded from civilization to barbarism. 
In order to remedy a great scarcity of small 
change, the Austro-Hungarian Finance Min¬ 
ister ordered, last November, the coinage of 
two million pieces of copper money. 
(EMlcdow and (Sottcrturnsi. 
Harry G. Clay, Esq., of Philadelphia, now 
owns the magnificent collection of Peruvian 
pottery and antiquities mentioned by Dr. 
Daniel Wilson, in his Prehistoric Man. This 
collection was made and brought to this 
country by the Hon. Randolph Clay, some 
twenty years ago. The vases number several 
hundred. 
In the Musde Lorrain, France, there are 
about 200 antique vessels, idols, etc., from 
Mexico and Peru. 
The museum of the China Branch of the 
Royal Asiatic Society , in Shanghai, contains a 
large collection of specimens of natural his¬ 
tory from all parts of Asia. 
Mr. R. C. Lichtenstein, of Boston, Mass., 
possesses a collection of heraldic book-plates, 
numbering about 2000 specimens. This is 
principally an American collection. 
The extensive collection of mosses owned 
by Mr. C. H. Fitzgerald, of Pau, France, in¬ 
cludes the whole publication of Sullivant and 
Lesquereux and many rare species from the 
herbarium of the late Mr. T. P. James. 
RARITIES IN VARIOUS COLLECTIONS. 
An ancient silver kettle, a rare piece of 
work, formerly the property (so it is said) of 
a certain Inca was recently offered for sale 
in Lima, Peru, for $1000. There were also 
offered three valuable Indian paintings, for 
$10,000, $4000, and $2000, respectively. We 
have not been informed whether or not the 
sale has been effected. 
In the collection of the Numismatic and 
Antiquarian Society, of Philadelphia, is a set 
of Turkish paper money, which is known to 
be genuine, presented to the Society several 
years ago. They are particularly valuable, 
because bank notes are not now in circulation 
in that country, the Government having been 
obliged to stop their circulation some time ago 
owing to the many forgeries. 
The wife of an enthusiastic Egyptologist 
writes to a friend in New York, from Cairo, 
that, in opening some of the ancient tombs 
recently, lotus flowers were found on the 
breast of a priest, looking as fresh as if only 
a few days old. In one of the blossoms was 
found a perfectly preserved bee, just as it was 
when unintentionally entombed with the 
flowers, about 5000 years ago. 
Mr. J. S. Spinney, of New York, is the pos¬ 
sessor of a lady’s antique comb, of elaborate 
design, from Nicaragua, which possesses 
an intrinsic value of upward of $250. It 
is of gold, set with numerous pearls, gar¬ 
nets, and beautiful specimens of topaz, and 
was probably made, during the Spanish occu¬ 
pation, for a figure of the Virgin Mary in one 
of the early churches. The workmanship is 
exquisite. 
