not weigh above 30 grains; and of confequence, as 25 must have gone to the gold folidus, of which there were fix in the ounce, 150 denarii must have gone to the ounce of gold. He is therefore of opinion, that the word xegariov was only another name for the denarius when much reduced in fize; probably owing to the great fearcity of filver in Conftantinople, though in the fame city there was plenty of gold; and of confequence, the gold folidus was never diminished. "For Montefquieu (fays our author) has well obferved, that gold muft be common where filver is rare. Hence gold was the common regulation of accounts in the eastern empire." The fixegario met with in ancient authors, according to Mr Pinkerton, was merely an improper name for the milliarenfis, when, on account of the scarcity of filver, the denarius was reduced, and no milliarenfis coined; fo that the current milliarenfis of former reigns happened to be double to the denarius or centenialis. The quinarius diminishes in fize along with the other coins; thole of Auguftus weighing 30 grains, of Severus 25, of Conftantine I. 20, of Juftinian 12, and of Heraclius only 5. A new filver coinage feems to have taken place after the days of this emperor; as the little we then meet with, which in the best cabinets 'fcarce exceeds a dozen of coins, confifts entirely of large unfhapely pieces of coarse metal.

2. The confular denarius had alfo four filver feftertii, till the as fell to half an ounce, when it was thought proper to coin the feftertius in brass, as it continued to be ever afterwards." The very laft filver fettertius (fays Mr Pinkerton) which ap: pears, is one with a head of Mercury, and H. S.; on the reverfe a caduceus P. SEPVLLIVS; who appears to be the P. SEPVLLIVS MACER of the denarii of Julius Cætar. If fo, as is moft probabie, the feftertius was coined in filver down to Auguftus; and it is of course not to be expected that any of brais can appear till Auguftus, under whom they are actually quite common. I have indeed feen no coin which could be a confular brafs feftertius; and though we have certainly brafs dupondii of Caefar, yet it is reasonable to infer, that the brass teftertius was first coined by Au guftus. Not one filver feftertius appears during the whole imperial period; yet we know that the feftertius was the most common of all filver coins. The confular defterti of filver, marked H. S are not uncommon, morithe quinarii; but the latter are very scarce of all the emperors, if we except one infiance, the ASIA RECEPTA of Auguftus.

"The Roman gold coinage was ftill later than that of fulver. Pliny tells us, that "gold was coined 61 years after filter; and the fcruple went for 60 fetterces.» It was afterwards thought proper to coin 40 pieces out of the pound of gold. And our princes have by degrees diminished their weight to 45 in the pound." This account is confirmed. by the pieces which ftill remain for we have that very coin weighing a feruple, which went for 20 fefterces. On one fide is the head of Mars, and on the other an eagle; and it is marked **. We have another coin of the fame kind, but double, marked xxxx; and its triple, marked, or 60; the 4 being the old numeral character for 50" !*

XXXX

The aurci, or Roman gold coins, were at first 48 in the pound; but they were afterwards diminifhed in number to 40, owing to an augmentation in the weight of each coin. In the time of Sylla, the aureus weighed no less than from 164 to 168 grains, and there were only 30 in the pound; but fuch confufion in the coinage was introduced by that conqueror, that no perfon could know exactly what it was worth. Till this time the aureus feems to have continued of the value of 30 filver denarii, about one pound flerling; for about that time it was enlarged a whole third, that it might still be equivalent to the full number of denarii. But after Sylla had taken Athens, and the arts and manners of Greece became objects of imitation to the Romans, the aureus fell to 40 in the pound, probably when Sylla had abdicated his dictatorship. Thus, being reduced near to the fcale of the Greek gue, it paffed for 20 denarii, as the latter did for as many drachmas, being in currency 135. 4d. fterling. "This (fays Mr Pinkerton) is the more probable, because we know from Suetonius, that the great Cæfar brought from Gaul fo much gold, that it fold for nine times its weight of filver: but the Gallic gold was of a very bafe fort."

In the time of Claudius, the aureus was valued at 100 feftertii, or 25 filver denaril, at which it continued till the time of Heliogabalus, when it fell to about 92 grains at a medium, or rofe in number to 55 in the pound. In the reign of Philip, during which the city completed its thousandth year, the aureus was coined of two or three fizes. Thefe are impreffed with a head of Rome on one fide, and various figures on the other; but the workmanship is fo rude, that they are fuppofed to have been ftruck in fome of the more uncivilized provinces of the empire. The practice of having different gold coins, however, continued under Valerian, Gallienus, and his fucceffors. In the time of Gallienus, they were of 30, 65, and from 86 to 93 grains; the double aurei being from 172 to 1831 grains; but the aureus, properly fo called, was from 86 to 93; thofe of 30 and 32 being the trientes aurer of the Hiftoria Augufta Scriptorės; while the larger, from 62 to 65, are to be ac counted double trientes, and were perhaps called minuti aurei. The value of thefe different fizes of aurei is not known.

That Aurelian made fome alteration in the coin is certain; but Mr Pinkerton fuppofes it to have been only in the gold; because, under him and his fucceffor Probus, the common aureus was of 100 grains, a fize confined to thofe emperors: there are likewife halves of about 50 grains; and double aurei, commonly of very fine workmanship, of upwards of 200 grains. In the time of Gallienus, the precious metal was fo common, that this emperor vied in magnificence with Nero and Heliogabalus. Aurelian, who plundered the rich city of Palmyra, and thus became mafter of the treasures of the eaft; obtained fuch a profufion of gold, that he looked upon it to be produced by nature in greater plenty than filver. It is remarkable, that during this emperor's reign there was a rebellion among the money-coiners, which could not be quelled but by the deftruction of several thousands; which Mr Pinkerton afcribes to his having ordered

the

the gold to be reftored to its former fize, but to go for no more filver than it formerly did." So very little filver (fays he) occurs of this period, that it is plain no alteration in the filver produced the war with the moneyers; and in the brafs he made no change; or if he had, it were ftrange that fuch commotions should arise about fo trifling a metal. But if, as appears from the coins, he ordered the aureus which had fallen to 80 grains, to be raised to about 100, it is no wonder that the contractors fhould be in an uproar; for a whole quarter of their coinage, amounting as would feem to all their profits, was loft. Aurelian judged, that when he found gold fo common in the eaft, it was equally fo in the weft; and that the moneyers must have made a moft exorbitant profit; but his ideas on this subject were partial and unjust: and after his fhort reign, which did not exceed five months after the alteration, the gold returned to its former course; though a few pieces occur of Aurelian's ftandard, ftruck, as would feem, in the commencement of the reign of Probus his fucceffor.

From this time to that of Conftantine I. the aureus weighed between 70 and 80 grains; but in his reign it was changed for the folidus, of which fix went to the ounce of gold, which went for 14 milliarenfes, and 25 denarii as before; the value of filver being now to gold as 14 to 1. This new coin continued of the fame value to the final downfal of the Conftantinopolitan empire; gold being always very plentiful in that city, though filver became more and more fcarce. The folidus was worth 125. fterling.

The gold coins called BEZANTS in Europe, becaufe fent from Byzantium or Conftantinople; were folidi of the old scale, fix to the ounce. In Byzantine writers, the folidus is alfo called nomifma, or "the coin;" cryfinos, because of gold; hyperperos, from its being refined with fire, or from its being of bright gold flaming like fire. The folidi alfo, as the aurei formerly, received names from the princes whofe portraits they bore; as Michelati, Manuelati. Solidus is a term ufed alfo for the aureus, by Apuleius who lived in the time of Antoninus the Philofopher; nay, as early as the Prætorian edicts of the time of Trajan. It was then a diftinction from the femiffis or half. In the time of Valerian, when aurei of different fizes had been introduced, it became neceffary to diftinguish the particular aurei meant. Hence in the Imperial Refcripts, publifhed by the Hiftoria Augufta Scriptores, Valerian used the term Phillipeos noftri vultus, for the common aurei. Aurelian ufes the fame term aurei Philippei, for the aurei which he had restored to their fize in fome degree. Gallienus ufes aurei Valeriani for his father's coins. Aurei Antoniniani are likewife put by Valerian for coins of the early Antonini, of fuperior standard to any then used.

In the first gold coinage at Rome, the aureus was divided into four parts; the femiffis of 60 feftertii; the tremiffis, or third, of 40; the fourth, the name of which is not mentioned, of 30; and the fcrupulum of 20. But in a fhort time all thefe fell into difufe; except the femiffis or half, which is extremely fcarce: fo that it is probable that few have been ftruck. It is an erroneous opinion (according to Mr Pinkerton) that the femiffis was

called a denarius aureus. The aureus itself indeed had this name; but the name of quinarius is applied to the femiffis with greater propriety than the former. Trientes, or tremiffis of gold are found of Valerian and his fon Gallienus, and weigh about 30 grains. Those of Salonina the wife of Gallienus weigh 33 grains. Under the Conftantinopolitan empire, tremiffes again made their appearance; and from the time of Valentinian downwards the thirds are the moft common coins of gold, being worth about 4s. fterling. The femiffis is likewife mentioned, but none occur earlier than the time of Bafilifcus. The gold tremiffis was the pattern of the French and Spanish gold coins; as the filver denarius, in its diminished ftate, was of the Gothic and Saxon penny. The Romans, in order to affift the high relief on the coins, melted and refined the caft metal into bullet, as appears from the ancient coins not being cut or filed on the edges, but often cracked, and always rough and unequal. These bullets were then put into the dye, and received the impreffion by repeated strokes of the hammer, though fometimes a machine appears to have been used for this purpose: for Boiterue informs us, that there was a picture of the Roman mintage in a grotto near Baix, 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 most 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 modern times. Some Roman moulds which have been found are a proof of this; and from thefe fome medallifts have erroneously imagined that the ancients first cast their money in moulds, and then ftamped it, in order to make the impreffion more clear and sharp.

The ancients had some knowledge of crenating the edges of their coins, which they did by cutting 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 fhape and then ftruck; but the latter were crenated by incifion, to prevent forgery, by fhowing the infide of the metal: however, the ancient forgers alfo found out a method of imitating this; for Mr Pinkerton informs us, that he had a Roman confular coin of which the incifions, like the reft, were plated with filver over the copper.

SECT V. Of the PRESERVATION of COINS and

MEDALS.

WE now come to confider what it is that diftinguishes one medal from another, and why fome are fo highly prized more than others. This, in general, befides its genuineness, confifts in the high degree of prefervation in which it is. This, by Mr Pinkerton, is called the confervation of medais, and is by him regarded as good and as perfeat. In this, he says, that a true judge is so nice. that he will reject even the rareft coins if in the leaft defaced either in the figures or legend. Some, however, are obliged to content themfelves with thofe which are a little rubbed, while thofe of fuperior taste and abilities have in their cabinets only

fuck

fuch as are in the very state in which they came from the mint; and fuch, he fays, are the cabi. nets of Sir Robert Austin, and Mr Walpole, of Roman filver, at Strawberryhill. It is abfolutely neceffary, however, that a coin be in what is called good prefervation; which in the Greek or Roman emperors, and the colonial coins, is fuppofed to be when the legends can be read with fome difficulty; but when the conservation is perfect, and the coin just as it came from the mint, even the moft common coins are valuable.

The fine ruft, like varnish, which covers the furface of brafs and copper coins, is found to be the best preserver of them; and is brought on by lying in a certain kind of foil. Gold cannot be contaminated but by iron mold, which happens when the coin lies in a foil impregnated with iron; but filver is susceptible of various kinds of ruft, principally green and red; both of which yield to vinegar. In gold and filver coins the rust must be removed, as being prejudicial; but in brass and copper it is prefervative and ornamental; a circumstance taken notice of by the ancients. “This fine ruft (fays Mr Pinkerton), which is indeed a natural varnish not imitable by the art of man, is fometimes a delicate blue, like that of a turquoife; fometimes of a bronze brown, equal to that obfervable in ancient ftatues of bronze, and so bighly prized; and sometimes of an exquifite green, a little on the azure hue, which laft is the most beautiful of all. It is alfo found of a fine purple or olive, and of a cream colour or pale yellow: which laft is exquifite and fhows the impreffion to much advantage, as paper of cream colour, used in all great foreign preffes, does copperplates and printing. The Neapolitan patina (the ruft in queftion) is of a light green; and when free from excrefcence or blemish is very beautiful. Sometimes the purple patina gleams through an upper coat of another colour, with as fine effect as a variegated filk or gem. In a few inftances a ruft of a deeper green is found; and it is fometimes spotted with the red or bronze fhade, which gives it quite the appearance of the Eaft Indian ftone called the blood flone. Thefe rufts are all, when the real product of time, as hard as the metal itself, and preferve it much better than any artificial varnish could have done; concealing at the fame time not the moft minute particle of the impreffion of the coin."

The value of medals is lowered when any of the letters of the legend are misplaced; as a fufpicion of forgery is thus induced. Such is the cafe with many of thofe of Claudius Gothicus. The fame, or even greater, diminution in value, takes place in fuch coins as have not been well fixed in the dye, which has occafioned their flipping under the ftrokes of the hammer, and thus made a double or triple image. Many coins of this kind are found in which the one fide is perfectly well formed, but the other blundered in the manner juft mentioned. Another blemish but of smaller moment, and which to fome may be rather a recommendation, is when the workmen through inattention have put another coin into the dye with out taking out the former. Thus the coin is convex on one fide and concave on the other, having the fame figure upon both its fides.

The medals faid by the judges in this science to

be countermarked are very rare, and highɩy valued. They have a small stamp impreffed upon them, in fome an head, in others a few letters, fuch as AUG: N. PROBUS, &c. which marks are fuppofed to imply an alteration in the value of the coin; as was the cafe with the countermarked coins of Henry VIII. and Queen Mary of Scotland. Some have a small hole through them, fometimes with a little ring faftened in it, having been used as ornaments; but this makes no alteration in their value. Neither is it any diminution in the value of a coin that it is split at the edges; for coins of undoubted antiquity have often been found in this ftate, the cause of which has already been explained. On the contrary, this cracking is generally confidered as a great merit; but Mr Pinkerton fufpects that one of these cracked coins has given rife to an error with respect to the wife of Caraufius who reigned for fome time in Britain. The infcription is read ORIUNA AUG: and there is a crack in the medal juft before the O of oriuna. Without this crack Mr Pinkerton supposes it would have been read FORTUNA AUG.

Some particular foils have the property of giv ing filver a yellow colour as if it had been gilt. It naturally acquires a black colour through time, which any fulphurous vapour will bring on in a few minutes. From its being so susceptible of injuries, it was always mixed by the ancients with much alloy, in order to harden it. Hence the impreffions of the ancient filver coins remain perfect to this day, while those of the modern coins are obliterated in a few years. On this account Mr Pinkerton expreffes a wifh, that modern ftates would mix a much greater proportion of alloy in their filver coin than they ufually do. As gold admits of no ruft except that from iron above mentioned, the coins of this metal are generally in perfect confervation, and fresh as from the mint.

To clean gold coins from this ruft, it is best to fteep them in aquafortis, which, though a very powerful folvent of other metals, has no effect upon gold. Silver may be cleansed by steeping for a day a or two in vinegar, but more effectually by boiling in water with three parts of tartar and one of fea-falt; on both these metals, however, the ruft is always in fpots, and never forms an entire incruftration as on brafs or copper. The coins of these two metals muft never be cleanfed, as they would thus be rendered full of fmall holes eaten by the ruft. Sometimes, however, they are found fo totally obfcured with ruft, that nothing can be difcovered upon them; in which cafe it is beft to clear them with a graver; but it may also be done by boiling them for 24 hours in water with three parts of tartar and one of alum; not fea-falt as in filver coins.

SECT. VI. Of the DISTINCTION between GENUINE

MEDALS and COUNTERFEITS.

THE most difficult and most important thing in the whole fcience of Numifmatography is the method of diftinguishing the true from the counter. feit. The value put upon ancient coins made the forgery of them almoft coeval with the science itfelf; and as no laws inflict a punishment upon fuch forgers, men of great genius and abilities have undertaken the trade.

Forgeries

Forgeries are more confpicuous among the Roman medals than any other kind of coins: but we are not to look upon all these as the work of mo. dern artists. On the contrary, we are affured that many of them were fabricated in the times of the Romans themselves, fome of them being even held in more estimation than the genuine coins them felves, on account of their being plated, and otherwife executed in a manner to which modern forgers could never attain. Even the ancients held fome of these counterfeits in fuch estimation, that Pliny informs us there were frequently many true denarii given for one false one.

Of the Roman confular coins not very many have ever been forged. The celebrated filver denarius of Brutus, with the cap of liberty and two daggers, is the chief instance of a confular coin of which a counterfeit is known. But it is easily rejected by this mark in the true coin the cap of liberty is below the guard or hilt of the daggers; in the falfe, the top of it rifes above that hilt.

The imperial feries of medals is the grand object of modern medallic forgeries; and the deception was at firft extended to the most eminent writers upon the fubject. The counterfeits are by Mr Pinkerton divided into fix claffes:

I. Such as are known to be imitations, but valued on account of the artifts by which they are executed. In this clafs the medals of Cavino the Paduan, rank higheft; the others being fo numerous, that a complete series of imperial medals of almost every kind, nay almost of every medallion, may be formed from among them.

The Paduan forgeries may be diftinguished from thofe of inferior artifts by the following marks: 1. The former are seldom thinner than the ancient, which others almoft always are. 2. They very feldom appear as worn or damaged, but the others very frequently, especially in the reverfe, and legend of the reverfe, which fometimes, as in forged Othos, appear as half confumed by time. 3. The letters in moulds taken from the antique coins have the rudeness of antiquity. 4. Falfe varnish is commonly light green or black, and fhines too much or too little. 5. The fides of forged coins are frequently quite fmooth, and undiftinguishable from the ancient, though to accomplish this requires but little art. 6. Counterfeit medals are frequently as irregular in their form as the genuine; but the Paduan are generally circular; though falfe coins have often little pieces cut off, in perfect imitation of the genuine. 7. In caft coins the letters do not go tharp down into the metal, and have no fixed outline; their minute angles, as well as thofe of the drapery, are commonly filled up, and have not the fharpness of the genuine kind. Where the letters or figures are faint, the coin is greatly to be fufpected.

The letters form the great criterion of medals, the ancient being very rude, but the modern other wife; the reafon of which according to Cellini, is, that the ancients engraved all their matrices with the graver or burin, while the modern forgers ftrike theirs with a punch.

According to Vico, the falfe patina is green, black, ruffet brown, grey, and iron-colour. The trial of brafs coins with the tongue is not to be VOL. XVI. PART I.

defpifed; for if modern, the patina taftes bitter or pungent, while if ancient it is quite taftelefs.

Mr Pinkerton informs us that all medallions from Julius Cæfar to Adrian are much to be fufpected of forgery; the true medals of the first 14 emper ors being exceedingly valuable, and to be found only in the cabinets of princes.

II. The fecond clafs of counterfeit medals contains thofe caft from moulds taken from the Paduan forgeries, and others done by eminent malters. These are fometimes more difficult to be dif covered than the former, because in cafting them they can give any degree of thickness they please ; and filling the small fand holes with mastic, they retouch the letters with a graver, and cover the whole with varnish. The inftructions already given for a former class, however, are also useful for those of the second, with this addition that metals of this clafs are generally lighter than the genuine, because fire rarifies the metal in fome degree, while that which is ftruck is rather condensed by the ftrokes.

III. Medals caft in moulds from an antique.—The directions given for difcovering the two former deceptions hold good alfo in this.

IV. Ancient medals retouched and altered.-This is a class of counterfeits more difficult to be dif covered than any other. The art, (fays Mr Pinkerton) exerted in this clafs is aftonishing; and a connoiffeur is the lefs apt to suspect it, because the coins themselves are in fact ancient. The Italian artists alter the portraits, the reverses, and the infcriptions themselves, in a furprising manner. This fraud is diftinguished by the false varnish which fometimes mafks it; but, above all, by the letters of the legend, which are always altered. Though this be fometimes done with an artifice almoft miraculous, yet moft commonly the cha racters ftraggle, are difunited, and not in a line. In counterfeits of this kind, fometimes the obverfe is not touched, but the reverfe made hollow, and filled with mastic coloured like the coin, and en graven with fuch device and legend as was moft likely to bring a great price; others are only retouched in fome minute parts, by which, however, the value of the coin is much diminished.

V. Medals impreffed with new devices or foldered. In the firft article of this class the reveries have been totally filed off, and new ones impressed with a dye and hammer. The difference of fabrication in the face or reverse will be discovered at the first glance by any person of skill.

The foldered medals confift of two halves belonging to different medals, fawed through the middle and then joined with folder. This mode of counterfeiting is common in filver and brass coins. Medals which have a portrait on each fide, and which are generally valuable, are the moft liable to a fufpicion of this fraud. To a very nice eye the minute ring of folder is always vifible; and upon inferting a graver, the fabrication falls into halves.

VI. Plated medals or thofe which have clefts.It has been already remarked, that many true medals are cracked in the edges; owing to the repeated ftrokes of the hammer, and the little degree of ductility which the metal poffeffes. This the forgers attempt to imitate by a file; but it

A a

is