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THE COINAGE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BRITISH EMPIRE: 
 
 AN OUTLINE OF THE 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE COINAGE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND HER DEPENDENCIES, 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY NOEL HUMPHREYS, 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 “ ANCIENT COINS AND MEDALS,” “ THE COIN COLLECTOR’S MANUAL,” ETC., ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY FAC-SIMILES OF THE COINS OF EACH PERIOD, 
 WORKED IN GOLD, SILVER, AND COPPER. 
 
 A NEW EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED, AND CAREFULLY REVISED. 
 
 LONDON AND GLASGOW: 
 RICHARD GRIFFIN AND COMPANY, 
 
 !|) ublislms tor i\z (ftnifiersiig of dMagjjofo. 
 
 1861 . 
 
GLASGOW : 
 
 PRINTED BY BELL AND BAIN, ST. ENOCH SQUARE. 
 
TO 
 
 THOMAS GRAHAM, ESQ., D.C.L., F.R.S., 
 
 MASTER OF THE ROYAL MINT, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 Js IjUsptdfwIIjr Jnsmluir bg 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION 
 
 OF 
 
 “ THE COINAGE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.” 
 
 The success which attended the publication of my first numismatic work — an unpretending- 
 little volume, entitled The Coins of England, of which six distinct editions were called for 
 within four years, and which was again soon out of print — induced me to undertake a more 
 extended and complete work upon the same subject. 
 
 In The Coins of England , as the title clearly implied, only the English coinage, strictly so 
 termed, was described. Neither the Irish nor Scottish coinages, before or after the union of 
 the countries, were referred to, nor was the fine series of Anglo- Gallic coins struck by English 
 sovereigns in their continental possessions described, nor the coins issued by Great Britain 0 at 
 a later period for her widely-spread colonial dependencies, — all of which were treated of in the 
 first edition of the present work, the description of each class of coins being successively 
 blended into a continuous narrative, — a form which had not been adopted in any previous 
 work on the subject. 
 
 To these new features was added another, equally new in treatises on the British coinage, 
 in the form of an introductory account of the origin of the art of coining, illustrated by speci- 
 mens of the earliest class of coins, and examples of their progressive development in style and 
 excellence of execution, in Greece and Rome, till the period at which the Roman coinage was 
 introduced into Britain. Many of the now established facts, contained in this introductory 
 chapter, were unknown when the last comprehensive work on this subject — Ruding’s excellent 
 Annals of the Coinage — was published. For instance, in the opening chapter of that work, 
 it is stated that the origin of the art of coining is so ancient that it is lost in the darkness of 
 remote antiquity ; an assertion now so far disproved, that the period of the first issue of coined 
 money can not only be approximately fixed, but the period is proved to be a comparatively 
 modern one, that is to say, within the range of authentic history, and not exceeding seven or 
 eight centuries before the Christian era. 
 
 The character and value of the ancient British ring-money were also unknown at the 
 period of the latest general works on this subject, and have, in fact, been only recently ascer- 
 tained, through the persevering and interesting researches of Sir William Bentham, Mr. 
 Dickenson, and other active numismatists. This section of the subject was, therefore, for the 
 first time, introduced in its proper place in the first edition of this work ; and in the present 
 edition further elucidations of that interesting branch of the history of British money will be 
 found. 
 
 The greatly increased stock of knowledge concerning the character of the “coined 
 money” that was issued by British Princes during a certain period immediately preceding the 
 first Roman invasion, has enabled me to enrich that portion of the subject with many inter- 
 esting and instructive particulars arising from the persevering researches of Messrs. Birch, 
 Evans, and other eminent numismatists. 
 
 Another new feature in “The Coinage of the British Empire ” consisted in the com- 
 parisons drawn between the state of the British coinage at successive periods, with the 
 cotemporary coinages of the Continent. Thus, in order to illustrate more comprehensively 
 the account of our interesting monuments of the “siege money” and other “money of 
 necessity” of Charles I., a concise description of some of the most remarkable siege pieces 
 struck in other countries was appended, — such as those of Vienna, issued during the 
 memorable siege by the Turks; those struck in Pavia when beleaguered by Francis I.; and 
 
6 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 others. No additions have been made to those illustrations of siege money in the present 
 edition, but the plates belonging to them have been re-engraved with increased accuracy. 
 
 Among the illustrations which have been added to the present edition will be found 
 specimens of the proposed new bronze issue of the present reign, and of the colonial money 
 now striking at the Royal Mint for Canada, &c. 
 
 The exajnples originally selected to illustrate the coinage of each successive reign or 
 period were chosen as presenting characteristics of the epoch, or as possessing some remark- 
 able peculiarities either of type or inscription ; thus avoiding the confusing mass of examples 
 contained in technical works, the differences between which are only appreciable by the deeply 
 learned numismatist. In these, but few alterations have been made ; and, as in my former 
 edition, I have represented them by a chromo -lithographic process, in their respective metals 
 — gold, silver, or copper, &c., having found that mode of representation capable of conveying 
 a much more vivid and true idea of a coin, to such as are not constantly in the habit of examin- 
 ing extensive collections of coins of all epochs, than the mere black outline by means of which 
 the examples have been hitherto represented. The striking difference of effect between 
 these two methods of illustrating numismatic works may be at once tested by comparing one 
 of the metal plates of this volume with the supplemental outlines in the appendix, — which last 
 are executed merely in outline, as only being required to form a series of marginal notes, as 
 it were, to the principal illustrations in the body of the work. 
 
 I may add that I have endeavoured to improve the arrangement of the contents of the 
 present work in such a manner that any young student, on the accession of a new British 
 coin to his store, may find such an account of it (or of other coins of the same class) as shall 
 at once enable him to assign it to its proper place in the national series. Though treating 
 almost exclusively of the types, inscriptions, and art displayed upon the coinage, and touching 
 but lightly on the more abstruse questions of “the currency,” I have not thought it right to 
 omit the remarks upon the adoption of a decimal coinage which appeared in my First Edition, 
 as the question still remains unsettled in England, though established in France, in a most 
 perfect manner, for more than half a century. 
 
 In conclusion, I have to record my grateful thanks to the present Master of the Mint, and 
 other officers of that establishment, for the ample information afforded me concerning the 
 recent reforms effected therein. I have particularly to thank Messrs. Ansell and Pilcher for 
 the facilities afforded me in the examination of every department of the Royal Mint, and the 
 intelligent explanations afforded to me by them, which form the basis of an additional chapter 
 appended to this edition of my work, in which I have endeavoured to trace the history and 
 present state of the Royal Mint. 
 
 H. N. H. 
 
 DIRECTIONS TO THE READER. 
 
 1. Most of the legends and abbreviated mottoes of the coins engraved in this work will 
 be found fully described and translated at page 196. 
 
 2. A brief separate description of each of the twenty-four Plates contained in this work, 
 with the name of each coin, and a reference to the page in which it is more fully described, is 
 inserted at page 198. 
 
 3. In order to bring together in a more condensed and more easily appreciable form, the 
 steps of progressive improvement in the modes of manufacture applied to the English coinage, 
 which took place at different epochs, it has been thought advisable to bring them all together, 
 and arrange them in chronological order in a separate chapter on the history of the Royal 
 Mint. In this chapter will be found an account of the securities and tests adopted by different 
 nations at different periods to preserve the weight and purity of the coinage, such as the 
 placing on the coins of the moneyers 1 names, the subsequent employment of mint-marks, and 
 the trial of the Pyx. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introduction. — On the Modes of Barter and the Media of Exchange which preceded 
 the Invention of Coined Money — On the Form, Value, &c., of the Earliest Coins, 
 their Improvement, &c. — Coins of the Greeks, Romans, Jews, &c., till the intro- 
 duction of the Roman Coinage into Britain, ........ 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 On ancient Celtic and British Ring-money. — The early Introduction of Greek 
 Coins and their imitation in Britain — The Anepigraphic Coins of Britain — The 
 Names of British Princes and Cities first placed on Coins imitated from those of 
 Greece — The coins of the British King Cunobelin in the Roman Style — The 
 Decay of the British Coinage — The Introduction of Roman Money, and the Types 
 and Legends relating to Britain found on Roman Coins, ..... 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 On the earliest Anglo-Saxon Coins. — The Skeattse and the Stycas, probably both 
 Northumbrian Coins — The Silver Pennies — The Coins of the various Kingdoms 
 of the Heptarchy, till their Union under a Sole Monarch — Coins of Saints and 
 Prelates — The Early Irish Coinage, 50 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Coins of the Anglo-Saxon and Danish Sole Monarchs. — Egbert — Ethelwolf 
 — AEthelbald — JEthelbert — ZEthelred — iElfred (Alfred) the Great — Edward the 
 Elder — iEthelstan — Eadmund — Eadred — Eadwig — Edgar — Edward the Martyr — 
 iEthelred II. — Cnut (Canute) — Harold I. — Hartliacnute (Hardicanute) — Edward 
 the Confessor — Harold II., . . . . . . . . . . .60 
 
 Page 
 
 9 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Coinage of the Anglo-Norman Sovereigns. — William I.— William II. — Henry 
 I. — Stephen — The Son of Stephen — The Lord of Warwick, and other barons — 
 Henry II., and his Continental Coinage — Irish Coins of John — Continental Coins 
 of Richard I. — Henry III., English, Irish, and Continental Coinages — Edward I., 
 the First Groat — Edward II. — Edward III. — The Coinage of Gold Nobles, and 
 the English, Irish, and Continental Coinages — Continental Coinage of Edward the 
 Black Prince — Richard II., Henry IV., V., and VI. — English and Irish Coinage 
 — Anglo-Gallic Coinages — Edward IV., new Gold Coin, the Angel — New Coinage 
 in Ireland, &c. — Richard III. — English and Irish Coinages, . .... 72 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Coinages of Henry VII. in England and Ireland. — The first English Shilling, 
 the first Sovereign, &c. — Henry VIII., his first Coinage like his Father’s — His 
 Irish Coinages, with Initials of his Queens — His Base Coinages, &c. — Edward 
 VI. — General Coinage — First Coinage of Silver Crowns or Dollars — His Base 
 Money, &c., ............. 93 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Coinages of Mary, and Philip and Mary. — The Portraits of Philip and Mary — 
 The Restoration of the old Types and Mottoes on the Gold Coinage — Elizabeth — 
 
8 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Reformation of the Base Coinages — The first milled money — The first Colonial 
 Money — Copper Farthings proposed, &c., 106 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Scottish Coinage previous to the Union. — T he earliest Silver Pennies — The 
 first Gold — The Billon or Black Money — The Copper Money — The Coins of Mary 
 Queen of Scots and her Husbands — The Coins of James VI. before his elevation 
 to the English Throne, &c., . . . . . . . . . .113 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Coins of James I. — The introduction of new Legends, several new Coins, and 
 new Types — Irish Coinage and Scotch Coinage — Charles I. — Great Variety of his 
 Coinage — The celebrated Briot employed to Engrave the Dies — The Mill and 
 Screw used — His Scotch and Irish Coinages — The relative Values of Scotch and 
 English Coinages — Low State of Scottish Coinage — Separate Irish Coinage 
 abolished — The Siege Pieces and “ Pieces of Necessity” struck by Charles I. 
 during the Civil War — The Siege Pieces of the Continent compared with them — 
 
 Those struck during the Siege of Vienna by the Turks, &a, 119 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Commonwealth. — M oney with English Legends instead of Latin — Pattern Copper 
 Farthings — Pieces with the Portrait of Cromwell executed by the celebrated 
 Simon, &c., .............. 133 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Coinages of Charles II. — Return to Old Style of Hammered Money — Mill and 
 Screw finally adopted — The Petition Crown of Simon — the Rival Engravers at the 
 Mint — The Maundy Money — The Early Trade Tokens — Commencement of the 
 Copper Coinage, &c., &c.— Guineas, so called from the Gold from the Coast of 
 Guinea — James II., his first Coinages — His Money struck in Ireland after the 
 Revolution, known as the “ Gun Money” — Coinage of William and Mary — 
 Coinage of William III. — Last Gold Struck in Scotland — The Maundy Money — 
 
 The Scottish Boddle, Bawbee, &c. — (See also previous reigns) — Sir Isaac Newton 
 appointed Master of the Mint — Colonial Coinage, &c., 136 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Coinages of Anne. — L ast Silver struck in Scotland, and at the Provincial Mints — All 
 Money thenceforward Coined in the Tower of London — The Pattern Farthings — 
 
 The Maundy Money — Coinage of George I. — His Hanoverian Coinage — The abbre- 
 viated Legends difficult to read — George II., his British, Continental, and Colonial 
 Coins — George III., low state of the Coinage— The Great New Coinage of 1817 — 
 Revival of the old name, the Sovereign , in the Gold Coinage — Last Anglo- 
 American Coins — George IV., his British and Colonial Coinages — British Coinage 
 of India — Fine Designs by Pistrucci, Wyon, &c. — The Coinages of William IV., 
 British and Colonial — The Copper Coinage found to contain Gold, and bought up 
 by Jews — Pennies worth 1 \d . — Fine execution of the Portrait — Coinages of 
 Victoria — New small Coin — The new Pattern Crown — The Florin, issued as a first 
 step towards a Decimal Coinage — A few Words on the Principle of the proposed 
 Decimal Coinage — Conclusion, . . . . . . . . . .166 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 On the Origin and gradual Development of the Art of Coinage in the Provincial 
 Mints of this country, and on the present state of the Single Metropolitan Mint of 
 
 London, .............. 181 
 
 Appendix, .194 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Day & Son. Lith^totlie Q< 
 
THE 
 
 COINAGE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 
 
 Before entering upon our Survey of the Progress of the English Coinage, 
 it appears necessary to take a short review of the Coins of the Ancient 
 World, which I shall attempt very briefly. But previously, a few words 
 will hardly be out of place on the importance and interest of the study 
 of Coins in general, which, at the first glance, might appear dry and 
 unprofitable, but which is, perhaps, the most interesting of all the studies 
 connected with the remains of antiquity ; and is, at all events, as Mionnet 
 has termed it, “ une magnifique branclie d’ Archeologie” 
 
 It will readily be conceded, that other monuments of art — such as 
 temples, statues, triumphal arches, &c. — have proved of the most im- 
 portant advantage in elucidating and testing the chronicles and histories 
 of past times, and even in bringing to light important events in the 
 history of the world, of which no written record existed ; and it must be 
 allowed that coins, when brought to bear in a similar manner upon his- 
 torical facts, become still more positive evidence. 
 
 A coin, let it be found where it may, proves at once, incontrovertibly, 
 several interesting particulars concerning the people who originally issued 
 it. In the first place, it is invariably the means of preserving the name of 
 the people, or of the city where it was issued ; either from a symbol, or a 
 portion of the name itself. In coins of a later period, the portrait of a 
 sovereign is generally accompanied by an inscription ; the latter often 
 relating to some great historical event ; in which case the precise date of 
 the coin is generally discoverable with ease; so that a coin, of which the 
 purpose (for we know it was a piece of money), the country, and the date, 
 cannot be disputed, besides conveying at once a general idea of the arts, 
 resources, and manners of a people at the epoch of its circulation, must, when 
 bearing evidence to special events, become an incontrovertible and striking 
 testimony. The date of the foundation of Rome, for instance, or at all 
 events, the one received by the Romans themselves, is preserved by a coin, 
 struck by the Emperor Philip the Second, to commemorate the millennium of 
 
10 
 
 THE COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 
 
 the city. The inscription of this coin states that it was issued in the year of 
 his third consulship, the period of which being well known, the foundation 
 of Rome is at once placed precisely 1,000 years before that event. The date, 
 however, received by Roman writers and many subsequent historians, rests 
 upon no better foundation than a nativity cast by an Oriental astrologer 
 named Tarrutius, at the desire of the learned Yarro. This date was adopted 
 even by the stern Cato without hesitation ; so strongly had the early super- 
 stitions of Eastern nations engrafted themselves upon the faith of their 
 descendants in the West. Other Roman coins, where triumphal arches have 
 crumbled to dust, and statues have been overthrown, still record in letters, 
 fresh as the day they were struck, such great historical facts as “ Judaea 
 capta,” " Yictoriae Brittanicae,” “ Aegypto capta,” and many other events 
 fully as important as the subjection of Judaea, the victories over the 
 Britons, or the reduction of Egypt to the state of a Roman province. 
 
 Mr. Knight, in his Inquiry into the Symbolical Language of Ancient 
 Mythology, when speaking of the historical value of monuments, and of the 
 difficulty of separating such as were mere efforts of taste from those which 
 were positive emblems of what was supposed to be Divine truth, says, 
 “ There is one class of monuments, however, the most numerous and the 
 most important, which must have been designed and executed under the 
 sanction of public authority, and therefore, whatever meaning they contain, 
 must have been the meaning of nations, and not the caprice of individuals.” 
 It is needless to add, that coins are the monuments alluded to. They have 
 been aptly enough termed the lenses of the historical telescope, which 
 annihilate the distance of time, and bring distinctly before our eyes con- 
 temporary records of past ages with unerring accuracy. In short, the 
 most eloquent epitome of history, in the smallest space, might be contained 
 in a small cabinet of coins. 
 
 The circumstance of the extremely perfect preservation of many of the 
 finest specimens of ancient money that we possess, though accounted for in 
 various other ways, has suggested to numismatists that their science is not a 
 modern one, but that its importance was acknowledged also by the ancients ; 
 and that the learned and curious among the Greeks and Romans collected 
 beautiful coins, as well worthy of preservation, either as historical records, or 
 interesting monuments of the progress of art ; indeed, some have fancifully 
 conceived that even “Numismatic societies ” may have existed, with a 
 PausaniaS, a Yarro, or a Pliny as chairman, just- as we elect a Thompson, a 
 Johnson, or a Smith to a similar post. 
 
 Even the exact sciences have received some positive aid from the study 
 of coins. Astronomy acquires evidence from the device on a coin of Augus- 
 tus Caesar, of the appearance of a great comet at a certain precise period. 
 This comet is the one supposed at the time, by the populace of Rome, to 
 be the spirit of Julius Caesar after his apotheosis. The period exactly 
 corresponds with the calculated time for an appearance of Halley’s great 
 comet, the second preceding the one observed by that astronomer him- 
 self ; thus affording most interesting evidence of the correctness of the 
 
IMPORTANCE OF NUMISMATIC SCIENCE. 
 
 11 
 
 observations that had determined its orbit and the period of its returns. 
 Suetonius, it is true, also mentions the appearance of the comet, but 
 the additional evidence of the coin is very important. 
 
 The acknowledgment of the importance of numismatic science has indeed 
 become so general among the learned of all classes, that a professor of 
 another science, one among those who have contributed to the stores of 
 knowledge which have laid bare the early history of the earth itself before 
 its habitation by man, has taken advantage of the high historical interest of 
 coins, to call fossils the “medals of creation as doing for the story of the 
 solid globe itself that which coins have done for the story of its subsequent 
 inhabitant, man. 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton made frequent use of coins in testing the dates in his 
 great work on ancient chronology ; — and through their means the names of 
 upwards of two thousand places, provinces, and princes have been preserved ; 
 many of them having no other record. In iconography, or portraiture, coins 
 are of the greatest interest ; for those of the Greek and Roman series enable 
 us to look upon undoubtedly accurate representations of the features, not 
 only of the great Alexander — of the Ptolemies — of Caesar — of Augustus, but 
 also of Homer — of Sappho — of Cicero — whose portraits, though not placed 
 upon coins during their lives, were afterwards engraved on the public 
 money of different states in honour to their memory. The celebrated 
 archaeologist, Visconti, has published two magnificent works on ancient 
 portraiture — his Iconographie Grecque, and his Iconographie Romaine — in 
 which the portraits found on coins play a far more conspicuous part than 
 those preserved to our time by any other means. 
 
 An instance has recently occurred in which a lost history has been revealed 
 through the medium of recently discovered coins. This, the last example of 
 the importance of numismatics which I shall refer to, is that of the series of 
 Graeco-Bactrian and Graeco-Indian coins. It is well known that after the 
 death of Alexander the Great, his powerful lieutenants partitioned out his 
 empire, each erecting for himself an independent sovereignty from some 
 of the vast conquered provinces ; but of the Greek princes and their de- 
 scendants, who then established themselves in North-Western India, only 
 about eight names — those of the more immediate successors of Alexander — 
 were preserved by written history. The discovery of the coins in question 
 has, however, already furnished the means of extending this meagre list to 
 not less than twenty. The coins of these princes are followed by those of 
 their more barbarous successors ! forming together a series extending from 
 the third century before, to the twelfth century after, the Christian era ; and 
 affording dates, names, and landmarks from which we may hope to see a 
 complete history arise in the place of a vast and dreary blank : in addition 
 to which, a lost language appears likely to be recovered through the medium 
 of the bilingual inscriptions upon one series of these remarkable relics. 
 
 For the recovery of these invaluable historical records we are principally 
 indebted to our conquests in India, and to the antiquarian zeal of our 
 countrymen there established ; but especially to the industry and acquire- 
 
12 
 
 THE COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 
 
 ments of Sir Alexander Burnes, although some Graeco-Indian coins had 
 already reached Europe through the French General Allard, when in the 
 service of Runjeet Singh.* 
 
 Such are some of the results of European conquest in the East. Still 
 more interesting and important discoveries may follow upon the newly 
 opened intercourse with China ; and the occupation of Northern Africa 
 by the French, will doubtless lead to many valuable and unexpected 
 revelations in countries once occupied by the earliest civilized races of 
 the West. 
 
 If a series of names and dates, recorded only upon coins, have shed such 
 new and interesting light upon some of the most obscure portions of ancient 
 history, how much more vivid to the English student must be the interest 
 which the preservation of similar monuments throws upon the progress of 
 our own history as a nation? — And the interest in this case is much in- 
 creased by the fact, that the existing monuments of our national coinage 
 form a more complete and instructive series than those of any other nation of 
 modern Europe. 
 
 Having attempted to exhibit a few of the important results to be ex- 
 pected from the study of coins, I shall proceed to give a brief sketch of their 
 origin, as far as it is known, and of their gradual progress to about the time 
 of Julius Csesar, when the history of British coins may be said to commence. 
 
 The use of coins as a circulating medium, in substitution for simple bar- 
 ter, has so long been a matter of every-day practice, that it is difficult to 
 conceive the existence of a period when their use was unknown ; and yet 
 the invention of true coins, as we now understand the term, is a compara- 
 tively modern one, not dating farther back than about seven or eight 
 centuries before the Christian era ; though different modes of substituting 
 the precious metals, and other substances, for simple barter, had been adopted 
 at a much earlier period. 
 
 The earliest money transaction on record is, perhaps, that in which it is 
 related that Abraham weighed to Ephron “four hundred shekels of silver, 
 current money with the merchant,” in payment for the field of Machpelah. 
 This payment doubtless consisted of mere pieces of silver, without any im- 
 press or mark, which passed by weight only, as the term shekel (which 
 eventually became the name of positive coins of gold and silver), from 
 shakal, to weigh, fully implies. The denomination for money used in the 
 book of Job is not, however, shekel, but “kesitah” a lamb; as some have 
 thought, from the image of that animal having been stamped on the pieces, 
 of the weight of a shekel, as the image of an ox was afterwards placed on the 
 Roman pound weight of copper. The shekel, though at first without mark, 
 may have been afterwards stamped with the symbol of that barter in cattle 
 for which it was the first more convenient substitute. There is also an 
 hypothesis that kesitah, though translated “a piece of money” in our version, 
 may possibly have been actually a lamb ; it is most probable, however, that 
 
 * The best information on this interesting subject is to be found in Professor Wilson’s 
 Memoir, and in the earlier notices of Messrs. Prinseps and Masson. 
 
EARLY MONEY TRANSACTIONS. 
 
 13 
 
 the term kesitah, or lamb, refers to the form of the weight by which the 
 shekel of silver was weighed — the shekel being probably the quantity of 
 silver for which a lamb was exchangeable, and the weight by which it was 
 weighed being made in the form of that animal, to represent the kind of 
 cattle, and also the number — as a single lamb — which that weight of silver 
 represented, when it superseded direct barter. Both the weight, and its 
 value in reference to cattle, may have been derived from the Egyptians, as 
 in an Egyptian painting (Plate 13, No. 1) we find the public functionaries 
 appointed by the state for the superintendence of all transactions of the 
 kind — represented in the act of weighing pieces of silver in the form of ring- 
 money ; and using for that purpose a weight in the form of a lamb. One of 
 the officers appears to be noting down the amount thus ascertained on a 
 tablet. In the same painting is a weight in the form of half a lamb, the hind 
 quarter evidently representing half the full weight. Similar weights have 
 been discovered in Assyria by Layard — and the half Shekel weight may have 
 been represented in the same way. The Shekel of silver, when long after- 
 wards issued as a positive coin,* was of the weight of two Greek Drachms , 
 and equal, therefore, to about two shillings and threepence of our money ; 
 which would be about the value of a lamb at that period. In Anglo-Saxon 
 times, in the reign of iEthelstan, the value of a sheep was only one shilling ; 
 but money was then rare in England. Ear-rings are also mentioned in the 
 payment just referred to, which were, doubtless, the jewel-money, to be 
 described hereafter. The Shekel of the age of Jacob appears to have been 
 succeeded by the Shekel ha-kodesh (of the sanctuary), of which the standard 
 remained in the custody of the priests. It would appear that as commerce 
 greatly increased from the time of Abraham to that of Micah, who lived, 
 according to the ordinary computations, about 1500 B.C., that commercial 
 wants had increased in the same proportion ; and that the pieces of silver 
 used in trade had augmented in number and diminished in size, as in 
 the case of real coins of more recent times. For instance, a transaction of 
 Micah, with his mother, has reference to a sum of ONE thousand pieces of 
 silver ; and similar sums of one thousand pieces of silver are mentioned three 
 centuries later in the transaction of the five lords of the Philistines and 
 Delilah. That these were very small pieces is proved by the statement 
 that the lords brought the money in their hands — probably in sealed bags, 
 each containing a certain weight, as represented in Egyptian paintings. 
 Such was the nature of the monetary transactions of the Jews, and it is 
 quite certain that they did not adopt the use of positive coins till long after 
 their introduction into other countries. From the time of Abraham, how- 
 ever, to that of the Maccabees, about 144 B.C., they probably had, like other 
 
 * The types of this coin are, on the obverse, the sacred cup of manna which Moses was 
 ordered to preserve in commemoration of the manna miraculously furnished in the wilderness; 
 and on the reverse, the rod of Aaron, on which three flowers are shown. The inscriptions 
 are in the ancient Samaritan character. And the most common read, in Hebrew, on the 
 obverse, “ Shekel of Israel,” and on the reverse, “ Jerusalem the Holy.” Some have such 
 inscriptions as “ Saviour Prince of Israel,” “The first year of the deliverance of Israel,” &e., 
 &e. : there are, also, other types. See Plate 13, No. 13 — a coin issued about 144 n.c. 
 
14 
 
 THE COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 
 
 Oriental nations, in addition to their more common money formed of small 
 pieces of silver — which passed by weight — a kind of “ jewel-money,” pre- 
 viously alluded to, consisting of ear-rings and other personal ornaments, 
 adjusted to a certain weight, which might on occasion be used as money. 
 Such are the jewels mentioned in Genesis, chap. xxiv. v. 22, as given by 
 Abraham’s servant to Rebekah. “ The man took a golden ear-ring of half 
 a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of 
 gold.” They had also a kind of ring-money, similar, no doubt, to that which 
 was, in all probability, afterwards used by the Celtic nations of the West. The 
 gold and silver ring-money of the East appears to have been formed of wire, 
 bent into a circle, but not fastened, so that it could with ease be made into a 
 chain, from which portions could be detached at pleasure. The received 
 translation of the early portion of the Bible is sometimes calculated to 
 mislead the archaeologist, unacquainted with the original Hebrew, in certain 
 passages containing such terms as “ writing,” “ money,” “ pen,” and other 
 words, indicative of special stages of civilization. For instance, the word 
 kesaph, which is literally silver, is translated “ money,” as are several other 
 analogous terms. It may, however, be fairly inferred from the context, 
 as interpreted by Mr. Dickenson, whose persevering researches on the 
 subject of ring-money have led to many interesting results, that the 
 early money (silver), which the Hebrews are stated to have carried into 
 Egypt, was in the form of rings or loops, as it is both in the original and in 
 the Greek of the Septuagint described as being in “ bundles:” or the term 
 may be understood as meaning “ collected together,” or bound in a little 
 bundle. Although in a loop form, however, it does not appear that each loop 
 was separately adjusted to a special weight, but rather that each bundle, in 
 the aggregate, amounted to a certain weight. It would appear also on a 
 careful analysis of a passage in Job, that the gold rings therein referred to 
 could not be intended to be all used as ear-rings. If intended for ornament 
 only, some of the givers of the presents would have brought ornaments of 
 another character. In short, it appears pretty certain that they were given 
 as money, and accompanied by a piece of silver money of similar character. 
 “ We have,” says Mr. Bonomi, in an interesting memoir, “ the actual repre- 
 sentation of this currency among the ancient Ethiopians and Egyptians 
 in hieroglyphic sculptures, in which it is not uncommon to see men 
 weighing rings, and a scribe taking note of their number and value” 
 (as shown in Fig. 1, Plate 13, previously referred to) — “ the gold rings 
 being painted yellow, and the silver white, accompanied by the hiero- 
 glyphics of those metals, engraved or painted near them. The hieroglyphic 
 representative of gold is a crucible, and the crucible crossed by a leek 
 (the symbol of white) represents silver.” Similar rings are still current 
 in Nubia, and Mr. Bonomi was enabled to procure some specimens from a 
 Jelab, or slave merchant, which he has presented to the Numismatic 
 Society. They varied from a sixteenth to three-sixteenths of an inch 
 in thickness, and in diameter, the broadest way, from two and a-half to 
 three inches. The rings of silver were larger, and some of them, which 
 
INVENTION OF COINED MONEY. 
 
 15 
 
 had been worn as bracelets, were ingeniously ornamented with engraved 
 work. The paintings above alluded to (Plate 13, No. 1) also represent 
 sealed bags, each, without doubt, containing a number of rings, equal to a 
 certain weight — probably a talent. The pieces contained in such bags 
 may, however, not always have been of the ring form ; but at all events, 
 their aggregate weight was most probably a talent, as would appear by 
 the history of the bags of silver given by Naaman to Gehazi (2 Kings v. 23), 
 each of which contained a talent, which, together with a change of raiment, 
 was enough for one man to carry. Other kinds of money, of more primitive 
 character, also existed — such as engraved stones, like the Egyptian scarabei ; 
 or pieces of cloth, or slices of salt, of a certain estimated value — such as 
 still form the current money of some parts of Northern Africa, being doubt- 
 less the remnant of patriarchal times and customs. 
 
 To the Greeks, — the fathers of so many of the great features of civiliza- 
 tion, — or perhaps to their Grecianized neighbours, the Lydians, it appears that 
 we must attribute the first invention of positive coins, as money. Some, 
 however, have assigned a somewhat earlier date to the Persian davics of 
 gold and silver ; coins nearly equivalent in value to our sovereigns and 
 shillings ; while some give precedence to the Phoenician coins struck in 
 their colony at Malta, and others to the first bronze money of Italy. But 
 in neither of these cases do we find a gvaducd development of the art of 
 coining, from the simple stamping of the lump or button of metal on one 
 side only, through all its phases, to that of the perfect coin ; while the coins 
 of Greece, on the other hand, exhibit the whole progress of the art ; from its 
 rudest beginnings to its greatest artistic perfection. In all the other instances 
 referred to, only more or less perfected coins have been found, serving to 
 prove that the art was received by them in an already somewhat advanced 
 stage. The first species of money that was circulated by tale and not by 
 weight, of which we have any account, consisted of spikes, or small obelisks 
 of brass or iron ; six of them being as many as the hand could grasp. From 
 the names of this rude money were derived the words obolus and drachma, 
 signifying “ spike” and “handful,” which continued, long after the invention 
 of positive coins, to be the names of two well-known pieces of Greek money, 
 one of which was worth six of the other.* 
 
 The date of the transition in Greek monetary affairs from weighed 
 pieces, or such as passed by weight, or by bulk, to positive coins, of 
 guaranteed individual value, cannot be accurately defined ; but, as Homer 
 expressly states that, in his time, an ox was exchanged for a “bar of brass” 
 of certain dimensions, and a woman who understood several useful arts 
 was considered of the value of “ four oxen,” it is clear that a positive coinage 
 did not then exist in Greece ; while the allusion in the laws of Lycurgus to 
 both gold and silver coins proves that their use was then established. It is, 
 therefore, between these two epochs that we must place the invention of 
 coined money. 
 
 * Drachma is still the name of the principal coin in nse in Greece at the present day. 
 
16 
 
 THE COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 
 
 Although to the Asiatic Greeks must be assigned the rapid development 
 of the principle which superseded weighed money, yet Herodotus states that 
 the Lydians were the first to issue gold coin , — that is, pieces of metal passing 
 by tale (or counting), and not by weight ; their weight and value being suffi- 
 ciently guaranteed by the stamp and signet of the state by which they were 
 issued. The first appearance of true coins, whether Lydian or Ionian, and 
 which were at first only of gold, must, as already shown, have occurred 
 between the epoch of Homer and that of Lycurgus, and may, therefore, be 
 approximately estimated as having taken place about eight hundred years 
 before the Christian era. The first gold coinage appears to have been 
 followed by an issue of silver coins of somewhat similar character, in the 
 island of iEgina, about fifty years later ; the credit of which issue the 
 Parian Chronicle assigns to Phidon, Prince of Argos. 
 
 The act of stamping a piece of metal with the signet of the state or 
 sovereign by whom it was issued, was the act of guaranteeing its declared 
 weight and purity, just as we now place our seal to a binding document. 
 The earliest symbols thus placed on these primeval coins were always of a 
 sacred character ; at first, emblems referring to the foundation of the state, 
 as the phoca, or seal, found on the coins of the Phocians, in reference to the 
 shoal of those animals, accepted as a good omen, which followed the fleet 
 during the emigration of that people to Asia Minor. Emblems immediately 
 referring to protective gods are next found forming the national stamp or 
 signet of the ancient coins of Greece ; and then, the images of the gods them- 
 selves. But it was not till after the age of Alexander the Great that 
 portraits of sovereigns were allowed to form the sacred stamp of any 
 national coinage ; and even then, they were only tolerated in that position 
 by the fiction of deification ; a fiction still continued on modern coinages by 
 the supposition termed the “ divine right of kings.” 
 
 The earliest Greek coins were only stamped on one side, the reverse 
 bearing no impress but that of the rude punch, b}^ means of which the metal 
 was driven into the die. As an example of these coins, I have selected 
 a specimen which may be one of the earliest Lydian gold coins, alluded to 
 by Herodotus, which, in fact, bears the emblem of Sardis, the chief city 
 of that state. The act of impressing a seal or signet was an understood 
 sign of solemn compact even at a very early epoch of human civilization ; 
 and it had become a custom in daily use in the Assyrian empire. The 
 recent extraordinary discoveries of Layard have brought to light several 
 clay seals, bearing the impress of the signet of the Assyrian king, which 
 appear to have been attached to documents of papyrus, or some other sub- 
 stance for writing on, just as we find the great mediseval seals of modern 
 Europe attached to the parchment documents of that epoch. 
 
 On the Lydian coin under description (No. 2, Plate 13), the fore parts of 
 a lion and bull form the subject of the seal or signet, by which its weight 
 and worth were guaranteed. This type was doubtless originally received 
 from Assyria or Persia, where the triumph of the lion over the bull 
 symbolized the triumph of regal power over external or domestic enemies. 
 
THE GREEK COINAGE. 
 
 17 
 
 The lion also represented heat, or the sun, and the bull, water or general 
 humidity. The bull was afterwards adopted by the Greeks to symbolize a 
 river. This coin, as will be perceived on reference to the engraving, has 
 on the reverse only a deep rude indent. 
 
 If, indeed, the first gold coinage, which evidently originated in Asia 
 Minor, and in a region thickly populated with Greek colonies, was yet a 
 Lydian invention, it may be supposed that the Greek neighbours of the 
 Lydians, the elegant Ionians, were not long in imitating it : and, in fact, 
 some consider that it is to the Ionians themselves that the first invention of 
 this art ought to be attributed, and that the Lydians were only the 
 imitators ; but, that, in consequence of their superior wealth, and the 
 infinitely greater number of pieces issued by them, the celebrity of the 
 first coinage of true money remained with them instead of its real inventors. 
 
 However this may be, it is to the Greeks solely that we owe the great 
 development of this important step towards the extension of commerce ; and 
 with it the more rapid expansion of every kind of civilization. As an 
 example of one of the earliest coins attributed to the Greeks themselves, I 
 have selected a coin (No. 3, Plate 13), which has been attributed by an 
 eminent numismatist to Miletus, in Ionia. This coin bears more undisputed 
 marks of high antiquity and true archaic character than even the Lydian 
 coin just described. The type or seal is a lion’s head, a type preserved on 
 the later coinage of Miletus ; and originally, like that of the Sardian coins, 
 derived from Persia or Assyria, and associated by the Greeks with the 
 worship of Cybele. 
 
 The weight of the earliest gold coinage of Lydia was similar to that of 
 the Greek colonies of Asia Minor. It was founded upon some well-known 
 and generally accepted standard, by which gold had previously passed by 
 'iveight before it was stamped as coin. These pieces were, therefore, termed 
 staters , as being of a certain standard. The Ionian coin, No. 3, Plate 13, is 
 a double stater, and weighs 248 grains, 124 being the average of the single 
 stater of that standard. The more ancient or Babylonian standard, upon which 
 some of the Greek staters were founded — those of Cyzicus, for instance — is, 
 however, 180 grains. Of gold coins of this description there are also halves, 
 quarters, thirds, and even smaller subdivisions ; many curious and minute 
 specimens of which are to be seen in good collections ; each bearing a type 
 as perfectly executed as the larger pieces. This Greek stater is the parent of 
 the leading gold coin of all subsequent periods. It was of the value of 
 twenty of the subsequently coined silver pieces, which were thus analogous 
 to our shillings ; so that, in fact, the relative proportion of our shillings and 
 sovereigns was struck out, once for all, in the very first coinage that was 
 ever issued. 
 
 On the subjugation of the Greek states of Asia Minor by the Persians, 
 the gold coinage found in circulation there was imitated by the conquerors ; 
 but confined, it is thought, to the use of the subdued provinces. The weight 
 and general form of the Persian pieces, then introduced, are the same as 
 those of the Greek staters, the only difference being the substitution of the 
 
18 
 
 THE COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 
 
 Persian emblem, the crowned archer, for the Grecian types. The example 
 No. 4, Plate 13, exhibits one of these coins, which, it will be seen, has still 
 the rough indent or punch mark at the back, without any attempt at 
 ornament. 
 
 The example No. 5, Plate 13, exhibits one of the earliest attempts to 
 improve the effect of the rough punch mark by making the point of that 
 instrument in the form of a head or some other object, which appeared in 
 concave, in the indent caused by the punch. The example is a half stater of 
 Phocea. In the coinage of Magna Grecia this system was very elaborately 
 carried out by producing, on the reverse, an exact repetition in concave , of 
 the relief of the principal side. Of this remarkable system No. 7, Plate 
 13, represents an excellent example. It is a silver coin of the city of 
 Sybaris, with the initial letters of the name of the city 2Y (sy) placed 
 beneath the type, which is to be read, in the archaic manner, from right to 
 left, noticing at the same time that the sigma (2) is placed face downwards 
 ( M), which was the early manner of writing it. 
 
 To illustrate the curious methods adopted in some of the reverses of early 
 coins, I have travelled somewhat out of the chronological order of the sub- 
 ject ; to return to which, I must now refer to the coinage of AEgina, where 
 the most ancient silver coinage is supposed to have taken place, in emulation, 
 probably, of the gold coinage of Asia Minor. The specimen I have given of 
 the iEginetan coinage, No. 6, Plate 13, is not one of the very earliest 
 examples, yet it still exhibits the primeval form of the punch mark on the 
 reverse ; while the national type, the tortoise, is found in exceedingly 
 striking relief on the obverse. 
 
 It would be inconsistent, in a mere introduction to the British coinage, to 
 dwell minutely on the gradual progress of the Greek coinage towards per- 
 fection ; I shall, therefore, only give an example as that of one of the many 
 intermediate stages, followed by a single specimen, exhibiting the highest 
 perfection to which that branch of Greek art ever attained. The inter- 
 mediate example I have selected is an Athenian coin, No. 8, Plate 13. Its 
 principal type is the head of Athena or Minerva, the tutelary divinity of the 
 state. It has for the reverse her chief emblem, the owl, with the three 
 initial letters of the name of the city, AGE. The type of the reverse, it will 
 be seen, though itself in relief, is still sunk within the square indent of the 
 punch, which indent, however, soon disappeared altogether, after a subject in 
 relief had once been introduced within it. 
 
 The perfection to which the Grecian coinage very rapidly attained, when 
 the first archaic difficulties were overcome, cannot be better exemplified than 
 by one of the Syracusan medallions (No. 9, Plate 13) struck in a Grecian 
 colony at a period when Greek monetary art had attained its fullest develop- 
 ment. The obverse bears for its type the head of Proserpine, the daughter 
 of Ceres, accompanied by dolphins, one of the ancient symbols of the city of 
 Syracuse. The reverse represents a victor, at the Olympic games, receiving a 
 wreath from a Victory ; a type not unusual on coins of the period, but 
 which became very common in the reign of Philip of Macedon, when it was 
 
THE GREEK COINAGE. 
 
 19 
 
 l made to form the reverse of the gold staters, which he issued in such vast 
 | numbers that they became known by the name of Philips ; the device having 
 ! been adopted by him, it is said, in allusion to his victories at the Olympic 
 | games. These Philips were in such general circulation that other states 
 i imitated them long after the reign of that prince, and such imitations still 
 | passed under the old name of Philips for many centuries. The example No. 
 11, Plate 13, is one of the original coins. Later Sicilian copies of the coins of 
 the Macedonian Prince were distinguished by the national Sicilian symbol, 
 the triquetra, or group of three legs, a device originally adopted in allusion 
 to the triangular form of the island. The original inscription, <X>IAIM10Y, 
 in the genitive case (Of Philip), implying “ Money of Philip,” was replaced 
 by 2YPAK02II2N (Of the Syracusans). Up to this period no human 
 portrait was ever placed upon a coin. But the following example, No. 10, 
 Plate 13, a tetradrachm of Alexander the Great, is thought by some to bear 
 the actual portrait of the great Macedonian conqueror. If so, it is Hercules 
 in the features of Alexander, and not simply and boldly the portrait of 
 Alexander himself. With his successors, however, those great lieutenants 
 who, out of the fragments of his empire, created for themselves vast indepen- 
 dent sovereignties, a new epoch arose, in which the ancient faith, and the 
 hierarchic power, were shaken to their foundations. A band of military 
 princes no longer hesitated to displace the effigies of the gods from the 
 national coinages, and substitute their own ; though at first always under 
 some pretence of deification, — Lysimachus as a descendant of Bacchus, 
 Seleucus of Apollo, &c., and their portraits were represented clothed in the 
 attributes of those deities. The illustration I have selected of the first ex- 
 ample of direct human portraiture on national coin, is a gold stater of 
 Ptolemy Lagus (No. 12, Plate 13), whose share of the great Macedonian 
 empire was the rich province of Egypt. The head is an undoubted portrait, 
 and the reverse has the Ptolemaic eagle, which from this epoch figures on 
 nearly all the reverses of the Greco-Egyptian coinage. 
 
 The Greek coinage, even before the period we have arrived at in our 
 present summary view of its progress, had extended its principles through 
 the north of Greece as far as transalpine Gaul ; and meeting there with 
 similar currents of influence, radiating from another centre of Greek civiliza- 
 tion, situated in the ancient colony of Massilia, now Marseilles, the coins of 
 Greece spread still farther northward, reaching even the remote island of 
 Britain, where imitations of the Philips, and of the silver coinage of Alexander, 
 soon began to supersede the Celtic ring-money, which, like the new kind of 
 money that was now displacing it, had also originated in the East, and 
 travelled westward by a similar route, though at a much earlier period. In 
 describing the earliest British money I shall have occasion again to refer to 
 this Oriental stream of civilization flowing westward. 
 
 It 1 las been shown that the first coinage of Asia Minor consisted entirely 
 of gold ; a circumstance to be accounted for by the abundance of gold in that 
 region ; the fabulous richness of the sands of the Pactolus, which flowed near 
 to Sardis, being known to every schoolboy. European Greece, on the other 
 
20 
 
 THE COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 
 
 hand, was celebrated for its rich silver mines, and the first coinages of the 
 European Greek states were of silver. But in Italy and Sicily, where copper 
 abounded, the earliest coinage was one of copper, or rather a mixture of 
 copper, &c., termed JEs, a term, perhaps, represented by our “ bronze.” The 
 litra in Sicily and the libra in central Italy were the unit upon which this 
 bronze coinage was founded ; and this weight is the parent of our modern 
 troy weight, as it was divided into twelve uncise or ounces. The pound 
 weight of copper is said to have first received a state impress in Borne, to 
 pass as coin, in the reign of Servius Tullius, about 578 B.c. This gigantic 
 coin, or rather current ingot, was made in a square form, and was termed an 
 JEs, or As, that is, a “ piece of bronze.” There were pieces of one, two, four, 
 and even ten pounds. The style of this money may be seen by reference to 
 Plate 14, which is a piece of five pounds. The engraving is taken from the 
 celebrated specimen once in the Pembroke collection, which was termed in 
 the catalogue a Quadrussis, but it weighed four pounds nine ounces eleven 
 pennyweights and three grains,* which plainly shows that it must have been 
 intended for a piece of five pounds, and not four. These pieces, from being 
 impressed with the images of cattle, such as oxen, sheep, &c., were called 
 “ pecunia,” from the Latin pecus , cattle ; and from this source we have our 
 term “ pecuniary.” Indeed, the early Boman coinage furnishes nearly all 
 the monetary terms of modern Europe. 
 
 The full pound of copper, or JEs, in these pieces was gradually reducedf 
 to nine ounces, and about that time the ancient square form was abandoned 
 for a circular one. An example of the ces in this form will be found in 
 Plate 15, No. 1. The head of the bifrontal Janus, or Saturn, as some deem 
 it, was adopted at this time for the type of the ces; and a perfect reverse was 
 adopted, exhibiting the prow of a ship, accompanied by the numeral I.J 
 There were many subdivisions of this coinage — the uncia, or piece of one 
 ounce, distinguished by a single semi-globule, or raised dot under the ship, 
 with the head of Minerva on the obverse ; the Quincunx, or five-ounce piece, 
 distinguished by five dots, &c. There were also circular pieces as high as 
 the Decussis, or pieces of ten ceses, but none such are known of the period 
 when the ces was of nine ounces. The decussis, engraved in Plate 15, No. 2, 
 the value of which is indicated by the numeral X. behind the head of Boma 
 was struck at a period when the national standard of the ces had been 
 reduced to four ounces, and the twelve uncial divisions in proportion, though 
 still termed ounces, while in fact only a-third of that weight. In the reign 
 of Augustus Csesar, the ces was so much farther reduced as to be no larger 
 than a modern copper farthing. At that time, however, the Sestertius, of 
 
 * This fine monument was sold for £22 10s. 
 
 | See Humphreys’ Ancient Coins and Medals , Chap, xvi., and Humphreys’ Coin Collector's 
 Manual , Yol. i. 
 
 X These large bronze coins of the early times of Rome were not produced by the punch, 
 like the coins of Greece, but were cast, which accounts for there being no traditional feeling 
 among the monetary artists of Rome in favour of the preservation and decoration of the prim- 
 eval punch mark, which was continued on Greek coins as a venerable feature long after 
 the time when sufficient skill in the art had been achieved to produce a perfect reverse. 
 
ROMAN COINAGE. 
 
 21 
 
 the value of two ceses and a-half, became the coin by which all sums were 
 calculated, and, without changing its name, it afterwards became worth four 
 ceses. The half of this was then the Dupondius, which was in fact a 
 double cbs of the decreased standard, and its half was the Assarion, an 
 ancient name of the cbs; so that the once magnificent coin, the head of the 
 Roman coinage, eventually stood last, and lowest. 
 
 The Romans did not issue a silver coinage till the year 281 B.C., when its 
 standard was founded upon that of the Greek Drachma. The drachma 
 being at that time of the value of ten Roman ceses, the new silver coin was 
 termed a Denarius, or piece of ten ceses. This piece became eventually the 
 parent of the silver pennies of our Anglo-Saxon coinage, and of those of 
 France, where it preserved its ancient name ; the silver pieces of France, 
 corresponding to our pennies, being called Deniers, a term which, in pro- 
 vincial districts of that country, is still in use as a general name for money. 
 The Romans did not coin gold till 207 b.c. The coin which eventually 
 became their standard gold coin was called the Aureus, or “gold piece,” 
 and was worth twenty-five Denarii. 
 
 Such was the state at which the Roman coinage had arrived at the time 
 of the reduction of Britain to the state of a Roman province, in which 
 Roman coins soon superseded those of the natives (to be described hereafter), 
 and formed the sole circulating medium of the whole of Romanized Britain 
 for four centuries ; leaving, doubtless, after the termination of the Roman 
 dominion, many traces of their character, though less than might be expected. 
 Roman art, however, influenced the style of our coinage a second time 
 through the Lower Empire, — the coins of Constantinople being probably the 
 types of some of those Saxon and Norman coins by which the last degenerate 
 remains of our former Roman currency were so completely superseded, and 
 upon which the basis of our present monetary system was established. 
 
 There is a great similarity, even in style of art, from the tenth to the 
 twelfth century A.D., between the coins of the Lower Empire and those of 
 the whole of continental Europe ; and the former present no marked supe- 
 riority of execution over those of comparatively barbarous nations, so low 
 had some branches of art sunk at that period even at Constantinople ; and 
 yet the Byzantine influence was the only one then felt ; for it may be said 
 to have entirely moulded the arts of the whole of Northern Europe at that 
 period. Its influence, in fact, in the central and eastern portions, remained 
 active for some centuries later ; in Russia, as recently as the seventeenth 
 century, — and, indeed, it is not extinct in that country even at the present 
 day, as was strikingly shown in the well-marked Byzantine character of the 
 Muscovite jewellery sent to the Great International Exhibition of 1851. 
 Having thus brought dowji our sketch of the ancient coinages till they are 
 fairly linked on to the modern series, the next chapter will refer to the 
 earliest known money of Britain. 
 
22 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BRITISH RING-MONEY, THE EARLIEST COINED MONEY OF THE BRITONS, 
 AND THE COINS OF THE ROMANS RELATING TO BRITAIN. 
 
 The introductory chapter, in which I have endeavoured to trace, in a brief 
 summary, the origin of coinage in the Grecianized provinces of Asia Minor, 
 and its development and extension in Greece and Italy, to the establish- 
 ment of the Roman power in Britain, will have more fully prepared a reader, 
 previously unacquainted with the subject, to appreciate the details into 
 which we are about to enter, concerning the earliest kind of money that 
 circulated in Britain. 
 
 I believe, notwithstanding the continued dissent of several eminent 
 numismatists, that sufficient evidence exists to prove that the earliest kind of 
 metallic currency in these islands consisted in a kind of ring-money, such as 
 that described in the preceding chapter, and also, very probably, of “jewel- 
 money” — that is, of gold and silver jewels adjusted to a certain weight, which 
 on occasion were used as money. There is no doubt that the metallic cur- 
 rencies of the classes just alluded to were preceded in all countries by such 
 simple substitutes for barter as lumps of salt of a certain weight, strips 
 of leather, or shells of some particular kind, &c. Carew, in fact, in his 
 Survey of Cornwall , published in 1602, mentions the finding, sixty years 
 before, in the well of a very ancient castle, of certain “ leather coins,” which 
 still bore a distinct impress of some kind. It is, however, impossible to con- 
 jecture to what period these curious pieces of leather belong, and whether 
 they were, as imagined by Carew, “ leather coins,” as he terms them. 
 
 I have previously stated that the early ring-money of the East found its 
 way to the West and North at a very early period, where it was still 
 retained long after regular coins were known and used. That ring-money 
 still circulated in Britain in the last century before the Christian era, is 
 proved by the testimony of Csesar, to be hereafter referred to ; and that it 
 was in use in Ireland still more recently, is shown by the continual dis- 
 covery of rings of a description, of which specimens will be found in Plates 
 1 6 and 1 6 A, and to which it would require much ingenuity to assign any 
 other purpose. Some of them are attributed by Betham and other anti- 
 quarians to a comparatively late epoch. In Sweden and Norway, indeed, 
 the use of this ring-money continued till the twelfth century, or later,* as it 
 is mentioned by Snorro Sturleson in the Heimskringla , f or Chronicles of 
 
 * This kind of money is said, however, to have been renewed by King John, during the 
 pecuniary difficulties of his reign. 
 
 t See Mr. Laing’s interesting translation. 
 
TToT^tblheC^^ 
 
 Son 
 

BRITISH RING-MONEY. 
 
 23 
 
 the Sea Kings of Norway , written at that period ; Harold Hardrada being 
 spoken of as 
 
 “ He whom the ravens watch with care, 
 
 He who the gold rings does not spare 
 
 In another place, the King Olaf Haroldson pays the Skald Thormod 
 for his song with a gold ring, weighing half a mark. It appears that there 
 were also rings of a mark, and two marks, and some of much greater dimen- 
 sions. The word Bang is, in ancient Norse, a ring, and the plural Bangar, 
 rings. This term is doubtless derived from the same Oriental root as the 
 modern Anglo-Indian term Bangle ; the name given to the gold armlets 
 still worn by the native women of many districts of India. One of the 
 Norse laws of the Frostethings — that is, of the district of Froste — made pro- 
 bably about the year 1220, says, — if a possessor of land wound a man, he 
 shall pay a fine of twelve hangar to the king, and it is stated that each 
 hang shall weigh twelve aurar, which is the plural of the Norse term for 
 an ounce. Here is clearly a reference to an established ring-money, each 
 ring being adjusted to a certain weight. It is thought also that the Saxon 
 monetary term Mancus is derived from a similar source, denoting its origin in 
 a previous system of ring-money ; the word from which it is supposed to be 
 derived being “manica,” a bracelet. The difference between the mediaeval 
 ring-money and that which the Egyptian officials are seen weighing in Plate 
 13, is, that each of the Egyptian rings were, probably, not accurately adjusted 
 to any special weight, and thus belong to the period of weighed money, an 
 earlier phase of" monetary progress ; while the ring-money of Britain and 
 the west of Europe was so far in advance of the Egyptian stage as to have 
 each ring adjusted to a special weight, for which it might pass without 
 weighing — the ring-money in this stage becoming closely analogous to true 
 coinage. In Ireland this kind of money appears to have been much more 
 plentiful than in England, as nearly all the specimens in our collections 
 (mostly of gold) were discovered there. 
 
 The following brief account of British ring-money will be found necessary 
 in this place, as immediately preceding a native coinage in Britain, and the 
 Saxon and Anglo-Norman money in Ireland. 
 
 The large torques and also armlets worn by the Gauls and other nations 
 were, as I have previously stated, a kind of “jewel-money,” being adjusted 
 to a certain weight, to pass as money if required. Caesar tells us that the 
 Gauls “ use for money gold and iron rings of certain weight and he makes 
 a similar statement in relation to Britain. The latter kind (the iron) have 
 nearly all perished by oxidation; but Borlase, in his valuable history of 
 Cornwall, refers to the discovery of pieces of iron of a singular character, which 
 may possibly have been the iron ring-money described by Caesar. These 
 pieces, which were discovered in the seventeenth century, were small, thin 
 plates of a nearly square form, many of them about an inch and a quarter 
 long by an inch broad, some larger and some smaller, but each size appealing 
 to be approximately adjusted to a certain weight. They were all perforated 
 
24 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 with a small hole in the centre, by means of which they might be threaded 
 upon a thong of leather for convenient carriage. In general character they 
 strongly resemble the Chinese money belonging to a very remote period, 
 probably anterior to that of the circular disks, perforated with a small round 
 or square hole in the centre, and which, according to Mr. Williams, were 
 coined about 1118 B.c. This last-named kind of Chinese ring-money, or 
 rather money capable, by means of the hole, of being carried like rings, was a 
 simple disk of metal, without any stamp or impress of any kind. The prin- 
 ciple of looping coins together by means of a hole in the centre of the coin, is 
 still practised in China, even in the present improved state of its copper 
 coinage, all the coins having a rather large square perforation made for that 
 purpose. The gold rings of Britain are more plentiful than the iron ; those of 
 silver and brass, of a graduated weight, being also found. The first money-rings 
 were probably made in that form to prevent the friction which would take 
 place when carried in a bag, as was customary, either in the form of pieces of 
 wire, or angular pieces of metal ; which were doubtless the first forms of the 
 metallic medium. The earliest examples appear to exemplify this origin, for 
 they are always open at one side — being, in fact, pieces of wire, of a certain 
 length, bent round. The two ends of the wire, which were at first plain, 
 were, in after periods, singularly flattened, and ornamented. The transition 
 from the simple piece of wire bent round to the later decorative forms may 
 be perfectly exhibited in all its stages in a good series of Irish ring-money. 
 The specimens Nos. 1 to 9, Plate 16, will illustrate this progress, No. 1 
 being the most common form, evidently made from a simple piece of wire, of 
 a certain thickness, bent round, and which had been first cut to such a 
 length as would insure a particular weight. 
 
 Even in this early stage of monetary issues forgeries occurred ; and Sir 
 W. Betham informs us that he has seen counterfeits of brass so neatly plated 
 with gold as to defy detection. It is indeed a well-known fact that there 
 were forgeries of the earliest coinages of Greece, the laws of Solon having 
 provided punishment for falsifiers of the public money. The very earliest ring- 
 money found in Ireland appears to belong to a period when each ring might 
 pass by tale instead of weight, in a manner analogous to that of true coins ; 
 the earlier kinds having been weighed in bulk, as shown in Plate 13. 
 
 The smallest rings, upon being weighed by Sir W. Betham, were found to 
 be exactly one half-pennyweight, which appears to have been the unit by 
 which the larger sizes were graduated. There are pieces of one pennyweight 
 twelve grains, equal to three of the half-pennyweight ; of two pennyweights 
 twelve grains, equal to five ; of five pennyweights, equal to ten ; of eleven 
 pennyweights, equal to twenty-two ; and, in short, up to twelve ounces, and 
 thirteen ounces seven pennyweights, equal respectively to 486 and 534 of 
 the half-pennyweight ring. There are some others containing fractional 
 thirds, which Sir W. Betham conjectures may have been so graduated for the 
 convenience of small change. If this be the case, we have in the Irish ring- 
 money a system almost as perfect as that of real coins — which, after all, may 
 be but a modification of it, and for which we may have been indebted to the 
 
RING-MONEY. 
 
 Zo 
 
 mere personal vanity of a prince in wishing to place his own signet on the 
 money of the state, for which purpose a solid round form was evidently 
 more convenient than a ring. 
 
 No. 10, Plate 16, is a specimen of the cast brass ring-money, formed of 
 closed rings, which were also adjusted to a graduated system, founded 
 upon the half-pennyweight as the unit, though I have not seen any of less 
 than the double of that weight. The brass rings are discovered in immense 
 quantities in Ireland, from the weight of one pennyweight to that of several 
 ounces. Many of these rings are found joined together, double and treble, 
 as in the specimen No. 10, Plate 16. The specimens Nos. 1 to 9, Plate 
 16, will, as stated, exhibit the gradations of fabric which the ring-money 
 assumed — the latter, and more decorative forms, having given rise to the 
 wildest conjectures, as to the use of these objects, by our elder anti- 
 quaries. 
 
 No. 12, Plate 16, is a group of brass rings looped one within the other, 
 which perhaps exhibits the method of carrying money of this kind. Sir W 
 Betham, finding the weight of the smaller gold rings correspond to one half- 
 pennyweight, troy weight, was led to think that the weight used by the 
 Celtic nations was of the same origin as the troy weight, which he conjec- 
 tures to have been the standard weight of the Phoenicians, still prevalent in 
 the East as late as the time of the first Crusade, at which period it was 
 again brought to Europe, and first used for all weighed commodities at the 
 great fair of Troyes, in France, from which circumstance it is said to 
 have received its modern name. 
 
 A kind of ring-money, precisely similar to that of Ireland, is not only 
 found in England, as I have previously mentioned, but also in Scotland. 
 
 No. 9, Plate 16, weighing fifteen ounces, which, reckoning gold at 
 £4 per ounce, is of the intrinsic value of £60. It was found in a bog in the 
 county of Galway, Ireland, where great numbers have been at different times 
 discovered. No. 8, in the same Plate, is of the intrinsic value of £15, and 
 was also found in Ireland ; one of precisely similar shape and weight having 
 been discovered in Scotland, in an urn, which was exhibited by Mr 
 Lethuillier in the year 1731, long before the use of these interesting relics of 
 antiquity had been even guessed at. 
 
 Some of the larger specimens of this ring-money are very splendid and 
 curious. I have seen pieces which might be carried most conveniently over 
 one shoulder and under the other. The torque worn round the neck of the 
 Gallic warriors, most frequently of pure gold, and weighing sometimes above 
 four pounds, was of this kind, and was adjusted to a certain weight as 
 money, in addition to being a personal ornament. One found at Pattingham, 
 in Staffordshire, in 1700, of fine gold, weighed three pounds two ounces. It 
 was four feet long, very bright and flexible, and could be bent round the 
 arm, the middle, or the neck, and extended again to its former shape with 
 comparative ease. When worn, it was fastened by a simple hook wrought at 
 each extremity, like those in the specimen No. 1, Plate 16 A. Similar orna- 
 ments, as bracelets or anklets, are still worn in several parts of British 
 
26 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 India, which are also of equally pure gold, and, from their extreme ductility, 
 can be wrapped round the wrist, and will retain the position in which they 
 are placed without any fastening. No. 1, Plate 16 A, which is a portion of 
 a torque of the size of the original, will convey a good idea of the magnitude 
 and form of those ornaments. It is taken from one of bronze, which was 
 discovered in Somersetshire, and engraved in the Archceologia. Hence it ap- 
 pears that bronze ornaments of this kind were worn as well as of gold. This 
 bronze torque is of exactly the same form as the gold ones previously alluded 
 to, but only weighs two pounds. As the Gauls were probably the first to in- 
 troduce both the torques and the smaller rings, used as common money, into 
 Central and Western Europe, it may naturally be supposed that such objects 
 are frequently found in France, which is the case ; and some very magni- 
 ficent specimens were very recently discovered near St. Quentin. These 
 splendid relics, which have all gone to the crucible, were disinterred in 1832 
 — their intrinsic value being equal to £1,089. 14s. Id. Drawings were for- 
 tunately made from them, and published in the Archceologia, specimens from 
 which will be found (on a reduced scale) in Plate 16 a, Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7. 
 They were very beautifully wrought, with minute patterns, and some of them 
 weighed upwards of four pounds. They were all without the small hooks at 
 the extremities, their ductility being sufficient to enable the wearer to close 
 them without a fastening. The muscular force, however, required to place 
 the flat ends firmly together, for which purpose they have evidently been 
 intended, must have been very great. One of these ornaments was found 
 so closed ; yet some antiquarians have thought that they were intended to 
 be worn round the neck, remaining partially open, in which they differ from 
 the regular torque, which was, in fact, as its name imports, a twisted annula of 
 two or more bars intertwined ; while the gaviaKr\g, mentioned by Pausanius 
 and others, was, on the other hand, solid, and these specimens have, there- 
 fore, been termed gavicucrig in the interesting letter describing them, which 
 was read to the Society of Antiquarians in February, 1836. 
 
 That such ornaments were of very ancient origin, as marks of distinction, 
 insignia of office, &c., is proved by many allusions of ancient authors, and by 
 passages in the sacred writings, where one kind is designated Tnn (Rabeed), 
 which literally signifies a twisted chain or wreath ; and the Chaldean term 
 manaJc is used to express another similar ornament, the parent perhaps of 
 the gavicucriQ. After the well-known victory of Manlius over a Gaulish chief, 
 and the capture of his torque, the Roman leader was allowed to wear it in 
 commemoration of the event ; and the permission to use such ornaments, as 
 marks of honour, were common among the Romans after that time. The 
 “torquati” became, in fact, a conspicuous portion of the Roman army, form- 
 ing a kind of legion of honour. The great weight of these torques and 
 manacks, worn as ornaments, appears extraordinary ; but the examples cited 
 are nothing to the honorary, or rather tributary, torques sent to Augustus by 
 the Gauls, which weighed 100 pounds. Great numbers of these ornaments 
 are always mentioned by the Romans among barbara spolia, after wars with 
 the Gauls and other northern nations, 1,471 being mentioned by Livy as 
 
RING-MONEY. 
 
 27 
 
 having been taken from the Boii by Cornelius Scipio, and carried to 
 Rome. 
 
 To return to such rings as it would appear were made entirely as a kind 
 of metallic currency, I should state that while some of our eminent numis- 
 matists, as Mr. Dickenson and Mr. Sloane, assert the former existence of such 
 a currency ; and also, that the rings so frequently found, and which have been 
 described above, are actual specimens of it — others among our savants in 
 numismatology entirely dissent from this view. In proof of the ancient use 
 of ring-money in Britain new evidence has, however, been brought forward 
 of the use of such money being still prevalent in Africa. Am ong other 
 instances, it has been shown that the Foulah-jolaf and other African tribes 
 bring gold ring-money to Sierra Leone. It is stated, at the same time, that 
 these people never use such rings as ornaments, for which purpose they 
 prefer 'plates of gold. It is evident, therefore, that they make their gold into 
 rings to impart to it a monetary character, the form of which has been pre- 
 served from generation to generation from a very remote epoch. The loop- 
 money of Ceylon, commonly known as the fish-hook money, also appears to 
 be a modern modification of some ancient system of ring-money. Tavernier 
 mentions this kind of money ; stating that all the people possessed the right 
 of coining it, by the king’s permission. The old traveller says, in reference 
 to its loop-like form, — “ ’Tis in the form of a fish-hook, and pure silver, purer 
 than pieces of eight ; for if they do suspect the goodness of it, their custom is 
 to heat it red hot in the fire, and then put it into water, and if it be not 
 pure white it is not current money .” 
 
 Later pieces of this kind of money, recently dug up in Ceylon, corrobo- 
 rate Tavernier’s description. They are formed of a flat wire, doubled into a 
 loop ; and, according to Professor Wilson’s description, are stamped with 
 certain inscriptions, such as “Sultan Ali Aadil Shah, struck at Lari, a 
 stamped Daugh daugh being the Persian denomination of a small silver 
 coin. These, as shown by the name of the prince, were issued as late as the 
 year 1659 A.D. 
 
 All this proves the ring or loop to have been an ancient monetary form, 
 which is still in use in many parts of the world ; while in others, it was so 
 till a comparatively recent period. As an example of the preference still 
 felt by some of the Arab tribes for this ancient form of money, a curious 
 example is cited. Lieutenant Cruttenden, assistant political agent at Aden, 
 had great difficulty in getting some necessary supplies at Socotra in ex- 
 change for dollars ; but having been advised to have his dollars made into 
 small rings, he found his ring-money readily taken in exchange for the pro- 
 duce he required. Mr. Dickenson has suggested that the ring-money found 
 so plentifully in Ireland may have been imported from Africa (perhaps 
 through Spain) at a period anterior to the Roman invasion of Britain, in the 
 way of ordinary commercial exchange. But Mr. Sloane considers it a native 
 currency, coined in the country; where its use would appear to date from 
 a very remote antiquity, as pieces of bone of similar character have been 
 found, evidently belonging to a period anterior to that of the adoption of 
 
28 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 a metallic medium. Silver as well as gold ring-money is found in Ireland ; 
 and specimens are also found marked for division in halves, as some of the 
 Saxon silver pennies were at a later period. 
 
 That, comparatively speaking, no ornaments or money of this kind should 
 have been found in England, is to be accounted for from the circumstance 
 that Ireland remained independent long after the complete subjugation of 
 Britain by the Homans ; at which time the metallic currency of every kind was 
 in all probability recoined into the form of the national money of Home. It 
 is also to be observed, that no monuments have been discovered to prove that 
 the Irish had any other kind of money than ring-money, as no coins earlier 
 than the period of the Saxon and Danish invasions have been found in that 
 country. The Britons, on the other hand, nearer neighbours of Gaul, had 
 received through that country imitations of the coined money of the Greeks, 
 of the “medallic” form, which was possibly fast displacing the less convenient 
 ring-money, even before the Homan conquest. 
 
 We must here dismiss the subject of the ring-money, and enter upon the 
 consideration of the first positive coins of the Britons. Caesar, in his Com- 
 mentaries, in speaking of the civilization of Britain, says, — “ They have both 
 bronze and gold money, or, instead of money, rings adjusted to a certain 
 weight.” The coins alluded to by Caesar were, without doubt, those well- 
 known coins of a decidedly Greek character, which are indeed rude copies of 
 Grecian models, more particularly of the coins of Philip II. of Macedon. It is 
 conjectured that the treasure brought by the Gauls from Greece, after the 
 pillage of Delphi, in the third century B.c., consisted principally of the above- 
 mentioned coins of Philip, which, getting into general circulation in Gaul as 
 a standard currency, it was found convenient to make other coins as nearly 
 as possible of the same form and value. Other Greek coins, however, had 
 previously made their way to transalpine Gaul, where, as well as these gold 
 Philips, they had been rudely imitated. Among these were the celebrated 
 tetradrachms of Alexander the Great, the principal type of which was imi- 
 tated not only in silver, but also in copper. From the close connection of 
 the Gauls and Britons, it may naturally be supposed that, in their various 
 dealings, many of these Greek coins found their way to Britain, where they 
 were in like manner imitated. The British imitations, however, are quite 
 distinct from the Gaulish, and are never found except in Britain — a sufficient 
 proof of their native origin. Many of them are exceedingly rude, and 
 the resemblance to the originals they were copied from is scarcely to be 
 traced, except by seeing a large collection, in which all the intermediate 
 gradations of rudeness occur. These coins are not somewhat thin and flat, 
 like the Homan money, but thick, after the Grecian manner; and slightly 
 concave, or “ dished,” as it has been termed — a peculiarity not generally found 
 in the Greek originals. 
 
 The period at which the early Celtic ring-money of Britain became 
 partially superseded by a currency of a “ medallic” form may be possibly 
 arrived at, at all events approximately, by means of the following data. 
 About 600 B.c., the Phoenician traffic with the Cassiterides (the British 
 
EARLIEST COINED MONEY OF THE BRITONS. 
 
 29 
 
 1 Isles) is supposed to have commenced. This was, no doubt, carried on, on the 
 I part of the more civilized Phoenicians, by means of strings of beads and 
 small articles of jewelry, for which they easily obtained the coveted tin 
 (so essential to the composition of “bronze”) from the ignorant Britons. 
 
 About 300 B.c. the Greeks of the colony of Massilia, on the south coast of 
 Gaul, became rivals of the Phoenicians in this lucrative commerce, and, 
 
 J no doubt, knew how, as well as their predecessors, to drive good bargains 
 I with the poor western tin merchants. It was, however, probably from the 
 Greeks of Massilia, that the Britons first received specimens of the gold 
 Philips, which were probably, in the first instance, not regarded as money, 
 as not being in the orthodox ring form, but treasured as exquisite works of 
 art, and probably mounted in rude Celtic chasings, as the centres of 
 brooches and other ornaments. Coins mounted in embossed or enamelled 
 ornaments exist in the French national cabinet, and in several English 
 collections. They are sometimes linked together, to form necklaces and 
 bracelets. The second Punic war, 200 B.C., put an end to the Phoenician 
 traffic with Britain, which was, however, continued by the Greeks. But the 
 route of the Mediterranean becoming unsafe, the traffic was carried on 
 through Gaul ; at which time the trade was diverted from Cornwall, and 
 centred in a depot formed in the Isle of Wight, from whence the British 
 tin was exported to the Gaulish coast. Thirty days’ journey being required 
 to reach the Phone across great part of the Gallic territory, the Gauls, as 
 intermediate merchants, soon monopolized all the active part of the 
 trade. When the trade, thus fell into the hands of a kindred race, a more 
 equitable system of trading was, without doubt, adopted, and the Gaulish 
 merchants began to pay handsomely for British produce in gold “ Philips,” 
 which they had learned to copy from those of the Greeks, which, for their 
 unvarying weight and purity, had been gradually establishing themselves- as 
 the most desirable and trustworthy medium of all commercial exchanges. 
 
 From the debased Gallic copies of these Greek staters, the Britons learned 
 to make still more debased imitations; at first, debased only in the art 
 displayed in their fabrication, the purity of the metal and the weight being 
 scrupulously adhered to ; by which means the character of these pieces, as 
 a general circulating medium, was maintained. In order to understand the 
 curious kind of artistic debasement which took place in the barbaric copies 
 of these celebrated coins of Philip II. of Macedon, it will be necessary to refer 
 to the types of one of the original coins engraved at Plate 13, No. 11. On 
 the obverse is a beautiful laureated head of Apollo, most exquisitely designed 
 and executed. On the reverse is a biga, or two-horse chariot, said to have 
 been adopted as a monetary type by Philip, in commemoration of his 
 victories at the Olympic games. Beneath the horses is the simple name 
 <f>IAinriOY, in the genitive case, (of Philip), by which is to be understood, 
 after the usual Greek manner, “ money of Philip.” After a short time the 
 inscription was abandoned on the Gaulish imitations, as having no meaning 
 in a Gallic point of view ; and on the British imitations it never appeared at 
 all. It is from this circumstance that the series of British imitations of 
 
30 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 the Philips, up to a certain epoch, are classed in our collections as the 
 “ anepigraphic” series, or those without inscriptions. There were, for small 
 change, silver, and even copper imitations of the Philips, which had also their 
 fixed relative value. The representations 3 and 5, Plate 1, belong to 
 this series f and without some explanation it will be difficult to understand 
 in what way they can be called copies of the beautiful Greek coin just 
 referred to : a little examination will, however, show their resemblance, rude 
 though it be. On the obverse of No. 3, which is a silver coin, the beautiful 
 head of Apollo, of the original, may be distinctly traced, though the forehead 
 is only represented by a broad raised band, the eye by a dot, the point of 
 the nose by another dot, and the lips by two short raised lines terminating 
 in dots. The hair is reproduced in a similarly rude fashion. On the 
 reverse the departure from the exquisite design of the original is still 
 more remarkable. With a little ingenuity, however, the form, intended to be 
 that of a galloping horse, may be easily made out ; and in front, an attempt 
 to represent (most probably) the second horse. The wheel of the chariot, 
 for want of room elsewhere, has been placed under the lower horse ; and an 
 almost indescribable object above the other horse is evidently meant to 
 represent the driver of the chariot, leaning over the horses with one arm 
 bent towards them, in imitation of the arm holding the goad, or whip, in the 
 original. On the obverse of these imitations it is, in most instances, the 
 laurel wreath which is the object most prominently seized upon by the 
 untaught Celtic artist, and in this respect No. 3 is rather an excep- 
 tional specimen. No. 5, another silver specimen is, however, a curious 
 example of the barbaric treatment of the laurel wreath. It is one of 
 a very late epoch, in which it is evident that the original meaning of the 
 wreath has been in great part lost, being a copy of an already almost 
 unintelligible imitation. The wreath runs horizontally across the lower part 
 of the coin, divided by a straight line, which in better copies rudely repre- 
 sented the fillet or ribbon by which the wreath was fastened at the 
 back of the head. The attempt to represent an eye, or eyes, between two 
 lines, is of the last degree of rudeness, as is the execution of those portions of 
 the device which are mere remnants of debased attempts to represent the 
 features, and the hair. The reverse is an almost inconceivably rude attempt 
 at a horse ; four upright lines representing the legs, and two crescents, the 
 body ; while the head and tail are equally unsuccessful. All attempts to 
 represent either the chariot or the driver have been abandoned, and a group 
 of dots substituted as more easy of execution, and perhaps more agreeable 
 in effect than the contorted lines found on other specimens. 
 
 No. 2, Plate 17, is a gold coin of a somewhat better period of Celtic art. 
 The horse has some flowing lines about it, but the mane is represented by 
 dots only, and the tail resembles a palm branch ; the wheel of the chariot is 
 represented by a circle, with a dot in the middle, and it is repeated in a 
 varied form above ; both shapes being plainly arbitrary copies of a debased 
 
 * They are, however, very possibly of a period later even than some of those with names 
 of Princes, as it is now thought most probable that the rudest were those last executed. 
 
EARLY BRITISH COINED MONEY. 
 
 31 
 
 model, by an artist who did not know the meaning of the objects he copied; 
 for he has repeated the wheel on the shoulder of the horse, to give 
 a little additional richness, and has placed one of a smaller size behind the 
 ears, probably with the same view. On the obverse a curious Celtic 
 ornament has been substituted for the remnants of the head, which 
 I reminds one of the Yorkshire painter, who, having undertaken to retouch 
 a family portrait, in which he egregiously failed — after utterly spoiling it — 
 at once boldly painted it out, and put in its place a neat red flower-pot, 
 with a rose-bush, considering his alteration an improvement. No. 5, Plate 17, 
 is a much better imitation of a Greek coin, as regards the head, than any 
 of those described. The head is probably taken from that of the silver 
 tetradrachms of Alexander the Great, while the reverse still represents the 
 biga reverse of the staters of Philip. Coins of this class are not strictly 
 British, being found principally in the Channel Islands, especially Jersey. 
 They form interesting links in the series of Gallic imitations of the Greek 
 coinage, of which specimens exist from the most barbarous up to really fair 
 copies of the beautiful originals ; the best having been most probably 
 fabricated in the neighbourhood of the Greek colony at Marseilles. 
 
 Of the British copies belonging to the anepigraphic series, the best are 
 those belonging to southern counties, near the trading depots of the Isle of 
 Wight, — the worst, those of the Brigantes, a powerful but rude tribe, 
 occupying the districts bordering on Caledonia. In the rudest copies a 
 horse, apparently with eight legs, sometimes appears, evidently an effort 
 to represent the second horse ; while the laurel wreath, in some curious forms 
 of debasement, sports into a kind of cross, the interstices of which are filled up 
 with rude crescent-like dashes, evidently the remnants of the curling hair of 
 the original. 
 
 A short time before the first Homan invasion, princes of the British tribes 
 appear to have begun to place their names upon this rude coinage ; and those 
 of several princes are now ascertained, beyond a doubt, to be preserved on the 
 coins in question, while scarcely any other record of their existence has come 
 down to us. Camden, Speed, and others of our early antiquaries, were the 
 first to suggest that the names of British princes were to be found on 
 these coins; but their conjectures were, in many instances, so wide of the 
 now ascertained truth, that Eckhel, Mionnet, and Sestini, refused to put 
 any faith in the existence of British coins bearing the names of British 
 princes. Mionnet classes even the coins of Cunobelin with those of 
 chefs Gaulois. Several British antiquaries were equally incredulous. 
 Bishop Nicholson, in the English Historical Library (Part 1, Chap. 3), says 
 of British coins, “ I take them to be amulets,” although the clearer-sighted 
 Camden, and the intelligent Speed, though both mistaken in particular 
 attributions, yet fully believed in the authenticity of these interesting his- 
 torical monuments. This opposition, no doubt, principally arose from the per- 
 severing determination of our antiquaries, up to the close of the last century, 
 to twist many imperfect inscriptions on these native coins into the name of 
 the popular British hero, Caractacus, none of which attempts can be sus- 
 
32 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 tained; and up to the present time no coin bearing that name, or a portion 
 of it, has been found. Sufficient, however, has been recently done to prove the 
 existence of British coins, bearing the names of British princes, beyond the 
 shadow of a doubt ; and the names of Tasciovan, Commius, Cunobelin, Dum- 
 novellaunus, Epaticcus, Epillus, and others, having been satisfactorily 
 established. 
 
 With the exception of that of Cunobelin, and one or two others, how- 
 ever, the recovery of these interesting names belonging to our ancient 
 history is quite recent. The correct reading of the inscriptions on many 
 of these coins, such as tas. F., tasci F., tasci fil, tasciovan f., and other 
 varieties of the same inscription, was the first step in the right direction; 
 and has led to the rapid elucidation of many obscure points connected 
 with the coinage of the British princes. It was on the 24th of February, 
 1844, that the true meaning of tasc. F., was first explained, in Mr. 
 Birch’s paper, read on that day before the members of the Numismatic 
 Society. Camden had imagined that the word TASCIA was a term of the 
 British mint, signifying tribute money to Caesar, from the Latin Taxatio, 
 spelt Tasc, because the Britons had no X in their alphabet. A more recent 
 numismatist has conceived the word Tasciovan, to mean a ruler, and changing 
 the Fil into fir., has made of the inscription (completing the word Cunob., 
 which is often found in the same coins) Cunobelini Tasciovani Firbolg, which 
 he interprets as “ Cunobelin, the leader of the Firbolgi,” a Belgic tribe which 
 had settled in Britain. Mr. Birch, however, on examining the contem- 
 poraneous Roman coins of Augustus, found the inscription Avgvstv Divi F. 
 This was well known to refer to the adoption of Augustus, by the deified 
 Caesar (Julius), and the inscription is known to read, “Augustus Divi Filins” 
 — “Augustus, son of the god.” This led Mr. Birch to the interpretation of the 
 mysterious F. of the British coins. It was evident that the Tasc. F. occurred 
 most frequently on the coins of Cunobelin, whose name, abbreviated or 
 in full, often occurred on the obverse or reverse of the same coin. He 
 therefore boldly read “ Cunobelinus Tasciovani Filius” — Cunobelin, the son of 
 Tasciovanus; and this successful reading at once settled that point and 
 many others. Tasciovan was evidently one of the greatest of the British 
 chieftains about the time of Caesar’s invasion ; and it is natural, as hereditary 
 right began to define itself about the time of Cunobelin, that he should style 
 himself the son of Tasciovan, as giving prestige and authority to his title, 
 after the manner of his cotemporary, Augustus, at whose court he was edu- 
 cated, doubtless by the wish of his father. He there adopted many of the 
 refinements of Rome, but especially a wish to imitate the Romans in the style 
 of his coinage, for which he employed Roman artists. The truth of this reading 
 of the F. and FIL. is rendered more obvious by others of an analogous char- 
 acter, which have since been brought to bear upon the point as additional evi- 
 dence. A coin of Yosimos, a Gaulish rix or regulus, has the legend vosimos 
 dvmnoco NEPOS — “ Vosimus, the grandson of Dumnoco and with this clue 
 we may safely interpret the ATPILI. ne. found on a British coin — as atpili 
 NEPOS, the grandson of Atpilus ; while on the coins of the Helvetic chief, 
 
EARLY BRITISH COINED MONEY. 
 
 33 
 
 Orgeto-rix, a similar form is found. The Romans, it would appear, favoured 
 the principle of hereditary right, as it often gave them a handle for inter- 
 ference ; and it is natural to conceive that it would be found advantageous to 
 a chief to place on his coinage the nature of the hereditary claim which 
 secured the patronage of Rome. * 
 
 Having established the identity of Tasciovan as a British prince, and the 
 father of the now well-known Cunobelin, we may go back to examine his 
 coins as those of one of the first British princes whose names appear on their 
 money, marking a distinct step from the anepigraphic or uninscribed coinage 
 of the immediately preceding epoch. Tasciovan, or Tascivanus, it was once 
 thought might be the Taxiomagulus, i. e., Taxio-magol, or “great chief,” 
 mentioned by Caesar. The recent finding of a coin, with the letters tax, has, 
 however, led to the belief that this new coin belongs to the true Taxiomagus, 
 or Taxiomagulus, who was in fact a king of Kent ; while it has never been 
 supposed, upon any good ground, that Tasciovan, whose capital was Verlamio 
 ever had rule in Kent. 
 
 The British princes bearing the names, Tasciovan, Commius, Andobratus, 
 and others less certainly ascertained, appear to have held rule contem- 
 poraneously, with the titles of rix, rex, or regulus, over large districts of 
 Eastern and Southern Britain, about the years 60 or 70 B.c. The dominions 
 of Tasciovan probably extended over all the regions occupied by the 
 Segontiaci (now Surrey) and Hampshire, and also those of the Trinobantes, 
 occupying a region corresponding to a great part of Hertford, Essex, and 
 Sussex. His chief city appears to have been Verlamio, near the modern 
 St. Albans. The coins attributed to Tasciovan himself are such as have 
 only his own name, either in full or abbreviated ; and, instead of being 
 followed by the F., have the letters ver., or seg., or ricon. These letters 
 refer to the cities where the coins were struck, as was the custom on the 
 colonial coins of Rome. Those with ver. are, of course, attributed to Ver- 
 lamio ; and as they are chiefly found on the site of that ancient city, near 
 St. Albans, the attribution appears sufficiently satisfactory. A small coin, 
 with tascio. on one side and ver. on the other, is represented at No. 8, 
 Plate 17. Those with sego. belong to Segontium, a city of the Segontiaci. 
 A coin with tascio. and sego. is represented in Plate 1, No. 7. Those with 
 RICON. belong to some city unknown, but certainly not Uriconium (Wrox- 
 eter), which could not have been in the dominions of Tasciovan. Those 
 coins which have the letters tasc. on one side, and the letters ver bod* 
 on the other, are also coins of Tasciovan, and probably struck at a city 
 bearing some such name as Verbodunum, as ingeniously suggested by Mr. 
 Evans. 
 
 These last were formerly attributed to Boadicea as the “female ruler,” or 
 “Vergobreti Boadicea.” This attempt to strain the interpretation of these 
 monetaiy inscriptions to suit the name of the favourite heroine, Boadicea, 
 or the popular chief, Caractacus, threw discredit for a time on the attribu- 
 
 * Coins -with ver., ricon., verbod., sego., without the name of Tasciovan, will be alluded 
 to further on. 
 
34 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 tion of the whole of this truly interesting and national series of coins. The 
 coins of Tasciovan have often for types the remnant of the old biga device in 
 the shape of a horse, with here and there a wheel of the chariot; but, as in No. 
 7, the horse had afterwards a rider, no doubt representing the chief himself. 
 Sometimes he holds a singular kind of sceptre, at others a spear and shield ; 
 and round this singularly hybrid device are interspersed the letters T. A. s. c. 
 On the other side of some of these coins the laurel wreath, the sole remnant 
 of the head, has been formed into a cruciform ornament, which might be 
 thought an original design, or a copy of the Greek device known as the 
 Macedonian shield, but that every gradation from the perfect wreath to this 
 systematized pattern might be shown on a series of these coins selected for 
 that purpose. Other coins of Tasciovan, of more recent discovery, have a 
 rudely executed bust of the chief on the obverse, much in the style of the 
 heads on the cotemporary coinage of the Gaulish kings of Galatia. The 
 bearded face of these coins, and the head bound with the regal fillet, is 
 very remarkable. The reverse is also new, and appears to represent a 
 hippocamp, or sea-horse, beneath which are the letters T. A. s. Other coins of 
 similar character, with the same inscription, have two profiles, one over the 
 other, one of them possibly representing either a queen, or some other person 
 associated in the government. There are coins of Tasciovan of gold, 
 silver, copper, and bronze. The gold and silver having their halves and 
 quarters ; the copper and bronze their halves, and some subdivisions which 
 are not accurately made out. The large gold pieces, like the Philips upon 
 which they are founded, may be roughly estimated as representing about the 
 nominal value of a modern sovereign, the large silver being, approximately, 
 equivalent to shillings. Tasciovan probably died about 20 B.c., when his 
 states appear to have been divided among his sons. 
 
 Of Segonax, one of the cotemporaries of Tasciovan, no coins have as yet 
 been discovered. 
 
 To Commius, however, another prince of that date, several coins have 
 now been attributed with tolerable certainty, though the letters com. were 
 long considered to belong to a word signifying community, or commonwealth, 
 founded on the Welsh or British word cwomwd, or cymmivd. Commius 
 may either have been that Commius, the Attrebatian, ruling over the At- 
 trebatii of Gaul, or a prince of the same name, ruling over the Attrebatii 
 who had settled in Britain. Camden, in allusion to a coin with the inscrip- 
 tion comm., says, — “Both I and others are pleased with the conceit that 
 it is a coin of Commius Attrebatensis, whom Caesar mentioneth for, in 
 Camden’s time, the theory respecting the “community” had not arisen. 
 The British coins bearing the name are, however, of British fabric, and struck 
 either by a resident British prince, or by one holding a delegated power. 
 On one of the coins of this prince, which has the name in full (running 
 round the horse with a . wheel beneath), it reads Commios, — the Greek termi- 
 nation showing that it belongs to a period prior to that in which the Roman 
 influence became predominant, when the us was almost invariably adopted 
 as the euphonic termination of barbaric names. 
 
EARLY BRITISH COINED MONEY. 
 
 35 
 
 The coins of Addedomaros are of good weight, being 86 grains ; and having 
 the Greek termination to the name, like those of Commios, renders them also 
 attributable to the earlier period. They have for types the rude biga horse, 
 and generally the debased wreath on the other side. The horse and the 
 debased wheels of the coin No. 2, Plate 17, closely resemble in treatment 
 the same types on the coins of Addedomaros. There are small coins of red 
 gold, with the name in full, weighing 21J grains, probably the quarter of the 
 large coin. Addedomaros was probably a prince of the Iceni, who occupied 
 the districts now known as Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, &c. The coins 
 with his name are found most commonly near Cambridge. He was prob- 
 ably a descendant of the HCdd-maur, or HCdd the Great, of the old Welsh 
 Chronicles, who is represented as one of the progenitors of a long line of 
 ancient British kings ; and he possibly bore the same name, Grecianized, 
 according to the custom of his time, as Addedomaros. 
 
 Coins, apparently belonging to the same epoch as those of Commios and 
 Addedomaros, and having tihi. or TIGII., with other indistinct letters, are 
 probably those of some prince, the abbreviated form of whose name has not 
 as yet led to its identification. No. 6, Plate 1, is a coin of this description. 
 It has been thought probable that the TIGII. or TIGV. may be a native spell- 
 ing of Tigodumnus, a son of Cunobelin, to be alluded to hereafter. 
 
 The copper coin No. 4, in the same Plate, may probably be a coin of the 
 same prince, as the TGIL, though indistinct, is yet there. The head of 
 Apollo on this coin, with the hair and wreath, shows a very peculiar, 
 though less utterly barbarous, interpretation of the original than the gold 
 coin last described. 
 
 No. 1, Plate 17, may either be a coin of a prince or of a city.* It is 
 extremely rude, the inscription unintelligible, and the obverse of the coin 
 entirely blank. Coins have been attributed to other princes of about this 
 date, but the attribution appears at present uncertain, and I will therefore 
 proceed to describe the money of the descendants of the dynasties of 
 Tasciovan and Commios, the only lines that can be traced to the final sub- 
 jection of the island to the power of Rome. 
 
 At the death of Tasciovan the north-eastern portion of his dominions 
 appears to have devolved upon his son, Cunobelin, with Camulodunum 
 (Colchester) as its capital. Epaticcus had part of Surrey and Hampshire, 
 with Yindonum of the Segontiaci as his chief city (near Farnham). Of the 
 states and coins of his other sons, little or nothing is known. 
 
 The coins of Cunobelin, the Cymbeline of Shakespeare, are more numerous 
 than those of any other British prince, and in most cases of a different aspect, 
 having Roman types, executed by Roman artists. The Romanizing pro- 
 pensity of Cunobelin, however, which he acquired during his education at 
 the court of Augustus, is not always to be traced upon his coins, some of 
 which bear the old types, and are of native workmanship. The descent of 
 Cunobelin is satisfactorily traced in the Chronicle of Tysilio. We have first 
 Teneuvan (doubtless the Tasciovan of the coinage), then Cynvelin, a spelling 
 
 * The supposed coins of British cities will be alluded to farther on. 
 
36 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 very close to the Cymbeline of Shakespeare, who is, without doubt, the 
 Cunobelin of the British coins, and then follow the sons of Cunobelin, the 
 last of their line. 
 
 Of Cunobelin s coins of the Romanized types, the specimen No. 8, Plate 1, 
 may be cited. The die was evidently executed by a Homan artist. It was 
 evidently struck in the commencement of his reign, as may be at once 
 inferred from the exceedingly youthful character of the portrait. On the 
 reverse is Apollo playing upon the lyre. The name was probably in full on 
 the die, though on the coin only the letters cvnobeli are tolerably distinct. 
 On the obverse should be TASC. F., or tascio. F., — the two inscriptions reading 
 consecutively Cunobelinus Tasciovani films , as successfully interpreted by 
 Mr. Birch. Other coins of the same class, of a later period, have the head of 
 Cunobelin, more in the orthodox Roman style, very like that of Claudius 
 on the silver denarii. Most of these have the name in full, cvnobelinvs, 
 the reverse being frequently a centaur, with the inscription tasciovani. f. 
 There are a great number of different types, however, one of the most cele- 
 brated being that of a figure in the act of striking money with a punch and 
 die on a kind of anvil. I have observed that the greater number of types of 
 the Roman character, and executed by Roman artists, are found, like the last 
 described, on the copper coinage of this prince ; while the old national types, 
 and the ancient mode of workmanship, seem to be more confined to the gold. 
 This system may have been adopted in partial imitation of the Roman 
 custom, which esteemed the bronze coinage as national, and therefore under 
 the control of the senate ; while the gold and silver coinage, as more recent 
 introductions, were considered the privilege of the emperor. Cunobelin, 
 reasoning upon these data, may have come to the conclusion that, as gold 
 was the more ancient British standard, and copper and bronze foreign intro- 
 ductions, the gold coinage should continue to have the ancient types, which 
 long custom had rendered, to a certain extent, national, while the bronze, 
 as being of exotic character and more recent date, might be subject to the 
 taste of the sovereign, and therefore receive that Romanized character which 
 his Italian education had led him to appreciate and admire. 
 
 The Gaulish symbol of the boar, either sitting or walking, is found on 
 many coins both of Tasciovan and Cunobelin, as well as other symbols which 
 are yet waiting for their elucidation. Of Cunobelin’s gold coin of ancient 
 type, No. 7, Plate 17, may serve as an example. On the obverse is a 
 device which has been described as an emblematic ear of barley, but which 
 may, with equal chance of a correct interpretation, be considered a transition 
 from the remnant of the old laurel wreath, to which the artist may have 
 sought to give a little more meaning by making it resemble an ear of barley. 
 Some have thought, however, that as Pagan and Druidic symbols were even- 
 tually used on the Gaulish staters, in addition to the old types, so in Britain 
 a similar course may have been pursued ; and the ear of barley has therefore 
 been assumed to have reference to Ceredwen, the British Ceres ; or it may be 
 a symbol of the great staple of the fine corn country, of which the capital 
 of Cunobelin was the centre. Beneath the horse are the letters CVNO., and 
 
EARLY BRITISH COINED MONEY. 
 
 37 
 
 on the reverse camv., the first letters of camvlodvnvm. The palace of 
 Cunobelin at Camulodnnum does not appear to have been built within the 
 city, which occupied the exact site of the present Colchester, but to have 
 been at some little distance, at Lexden Heath, where coins and other British 
 remains are often found. The name of Lexden, it has been suggested, is 
 possibly a corruption of Llys-dun, which may be literally translated as a 
 palace-fortress. The coin No. 6, Plate 17, is of very similar character, but 
 without the name of Cunobelin, and was possibly struck by the civic 
 authorities of Camulodunum, as other coins of the same class may have been. 
 
 The word SOLIDO on a small coin of Cunobelin, No. 9, Plate 17, has not 
 been satisfactorily explained. It is true that, in the decadence of the Roman 
 empire, solidus was a monetary term, and was applied to the principal gold 
 coin which had formerly been called the aureus. But then this name was 
 not applied to any Homan coin till nearly three centuries after the coins of 
 Cunobelin were issued ; and then, the “ solido” coin of Cunobelin is copper, 
 and not gold. Some have endeavoured to prove that “solido” was the name 
 of a moneyer, but quite unsuccessfully, as no example of a moneyer’s 
 name occurs on British coins of that epoch. Cunobelin’ s long reign lasted 
 from about B.c. 13 to A.D. 41, an extent of more than fifty years, which fully 
 accounts for the great number of his coins which have found their way into 
 our collections. 
 
 To Epaticcus, the brother of Cunobelin, no coins were till quite recently 
 attributed. Several had formerly come to light, but through a perverse deter- 
 mination to attribute them to the popular hero Caractacus, the son of Cunobelin, 
 they became at last involved in what seemed impenetrable obscurity. It is 
 easy to conceive that the word might be read as eraticcvs, the p look- 
 ing like R in imperfect specimens ; and also that, in other specimens, the E 
 might be read as c, giving Craticcus ; or it might be imagined that an obli- 
 terated c originally preceded the E, which would give Ceraticcus, which is 
 more near to the commonly accepted form of the name than the Caradoc of 
 Ossian. But, whatever may have led former antiquaries astray, a gold coin 
 with the same types has been recently found at Farley Heath, near Farnham, 
 in Surrey, with both types and inscription in such beautiful preservation as 
 to remove any farther ground of doubt as to its attribution. This coin was 
 found in 1857 with several others, most of which unfortunately went to the 
 crucible before the saving hand of some enthusiastic archaeologist could save 
 them. It has on the obverse a horseman holding a shield and a javelin, 
 with the inscription epatic. beneath, and in front of the horse ; and probably 
 cvs above. On the reverse is an ear of wheat or barley, with the same 
 tasci. F. as on the coins of Cunobelin. Of the other sons of Tasciovan we 
 have no monetary record. 
 
 Three sons of Commios, the cotemporary of Cunobelin, have each left 
 monuments in the shape of coins bearing their names — Epillus, Tincomius, 
 and Vericus. The coins of a regulus or chief, bearing the name of 
 Epillus, which are generally found in the Isle of Thanet, and most frequently 
 near to Margate, are now known to be those of a son of Commios, as the 
 
38 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 COM. F., for “son of Commios,” in the same form as “ Tasciovani filius” on 
 the coins of Cunobelin and Epaticcus, leave no room for doubt on that point. ! 
 Coins bearing the names Tincomius and Yericus have also COM. F. Some of 
 those of Tincomius read tinc. com. f., others tincom. com. f. We know nothing 
 of the history of Tincomius ; but it is highly probable that he is one of the 
 British princes whose names are inscribed on the column at Ancyra, erected I 
 in the reign of Augustus, and on which a series of the chief events of his 1 
 rule, up to that epoch, are inscribed. Among these the embassies of two 
 British princes are alluded to, whose names stand in the record as Damno 
 
 Bellanus (of whom we shall hear presently) and Tinc The last name 
 
 is incomplete ; but it is highly probable that Tincomius, the son of Commios, 
 is the personage intended to be named. The coins bearing the name of 
 Yericus are evidently those of a brother of Tincomius, as the name of Yericus 
 is invariably accompanied by the com. f. of the coins of Tincomius. 
 
 Of the names of the sons of Cunobelin, only that of Dubnovellaunos is 
 found on coins. A coin bearing part of this name was formerly attributed 
 to Dumnorex, a Gaulish prince, by Mr. Taylor Combe ; but Mr. Evans, our 
 most recent great authority in matters relating to the coinage of the British 
 princes before the Romans, attributes it to Dubnovellaunos, or Dumnovel- 
 launos, who is doubtless the personage referred to on the Ancyra column. 
 The coin, a quarter gold piece, and weighing only 14^ grains, is now 
 in the British Museum. The light weight and bad workmanship show that 
 it belonged to the very last period of the Britannic coinage. The Roman 
 influence became much fainter after the death of Cunobelin ; and it is 
 possible that Dubnovellaunos reassumed the Greek form of termination to 
 his name, as one of many other small assertions of an independence which 
 was doomed to be so very short lived. The coin No. 4, Plate 17, is possibly 
 another specimen of the coinage of Dubnovellaunos of the large module. 
 
 Of Togodumnus, another son of Cunobelin, who died fighting for inde- 
 pendence in a great battle with the Romans, no coins are known, unless 
 those with the inscription Tigu., &c., should prove to be so. Great similarity 
 of style to that which I have attributed to Dubnovellaunos (No. 4, Plate 17), 
 greatly tends to strengthen the supposition that they are so. Of Caractacus, 
 also described by Dion Cassius as the son of Cunobelin, and who is best 
 known to history on account of his captivity in Rome, having been described 
 by Roman historians, no coins are known, and probably none were ever struck. 
 There was also Admenius, the reputed eldest son of Cunobelin, whose more 
 purely Celtic name was iEdd. He reigned conjointly with his brother 
 Togodumnus for about two and a-half years ; his reign, along with those of 
 other British princes, having terminated after a brief but hopeless struggle 
 against the Roman army, under the command of Aulus Plautius, which, in 
 the reign of Claudius, invaded the island for the purpose of its complete and 
 final subjection. 
 
 It will be seen that, through the medium of coins, studied in the light 
 of historical monuments, the names of several British princes have been 
 recovered from the darkness of the remote Britannic annals, while two entire 
 
EARLY BRITISH COINED MONEY. 
 
 39 
 
 dynasties have been traced, one for two generations and the other for three 
 — the last descendants of Tasciovan perishing on the field of battle in defence 
 of their independence, or being carried in captivity to Rome. 
 
 It remains now to speak of those British coins with inscriptions of the 
 names of towns only, and not of princes. This portion of the subject may 
 be dismissed very briefly, as the coins bearing names supposed to be those 
 of tribes or cities, and not princes, are of the same character in every other 
 respect as those described as being issued by British chiefs in the character of 
 sovereigns. 
 
 Those coins with the letters E., ce., or ecen., are generally attributed to 
 the Iceni ; the coins bearing these inscriptions having been found in Nor- 
 folk or Suffolk, the region occupied by that tribe. Mr. Roach Smith has 
 conjectured, with great show of probability, that such coins as have the 
 ecen. or E. CE., and the letters DVRO. or CAM., are the issue of particular towns, 
 — those with Duro . , for instance, belonging to Durobrivae, and those with 
 Cam. to Camboricum, both towns of the Iceni. The coin of doubtful attri- 
 bution, No. 1, Plate 17, may possibly be a late coin of the Iceni, struck 
 perhaps during the revolt of Boadicea, when Celtic art was fast becoming 
 extinct, but was making a last effort to preserve its nationality of character. 
 
 The British coins with Cassi or Catti, have been assigned to Cassevellaunus 
 or Cattevellaunus, but more probably belong to a Tribe, possibly the Cassii. 
 The rude coin, of the old Philip type, No. 3, Plate 17, is a coin of the 
 description referred to. 
 
 The coins with CAMV, only, and without the name of Cunobelin, were 
 probably issued by the civic authorities of Camulodunum, which possibly, 
 in common with other cities, formerly independent, still possessed an 
 autonomy like the great Greek cities, which empowered them to strike 
 their own money. The coin represented at No. 6, Plate 17, is one of 
 the kind referred to, which may be compared with No. 7 on the same 
 plate, the last having the name of Cunobelin, as well as that of the city, 
 from which it might be inferred, that there was both a royal and a civic 
 mint in that, and probably in other Celtic cities. The remarkable coins 
 with the letters bodvo, or BODVOI, on the reverse, without any other 
 type or ornament, are now classed with the coins of British tribes or 
 cities. These were the coins fondly attributed by our early antiquaries 
 to the popular British heroine, Boadicea,- Queen of the Iceni ; and some 
 have thought fancifully to solve the difficulty, by reading the letters as an 
 abbreviated sentence, which they translate, still referring to Boadicea, 
 “I fly from the war chariot;” others have insisted upon Boduo, or Boduoc, 
 being the name of a money er, — an explanation which cannot be admitted. 
 That these are late Icenian coins I think there is no doubt, and perhaps it 
 is not yet time to give up the Boadicean theory, if the inscription could 
 be properly read. Perhaps BO. dv. oc., the latter read as ic., might lead 
 us to bo. (adicea), dv. (robrivse), ic. (enensis). But we must leave such 
 attempts at interpretation to the higher numismatic authorities. The coins 
 with ANDO, are attributed to Andovera, which existed on the site of the 
 
40 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 modern Andover, and with this name I close a list which might have been 
 greatly extended. 
 
 I cannot, however, close this attempt to describe, in a very brief nar- 
 rative, the present state of our knowledge of the coinage of the Britanno- 
 Celtic tribes, princes, and cities, without referring to a rude class of coins 
 belonging to the same epoch, which have hitherto met with but* little 
 attention from our numismatists. I allude to the rugged coins formed of a 
 mixture of zinc and tin, which have evidently been cast in wooden moulds, 
 their surface showing the grain of the wood so distinctly, as almost to enable 
 a careful observer to determine its kind. The coins No. 1 and 2, Plate 1, 
 are of this class. The types of No. 1 are evidently those of the beautiful 
 Macedonian Philips in their lowest state of degradation; the profile of 
 the noble head of Apollo being reduced to a few rude, though not altogether 
 uncharacteristic, raised lines; while the reverse has the main outline of 
 the horse of the biga, every portion of the chariot having disappeared. 
 The other coin, No. 2, has different types : on one side the Gaulish symbol of 
 the boar is plain enough, but on the other the rude full face offers no clue 
 to an intelligible solution of its meaning. Both these coins were found 
 in making the excavation for the ornamental water in St. James’s 
 Park, and similar coins have been found in other localities. In the Isle 
 of Thanet several have been recently discovered, which have been minutely 
 described by Mr. Fairholt. It is supposed that they were struck in private 
 mints for small change, just as in later times tavern-keepers and other 
 traders struck the leaden and copper tokens which became so numerous 
 about the time of Elizabeth ; and which finally, by their abuse, led to the 
 national copper coinage of the reign of Charles II. 
 
 SUMMARY OF DATES CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY BRITISH COINAGE. 
 
 From an uncertain period up to about 600 B.c., primitive or direct barter 
 was probably the only method of effecting exchanges, with the addition, 
 perhaps, of rolls of cloth of ascertained length, and pieces of salt of a certain 
 weight, which had a generally accepted value in reference to other produce. 
 
 From about 600 B.c. to 300 B.C., the Phoenicians traded to Britain, by 
 whose means, if not before, the Britanno-Celtic tribes became acquainted 
 with ring-money, as it circulated at that time in the north of Africa, and 
 the west of Asia. It is, however* most probable that the Phoenicians gave 
 but little of that valuable and comparatively convenient medium of exchange 
 in return for the products of Britain, but managed to effect a profitable barter 
 by means of small trinkets and personal ornaments, attractive to a semi- 
 barbarous people like the Britons, but of little intrinsic value. 
 
 About 300 B.c. the Greeks of Massilia first traded to Britain, at which 
 time, possibly, the Britons first saw real coins of the “medallic” form, 
 especially the Macedonian Philips, with which, doubtless, the Massilians 
 came pretty well furnished, though in all probability they parted with 
 them very charily. 
 
 About 200 B.C., in consequence of the second Punic war, the trade of the 
 
SUMMARY OF DATES CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY BRITISH COINAGE. 41 
 
 Phoenicians ceased, and soon after that of the Greeks, traffic by way of the 
 Mediterranean becoming insecure. From about 150 to about 75 B.c., Gaulish 
 imitations of the Macedonian staters circulated in Britain. These staters had 
 been imitated in the southern provinces of Gaul as early as 335 B.c., very 
 soon after their first issue in Macedonia and Thrace ; and these fabrications 
 spread rapidly northwards and westwards (as they were found the most 
 reliable and convenient medium of exchange then known) ; and soon after 
 200 B.c., when the trade for British tin w&s carried on through France, 
 
 ! these pieces were introduced into the traffic, and copied by the native 
 tribes in Britain, without any inscription. 
 
 About 35 B.c. British tribes and princes began to cause their names to be 
 placed upon these imitative staters, — a system continued by their successors 
 for more than a century ; and coins of a similar character issued by the civic 
 I authority of cities, were also largely issued. 
 
 About 55 B.c. the first invasion of Csesar brought the native princes 
 : of Britain, for the first time, under direct Homan influence ; when Latinized 
 terminations began to be used in the proper names placed on the coinage, 
 instead of the Greek ones which before prevailed. 
 
 From about 55 B.c. to 13 B.c. may be considered the period of these 
 British princes, such as Tasciovan, Commios, and others, who first placed 
 their names on the coinage. 
 
 From about 13 B.c. to 41 A.D. the partially Romanized coinage of 
 Cunobelin circulated largely in Britain. 
 
 From 41 A.D. to 43 A.D. a reaction against Roman influence took place ; 
 Greek terminations were again adopted in the names inscribed on the 
 coinage, and the Roman method: of coining, and Roman types, were aban- 
 doned. 
 
 In 43 A.D., in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, Britain was invaded 
 by a Roman army, under Aulus Plautius, for the purpose of its total sub- 
 jection. But till 44 A.D. coins of the sons of Cunobelin, and those of 
 many cities in their territories, continued to be struck ; after which, the sub- 
 jugation of the western and south-western portions of Britain being 
 complete, no more native money was struck. 
 
 From 43 to 71 A.D. the more northern tribes, especially the Brigantes, 
 continued to strike native money of the old types and form, but of reduced 
 weight and of the rudest workmanship. In the last named year the 
 territory of the Brigantes was invaded by the Romans, under Petilius 
 Cerealis, after which many of the Brigantine mints were doubtless stopped. 
 
 In 79 A.D. Agricola finally subdued the Brigantes, the last of the British 
 tribes remaining independent ; and after that period no more Britanno-Celtic 
 money was struck, and the Roman coinage was introduced throughout the 
 whole island. 
 
 D 
 
42 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 COINS OF THE ROMANS RELATING TO BRITAIN * 
 
 The year 43 A.D. was marked by the almost complete subjugation of the 
 southern parts of the island by the Emperor Claudius, and from that time 
 the coinage of Rome became the current money of Britain, coins of nearly all 
 the emperors being found in considerable numbers in all parts of the country. 
 But the subject of the general coinage of Rome being beyond the scope of 
 this work, it is only such Roman coins as bear especial relation to 
 this country, either by their inscriptions or devices, or such as may be sup- 
 posed to have been actually minted in Britain, that I shall attempt to 
 describe; though to enter rather more largely upon the subject of Roman 
 coins would be very attractive, from the Roman custom of commemorating 
 their greatest achievements upon their common current money. “ If,” says 
 Gibbon, “ history was lost to us, medals and their inscriptions would alone 
 record the travels of Hadrian.” From this custom many events connected 
 with Britain are recorded on the coins of Rome, which thus become most 
 interesting relics connected with our early history. 
 
 It is not supposed by archaeologists that Roman mints were established in 
 any part of the island before the time of Constantine, though such existed in 
 many of the principal cities of Gaul at an earlier period, from which most 
 likely the money circulated in Britain was derived. The independent 
 usurpers, Carausius and Allectus, however, during their complete separation 
 from the Continent, no doubt struck their money in Britain. 
 
 It would be impossible, in the compass of this work, to describe all the 
 Roman coins that bear reference to Britain; but a selection of examples, 
 arranged in chronological order, may be made to afford a very complete 
 general idea of the subject. 
 
 The first allusion to Britain on Roman coins occurs in the well-known 
 instances of those of Claudius. No. 10, Plate 1, was struck in commemo- 
 ration of the erection of the triumphal arch decreed to him by the Senate on 
 the conquest of Britain, and minted, it is supposed, in A.D. 46, three years 
 after that event. It has the laureated head of the Emperor, with the in- 
 scription (abbreviated) TI. CLAVD. CAESAR. AUG. P. M. tr. p. VIIII. IMP. XVI. — 
 intended to read, “Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, 
 Tribunitia Potestate nonum, Imperator decimum sextum;” which may be 
 translated, “ Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, holding the office of Pontifex 
 Maximus (or High Pontiff), possessing the Tribunitian Power for the ninth, 
 time, and Imperator for the sixteenth time.” To the tyro in numismatic 
 inscriptions, it may be here explained, that the holding of the tribunitian 
 power referred to, was the periodical investiture of the emperor with the 
 nominal attributes of the power of the ancient tribunes of the people, then 
 become an empty title. “Imperator for the sixteenth time” refers to the 
 well-known historical fact, that the first emperors, or imperators, were not 
 
 * In this short chapter on the coins of the Romans in England, I am greatly indebted to 
 the labours of Mr. T. I). Hardy, and to the beautiful Work of Mr. Akerman, which should 
 be in the hands of every one interested in the subject. 
 
ROMAN COINS RELATING TO BRITAIN. 
 
 43 
 
 declared imperators for life, but only for a certain period, after the manner of 
 the ancient dictatorships, such declarations being, however, servilely renewed 
 by the Senate at the expiration of each period. These renewals are thus 
 recorded on the coinage till the title became recognized as hereditary. The 
 reverse of this coin is a triumphal arch surmounted by an equestrian statue 
 
 I between trophies, no doubt a representation of the one decreed by the Senate ; 
 it has the inscription DE. britanni, in allusion to the recent British victories. 
 No. 14, Plate 1, is a coin struck in honour of the young Britannicus, the 
 ! son of Claudius, who received his surname when an infant, at the time it 
 !j was conferred upon his father, on the subjugation of Britain. This coin was 
 not struck in a Roman mint, but by a tributary sovereign in the East. The 
 i kings of the Bosphorus had, since the reign of Augustus, caused the 
 | portrait of the reigning Roman emperor to be placed on one side of their 
 ! coins in token of subservience to the power of Rome. But Cotys, not deem- 
 ing this amount of adulation sufficient, placed the head of a Roman emperor 
 on each side of his gold coins, reserving to himself little more than the mere 
 initials of his name, very inconspicuously placed. In this way the head of 
 Claudius, his first protector, occupies the obverse ; and those of the emperors, 
 his successors, down to Yitellius, the reverses of his gold coinage. On his 
 copper coinage, however, he appears to have occasionally retained the 
 privilege of placing his own portrait — as in the present example, where it 
 occupies the obverse, with the inscription BA.KO, in form of a monogram, then 
 common on Asiatic coins, for (3 acuXsto^ K orvog — “ Of King Cotys,” implying 
 “ Money of King Cotys ;” and on the reverse is the portrait of Britannicus, 
 with the inscription in Greek, like that of the king, kaieapoe bpetannikoe, 
 “ Caesar Britannicus,” the square sigma being used instead of S, as was 
 common in nearly all Greek inscriptions of the period. 
 
 No further allusions to Britain occur on the Roman coinage till the reign 
 of Hadrian, during whose visits to the vast and distant provinces of the 
 Roman empire Britain was not forgotten — to which several inscriptions on 
 his coins bear witness. Mr. Akerman has cited four instances in which 
 types referring to Britain occur on the “ first brass,” — that is, the “ sester- 
 tius,” the largest copper coin of the empire. The most remarkable is the one 
 evidently struck to commemorate his arrival, being similar to those issued on 
 his entry into Cilicia, Gaul, and other provinces. It has on the obverse the 
 bust of the emperor, with the inscription HADRIANVS. AVG. COS. II. P.P., for 
 hadrianvs. AVGVSTVS. CONSVL. ITERVM. PATER, patriae, which may be trans- 
 lated, “ Hadrianus Augustus, Consul for the second time, Father of the 
 Country.” On the reverse is represented a propitiatory sacrifice, with the in- 
 scription AD VENT VI. AVG. BRITANNIAE (for the arrival of Augustus in Britain), 
 and underneath s.c. for senatvs. consvlto, by decree of the Senate. (See 
 No. 11, Plate 1.) 
 
 No. 12, Plate 17, has been introduced, as showing the figure which has 
 since formed the model for the Britannia on our modern halfpence. The 
 obverse of this coin, which I have not engraved, has merely the laureated 
 head of the emperor, accompanied by the titles in the usual form ; but the 
 
44 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 reverse, shown in the engraving, has a female figure seated on a rock, and 
 holding a spear. Some consider this figure a personification of Britain — in 
 short, Britannia; while others suppose it to be Roma, though without the 
 usual attributes, symbolizing the act of taking full possession of the country. 
 But the figure, evidently allegorical in character, would seem rather, as armed 
 and in a position of repose, to imply peace — after a successful campaign, 
 such as that undertaken at this time against the Caledonians ; the inscription 
 “ Britannia” referring to the scene of action, rather than to the figure. It 
 was, however, long considered to be a figure of Britannia, and in the semi- 
 classical taste which prevailed in the time of Charles II. it served as the 
 model for the figure of Britannia, then placed upon the first copper coinage 
 of England; the beautiful Frances Stuart, however, as it is said, being the 
 model for the details in the die engraved by Bawlins, especially the leg, 
 which was undraped in the design then adopted. 
 
 No. 15, Plate 17, is the reverse of a copper coin (first brass) of Antoninus 
 Pius ; it bears for type a Victory descending upon a globe — in reference, per- 
 haps, to the peace established after his final victory over the north British 
 
 M 
 
 tribe, the Brigantes. The inscription is simply imperator ii, and s.c. for 
 “ Senatus Consulto.” Across the field is BRITAN, an abbreviation of “ Britan- 
 nia,” which at once establishes the province to which the type of the Victory 
 refers. 
 
 Nos. 13 and 14, Plate 17, are the obverse and reverse of another coin of 
 this emperor. The obverse is simply a portrait with a radiated crown, and 
 the usual titles; the reverse has for type a female figure in an attitude of 
 dejection — perhaps representing a province in which rebellion has been 
 recently subdued by force of arms, as a military standard and shield are 
 placed in front of the figure. The inscription is BRITANNIA. COS. mi. The 
 last portion of the inscription records the fourth honorary consulship of 
 the emperor. 
 
 No. 12, Plate 1, is a noble medallion of Commodus. The inscription 
 stands m. commodvs. Antoninus, aug. pius. brit., and reads, “ Marcus Com- 
 modus Antoninus Augustus Britannicus.” Commodus, as we learn from 
 Herodian, had always been ambitious of the surname of Britannicus ; and 
 after some victories over the Caledonians by the Homan commander in 
 Britain, he assumed that name on his coins, though he never personally 
 visited the island. On the reverse of this coin the inscription stands P. M. 
 TR. P. x. IMP VII ; and on the shield of the large figure of Victory is inscribed 
 VICT. BRIT, for VICTORIAE britannicae. This fine medallion is in the 
 national collection of France. Another medallion of this emperor, struck on 
 the same occasion, and equally fine, is in the British Museum, and will 
 be found represented in Plate 17, No. 16. 
 
 The next allusion to Britain occurs on the coins of the war-loving Sep- 
 timus Severus, who died at York in A.D. 211, urging his generals (the ruling 
 passion strong in death) to prosecute the war then raging with the Cale- 
 donians, till they were exterminated , No. 13, Plate 1, is a large brass coin 
 of this emperor, with a tolerably well executed head, which, though the last 
 
ROMAN COINS RELATING TO BRITAIN. 
 
 45 
 
 great era of Roman art, that of the Antonines, was fast waning, still ex- 
 hibits considerable grandeur of style. The reverse has two winged Vic- 
 tories, attaching a circular buckler to a palm, at the foot of which are 
 j captives. Some have supposed the two figures to indicate two different 
 victories, others that of a victory of Severus shared by his son. The 
 j inscription of the obverse of this coin stands, sept, severvs. pivs. aug., 
 and reads “ Septimus Severus Pius Augustus;” the reverse has “ Victoria 
 Britt anic?e.” 
 
 The coins of Caracalla are also good specimens of art, and especially 
 I interesting as exhibiting in some of their types the narrow shields, sup- 
 posed to represent the “ scutus Augustus ” of the Britons, mentioned by 
 Herodian. 
 
 No. 17, Plate 17, is a large coin of Caracalla. The inscription stands, 
 M. AVREL. ANTONINVS. Pivs. AVG., which reads, “ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 
 Pius Augustus;” for the name of Caracalla never appears upon his coins, 
 and that of Aurelius, which he assumed,* has led to some mistakes by 
 
 I amateurs in the attribution of coins, though its appearance on the coins of 
 Caracalla is well known to numismatists. The portrait, however, may 
 always serve as a sufficient indication of the coins of Caracalla, as it is 
 j well executed and peculiarly marked in feature. The type of the reverse 
 is two Victories erecting a trophy, and the inscription victoriae britan- 
 ! NICAE. The gold and silver coins of this emperor also bear inscriptions 
 j referring to Britain. 
 
 No. 18, Plate 17, is a silver coin of Geta, the brother of Caracalla, and 
 1 for some time associated with him in the government of the empire. The 
 i inscription of the obverse, is, P. SEPT. GETA. Pius. aug. brit., which reads, 
 “ Publius Septimus Geta Pius Augustus Britannicus ;” the last name having 
 been awarded to him by the Senate in consequence of his share in the 
 victories of his father over the north Britons. There are coins of Geta, with 
 the inscription “Victoriae Augustorum” — “The victories of the Augustuses,” 
 alluding to the period when Caracalla and Geta were associated in the 
 government of the empire. 
 
 Coins were struck during the joint power of these princes, bearing the 
 portraits of both. Some of these are known, from which that of Geta has 
 been erased in the die ; apparently an act of unprincipled adulation, addressed 
 to the tyrant Caracalla, by the Asiatic city where these coins were struck, 
 after his fratricidal murder of Geta. 
 
 The coins of the usurper Postumus are frequently found in England, 
 as are the smaller brass coins of Victorinus, and also those of Marius. 
 Fabricius, holding supreme power in Spain and Gaul for some years, issued 
 a large number of coins bearing his name and effigy, which are frequently 
 found in England, though there is no allusion to the name of Britain 
 upon them, or indeed on any of the coins noticed in this paragraph. 
 
 The reign of Dioclesian is a remarkable epoch in Roman history, on 
 account of the changes that took place in the general administration of the 
 empire ; the innovations in matters connected with the coinage being very 
 
46 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 considerable. Among other monetary reforms, provincial mints were estab- 
 lished about this time for supplying the distant provinces with coin, which, I 
 throughout the western portion of the empire, had hitherto been exclusively \ 
 supplied by the mints of Rome, in which, in the reign of Aurelius, more than 
 20,000 workmen were employed. The new mints that were organized about 
 the reign of Dioclesian, if not by him, as is supposed, were established as far 
 north as Treves, where a vast number of coins were issued in subsequent 
 reigns. The coins of Treves have p. tr. in the exergue, for “ Pecunia j 
 Treveris” — “Money of Treves.” There were also several mints established 
 in Gaul, besides the principal one, which was at Lugdunum (Lyons); and 
 even in Britain, where money was thenceforward coined with the letters j 
 p. LON. or M. L., for “ Pecunia Londinensis,” or “ Moneta Londinensis,” and 
 some with LON., which must be " Londinium.” Coins with this inscription, 
 of the second brass of Dioclesian, have been engraved by Banduri, which I 
 some, however, assign to the Lyons mint — interpreting the three letters I 
 as “Lugdunum Officina Nono” — “Lugdunum, of the Ninth Office;” but j 
 this is a strained interpretation. A coin of Maximin has the exergual letters 1 
 ML. The coins of Constantius Chlorus, however, who died at York, have no 
 letters of this description. Of far greater interest than any of these are the 
 undoubtedly British coins of the usurper Carausius, a bold soldier, who in 
 the reign of Maximianus, taking advantage of holding the command of the 
 Roman fleet at Boulogne, escaped with it to Britain, where he succeeded 
 in ingratiating himself with the people, and grasping the sovereignty 
 of the island. He successfully defied the whole Roman power from A.D. 
 287 to 293, when he was assassinated by his minister, Allectus, who 
 succeeded to the supreme authority in Britain, which he held for three years. 
 He was finally subdued by the prefect Asclepiodotus, who, arriving with 
 a considerable force which had been three years in preparation, encoun- 
 tered this second usurper, and defeated his army with great slaughter; 
 Allectus himself perishing in the conflict. Of the coins of Carausius we have 
 many interesting types, of which Mr. Akerman has given a great variety in 
 his interesting and instructive work ; among others, one from the fine collec- 
 tion of Mr. Thomas, having the bust of the emperor with the paludamentum, 
 and the inscription (abbreviated) “Imperator Carausius Pius Felix Augustus ;” 
 on the reverse, the emperor, bareheaded, joins hands with a female who holds 
 a trident ; below are the letters RS. R., the meaning of which is uncertain, 
 but the signification of the figures is more clear — the female is undoubtedly 
 the genius of Britain amicably receiving the new emperor, who flatters her 
 (for the first time, probably) as “ queen of the sea,” by placing a trident in 
 her hand. Carausius seems also to have been the first to perceive the im- 
 portance of the position of these islands, near to the centre of Europe, and 
 yet separated and fortified by the barrier of the sea ; to express winch, his 
 coins have sometimes a ship on the reverse. Others have “ Moneta (Juno),” 
 with her attributes ; and a rare gold coin, purchased by the late Mr. Crache- 
 rode for £150, and bequeathed by him to the British Museum, has under the 
 figure of Jupiter the letters M. L., supposed to imply “ Moneta Londinensis.” 
 
ROMAN COINS RELATING TO BRITAIN. 
 
 47 
 
 If of the London mint, it is highly creditable to the artists employed there 
 by Carausius, as the head is most effectively executed in very high relief, 
 though with some of the stiffness of the epoch. 
 
 No. 15, Plate 1, is a copper coin of Carausius, the correct spelling of 
 whose name was first accurately ascertained from this series of coins. 
 
 No. 16, Plate 1, is a coin of his treacherous successor, Allectus. He also 
 seems to have been fully aware of the importance of the insular position of 
 Britain, and of its natural arm — shipping ; for he, too, placed a ship on the 
 reverse of many of his coins. It has been supposed, however, that the ship 
 was merely the favourite Roman emblem of the state ; but the former theory 
 offers more interest, though it is perhaps scarcely tenable ; for a ship forms 
 also the arms of the city of Paris, and in that instance certainly no allusion 
 to a fleet, or the importance of shipping to the city, could be implied. But 
 these are mere hypotheses, the “ship” being, perhaps, in both cases simply 
 the Roman emblem of the state. There are coins of Allectus of gold 
 
 o 
 
 and silver, and of brass of the small size ; the busts of the emperor being, like 
 those of Carausius,* sharply executed, and having so marked a character that 
 they may doubtless be considered portraits. The specimen No. 16 has the 
 bust of the emperor, with imp. c. ALLECTVS piv. fel. AVG., which reads, “ Im- 
 perator C. Allectus Pius felicitas Augustus” (or Augusti). Several varieties 
 of the coins of Allectus exist, of which Mr. Hardy has given examples and 
 accurate descriptions. 
 
 No. 17, Plate 1, is a small brass coin of Constantine the Great, apparently 
 struck in England, having p. LON. in the exergue. On the obverse the 
 emperor is represented wearing a helmet, accompanied by the legend CON- 
 STANTINUS AVG., for “ Constantinus Augustus” — on the reverse two captives 
 are represented, and between them a Roman labarum or banner inscribed 
 VOT. XX. ; in the exergue is the P. LON. above referred to. 
 
 No. 19, Plate 17, is another brass coin of Constantine. The head on the 
 obverse is simply laureated, with the same legends as the coin just described. 
 The reverse has a Victory trampling on a captive, and the legend SARMATIA 
 DEVICTA; with P. LON. in the exergue, for “ Pecunia Londinensis.” Neither 
 this type, nor that of the previously described coin, refer to events occurring 
 in Britain; indeed, the Romans appear to have ceased to commemorate 
 British victories, or other events, after the time of Caracalla. The legend 
 “ Sarmatia Devicta ” refers to a victory over the Sauromatse, on the confines 
 of the Palus Mseotis. 
 
 The coins of Constantine and those members of his family, which have 
 P. LON. in the exergue, may, it is thought, be confidently referred to a Roman 
 mint in London, as the letters P. LON. are of precisely similar character to 
 those indicating the coinage of money in the continental mints at the same 
 period, as P. TR. for “ Pecunia Treveris” — “ Money of Treves.” The money 
 of the mint of Lyons (Lugdunum), the only Roman mint beginning with the 
 same letter as London, is always marked with the letter L. only, and large 
 
 * Mr. Akerman enumerates of the coins of Carausius five varieties in gold, fifty in silver, 
 and upwards of two hundred and fifty in small brass. Mr. Hardy has added many more. 
 
48 
 
 BRITISH AND ROMAN MONEY IN BRITAIN. 
 
 quantities so marked are continually found in its neighbourhood, while 
 those marked P. LON. are very rarely found out of England, which appears 
 to substantiate the correctness of the attribution of the coins of Con- 
 stantine marked M. LON., for “ Moneta Londinensis,” and P. lon., for “Pecunia 
 Londinensis,” to London. Some antiquaries, indeed, consider that London 
 was not the only Roman mint in England about this period, and refer the 
 coins of Carausius, marked C. in the exergue, to Clausentum, a Romanized 
 city or station near Southampton, on the site of which coins so stamped are 
 frequently found. 
 
 Coins of Fausta, daughter of Maximianus, and wife of Constantine, are 
 found with the London mint marks; one also is known of her daughter 
 Helena, the wife of Julian, 
 
 No. 20, Plate 17, is a coin of Crispus, the eldest son of Constantine, 
 struck after his appointment as Caesar, or sub-emperor. The inscription 
 round the portrait on his English coins, stands CRISPVS. NOBIL. c., for 
 “ Crispus Nobilissimus Caesar ;” sometimes preceded by fl. ivl., for “ Flavius 
 Julius.” The reverse of the coin I have engraved has an altar, with the 
 inscription VOTIS. xx., and the legend BEAT. TRAN QUILITAS, for “ Beata 
 Tranquilitas,” in allusion to the general peace which prevailed during a 
 portion of the reign of Constantine the Great. In the exergue it has the 
 usual P. LON. of the coins minted in Britain. 
 
 Constantinus II. The coins of this Prince struck in Britain resemble in 
 general character those of Constantine and Crispus. 
 
 The same may be said of the British coins of his brother Constantius, 
 which, however, are extremely rare, and are the last Roman coins bearing 
 any reference to this island. 
 
 The Roman coinage, however, continued, doubtless, to circulate in Britain 
 till the final abandonment of the country, about A.D. 414, and for some time 
 afterwards; and, indeed, its complete disappearance at last, leaving no 
 vestige of its relative values, names, or inscriptions, and but very little 
 even of some of its devices, appears inexplicable, after having formed the 
 sole currency of the island during certainly four, and perhaps nearly five 
 centuries; for the Saxon slceattce, and afterwards the silver pennies that 
 succeeded them, and formed the sole coin of the island for many centuries, 
 offer scarcely any reminiscence — in form, value, or denomination — of the 
 coinage of Rome, which was still in many respects fine, even in its decadence. 
 
 Such is a brief review of the connection of the Roman coinage with 
 Britain, for the materials of which I am chiefly indebted to the extensive 
 series engraved in the Monumenta Historia Britannica, of Petrie and 
 Sharpe, under the direction and editorship of Thomas Duflus Hardy, Esq., 
 and also to the excellent treatise of Mr. Akerman. In the former work the 
 examples of different types of the usurpers Carausius and Allectus extend to 
 between three and four hundred. 
 
 No. 10, Plate 17, has been introduced for the purpose of showing the earliest 
 type, and the usual appearance and size of the principal Roman silver coin, 
 the denarius; and No. 11, for the purpose of exhibiting the size of till- 
 
ROMAN COINS RELATING TO BRITAIN. 
 
 49 
 
 \ aureus, or principal gold coin, afterwards termed the solidus, which coins 
 I were the remote parents of the silver penny of the Saxon period, and the 
 j! gold pieces of Offa, and the gold penny of Henry III. No. 17 shows equally 
 j the usual size of the first brass — No. 13, the second — and No. 18, the third. 
 I! These specimens will be hereafter referred to again in connection with the 
 j Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman coinages, which followed that of Rome in 
 Ij Britain. 
 
50 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 COINS OF THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 
 
 THE SKEATTiE AND THE STYC.E, WHICH WERE PROBABLY THE FIRST COINS 
 
 STRUCK IN BRITAIN BY INDEPENDENT PRINCES AFTER THE DEPARTURE 
 
 OF THE ROMANS. 
 
 The departure of the Roman legions about A.D. 414 left the inhabitants of 
 Southern Britain an easy prey to the first bold invaders. But before the 
 permanent Saxon occupation of the island, it may be presumed that some 
 sort of coinage, in imitation of the Roman, to which the people had been 
 long accustomed, must have been adopted ; and traces of it, in fact, exist in 
 those rude pieces of the Roman style, which are now becoming very scarce, 
 as they have hitherto been rejected by cabinets as merely bad specimens or 
 forgeries of Roman coin. 
 
 The earliest native money, probably Saxon, of which we have any 
 examples is of a very different character, bearing scarcely the slightest 
 resemblance to the Roman, with the exception of one or two devices, copied 
 perhaps from some of the coins of Constantine. It appears, therefore, that it 
 must have been brought into this country by the Saxons, along with a new 
 set of weights, values, and denominations. 
 
 The coins alluded to are, first, the Skeattse (Latinized scata ), a term 
 which Ruding derives from a Saxon word, meaning a portion, and supposes 
 that these coins were a fraction of some merely nominal sum by which large 
 amounts were calculated; and, secondly, the copper Stycse. Both the 
 Stycse and the Skeattse appear to have originated in the north; they 
 remained in circulation in Northumbria long after the large Saxon penny 
 had become the only coin in general circulation in the south. The Skeattae 
 were, however, still considered as money generally current in the reign of 
 HCthelstane, in whose monetary laws it is stated that 30,000 Skeattae are 
 equal to £120, which would make them in value about one twenty-fifth part 
 less than a penny. 
 
 The skeatta is probably, in form and value, an imitation of the Byzantine 
 quinarius, which found its way, in gradually debasing forms, from Constan- 
 tinople, through the east and north of Germany. It is thought by some 
 that the Saxons also derived their weight, called Colonia (Cologne), from 
 the Greeks of the Lower Empire. It was only used by them for their 
 money, and afterwards in England called Tower weight, in consequence of 
 the principal mint being in the Tower. Troy weight, so called from being 
 first used at Troyes in France, is three-quarters of an ounce more than 
 Tower weight; so that in coining, the prince, or other privileged person, 
 
loooz 
 
 
 Queer. 
 
 Son 
 
THE SKEATTiE. 
 
 51 
 
 gained considerably upon every pound weight of metal coined, which at last 
 induced frequent re-coinages ; to obtain the discontinuance of which custom 
 the people agreed to a tax called “ moneyage.” These impositions were 
 distinct from those which in Norman times were called seignorage, or the 
 profit of the sovereign. 
 
 As the skeattse vary from twelve to twenty grains in weight, it is 
 difficult to ascertain their current value. My examples, and indeed most of 
 the skeattse, are of very debased art, and the production, probably, of 
 several distinct invading colonies in different* parts of the island, some, 
 perhaps, being of foreign importation. The art displayed on them became 
 gradually worse after their first appearance ; and one case may be mentioned, 
 in which a head, tolerably distinct at first, became gradually so barbarous as 
 to be mistaken by some for a rude imitation of the Roman type of the wolf 
 and twins. The whole connecting series, however, may be seen in the British 
 Museum, showing the well-connected links of decadence. Ruding and Clark 
 have stated that the art exhibited on coins up to the eighth century was not 
 better on the Continent than in England; but I could point out several 
 examples of far superior art of a Roman, or rather Romano-Gallic, character 
 in France during that period. Many skeattse are without inscription at all, 
 others unintelligible — few of the later specimens having Christian emblems. 
 The following are a few of the most striking types, which will serve to give 
 a general idea of the whole: — No. 1, Plate 2, has a profile surrounded by a 
 pretty interlaced band ; the reverse, the Christian emblems of the dove and 
 cross. No. 2 has curious but unintelligible ornamental devices on both sides. 
 No. 3 has an animal similar to those introduced in the interlacing of Anglo- 
 Saxon illuminations in MSS. of the seventh and eighth centuries, and on 
 the reverse a figure holding in each hand a cross — a device common on late 
 Roman coins.* No. 4 has been supposed to represent, more rudely, the last- 
 named subject, whilst it is but the debased head above alluded to; which, by 
 a still more unskilful re-copy, has been transformed, in No. 5, into a bird. 
 No. 6 has a singular bird type, which has not been explained, and on the 
 reverse a rude copy of the wolf and twins found on coins of Constantine. 
 No. 7 is an interesting specimen, as bearing a name, erroneously supposed 
 to be that of Ethelbert I., King of Kent, which would place it in the 
 sixth century. On one side is the debased form of the head before alluded to, 
 which but few would be able to distinguish without comparing the whole 
 series. Specimens of skeattse are scarce, yet many exist in good collections. 
 
 The attribution of the skeattse to Northumbria is quite recent. They had 
 not been definitely assigned to a particular district till after the appearance 
 of the interesting communication signed E. W. L. was lately read before a 
 meeting of the Numismatic Society. The close resemblance, however, which 
 the skeattse bear to the copper stycse of Northumbria might, it would seem, 
 have suggested such an attribution at an earlier period ; but the finding of a 
 great number of these coins in the Isle of Tlianet naturally interfered with 
 
 * Figures in this style are also found on early Danish coins. 
 
52 
 
 COINS OF THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 
 
 such a theory. This, however, is to be accounted for by the fact, that the 
 Danes had a settlement in Thanet, to which they brought theii; plunder 
 after their excursions to Northumbria, which were frequent; and the finding 
 of no stycas among the skeattse is easily accounted for, by supposing that 
 they would not load their vessels with the comparatively valueless copper, so 
 long as they could secure a full freight of silver. The names of Aldfrith and 
 Alchred, both names of Northumbrian kings, occur on the skeattse ; and the 
 old supposition that these names were those of moneyers, appears highly 
 improbable, as the custom of placing the moneyer’s name on one side of the 
 coin had not at that early period become customary, though it prevailed in 
 the Saxon mints of the south very soon afterwards. The names of Ethelbert 
 and Egbeorght, which are found on skeattse, and were formerly assigned to 
 the Kentish kings of those names, are now thought, with more probability, to 
 belong to a late epoch of the skeatta circulation ; and though without Chris- 
 tian emblems, they have been assigned to an epoch after the introduction of 
 Christianity, and thought to belong to Northumbrian bishops, whose privilege 
 of coining money will be referred to hereafter. There were, in fact, two 
 Northumbrian bishops of these names, who occupied sees between 734 and 
 780 A.D. 
 
 The early copper stycas were very similar in size and in types to the 
 skeattse, as will be seen by reference to Nos. 20, 21 , and 28, Plate 2, which, 
 as belonging to a later period, and bearing the name of kings, will be 
 described among the coinage of the Heptarchy, as the money of the 
 kings of Northumbria. 
 
 The stycee and the skeattse might be divided into two distinct classes ; 
 those of the earlier period, as being without inscriptions, and those with the 
 names of prelates or princes, which belong to the later epoch. 
 
 THE SILVER PENNIES OF THE HEPTARCHY. 
 
 The description of the authentic coins of the Heptarchy — that is, such as 
 can at once be assigned to the respective princes whose effigies and super- 
 scriptions they bear — brings us at once upon the commencement of that 
 long and interesting series of silver pennies which, after the skeattse and 
 stycse disappeared, formed the only money of the country (with occasional 
 halfpennies) up to the reign of Edward III. The origin of these pennies may 
 be most conveniently referred to in this place. 
 
 On the origin of the word “ penny,” Kuding says, “ It is variously spelt, 
 as peneg, peninc, &c., and some derive it from the Latin word pendo, to 
 weigh ; while others consider that pecunia * is the parent word. On the 
 regular establishment of the silver pennies as the sole currency, it was 
 
 * Pecunia, as is well known, meant cattle as well as money (see Introduction, p. 20), and 
 was frequently used in denoting any kind of possessions ; the English word cattle has the same 
 double meaning, being cattles, or chatties. Mandeville, the old English traveller, in 
 describing the Holy Land, says, speaking of the redemption, — “For more precyous catelle 
 ne gretter ransom ne might be put for us than his blessede body,” &c. This early traveller 
 mentions incidentally that even in his day the Chinese had positively a paper currency — a 
 singular proof of the great antiquity of their commercial civilization. 
 
COINS OF THE KINGS OF KENT. 
 
 53 
 
 intended that a pound (Tower weight) should make 240 pennies, giving 24 
 grains each ; but this weight was gradually decreased by the successive 
 princes, 22 J grains being afterwards deemed full weight, and 20 being 
 about the average weight in the reign of Henry III. Their standard purity 
 seems to have been 11 oz. 2 dwts., fine, and 11 dwts. alloy. The name of 
 \ the moneyer, or mint-master, of the district in which the piece was coined, 
 was first placed upon the coins about 700 A.D., and generally occupied the 
 reverse, accompanied by some rude ornament ; and, at a later period, by the 
 j name of the place of mintage also. 
 
 COINS OF THE KINGS OF KENT. 
 
 The long series of coins of the princes of the Heptarchy are the most 
 i interesting monuments of that period remaining to us. Of those of the 
 1 kings of Kent, from the accession of Ethelbert, A.D. 568, to the end of the 
 reign of Baldred, 823, I have engraved five specimens. The silver skeatta 
 with the name of Ethelbert, previously referred to, was formerly assigned 
 to the first Kentish king, but the attribution is now disallowed. It how- 
 ever belongs to that period, as, having no symbol of the cross in any part, 
 it may be presumed to have been coined before A.D. 606 — the period of the 
 introduction of Christianity. It has, as before described, on one side ethilid, 
 surrounded with three circles of beading, and on the other the debased head, 
 formerly supposed to be a “bird” or “ the wolf,” &c., &c. Only three or 
 four of these rare coins are known ; the British Museum having one. No 
 other reputed Kentish coin occurs till after A.D. 725, when a coin attributed 
 to Ethelbert II., and supposed to be a penny, occurs (No. 8, Plate 2) ; and 
 which, if so, is the first Anglo-Saxon silver penny yet known. The inscrip- 
 tion is ethilberht II. The size of this coin is between that of a skeatta 
 and that of a silver penny. It is in fair preservation, but its genuineness has 
 been doubted. The next of the series are the silver pennies of Eadbert, A.D. 
 794 to 798- These are the earliest known Kentish pennies, the authority of 
 which is well established. The Eadbert pennies, No. 9, Plate 2, have the 
 king’s name, and the title REX in three lines, and on the reverse the moneyer’s 
 name, with an ornament. Their authenticity is undoubted. The name of 
 the moneyer appears to be Ianberht. It is followed by some characters, or 
 a monogram, which may perhaps be read as Fecit. 
 
 Nos. 10 and 11, Plate 2, are coins of Cuthred (a.d. 794 to 798) ; No. 10 has 
 the king’s bust, and Cudred Rex Gant., for Cantidd ; reverse, a cross, with a 
 small wedge in each angle, and the moneyer’s name. All the coins of 
 Cuthred are pennies, and there are four types of them, all rare, except those 
 with the head, the style of which has evidently been suggested by debased 
 Roman coins. 
 
 No. 12, Plate 2, is a coin of Baldred. This last king of Kent was subdued 
 by Egbert, A.D. 823. It has the king’s bust rudely done, and Baldred Rxx. 
 Cant. : the reverse, in the centre, has DRVR. cits, for “ Dorovemia Civitas ” 
 (Canterbury), and is the earliest known Anglo-Saxon coin with the place of 
 mintage upon it. There are other types of the coins of this king, all rare. 
 
54 
 
 COINS OF THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 
 
 KINGS OF MERCIA. 
 
 Of the South and West Saxons no well authenticated coins have been 
 found, but of the kings of Mercia a fine series exists, all silver pennies. No. 
 13, Plate 2, is a coin of Eadwald, A.D. 716, supposed by some to be the 
 same as Ethelwald. To understand the confused inscription, “ Eadvald 
 Rex.,” the middle line must be read first; then the ALD at the top, the L 
 being reversed, and then the third line, rex. It must not be thought that 
 this is a forced interpretation, as blundered inscriptions of this kind very 
 frequently occur on this series of coins. Nos. 14 and 15 are silver pennies 
 of Offa, a.d. 757, whose coins are among the most interesting and beautiful 
 of the Saxon series. The heads are much better executed, with some atten- 
 tion to variety of relief, and the designs on the reverses often elegant and 
 various for the period. It is supposed that his reported residence at Rome, 
 in the pontificate of Adrian, possibly bringing back Italian artists, may 
 account for this superiority. No. 14, Plate 2, is selected as a specimen, as 
 having the king’s bust, and an inscription reading, “ Offa Rex.” The letters 
 on the reverse probably refer either to the place of mintage or to a moneyer’s 
 name. Some of his coins have “Rex Merciorum.” No. 15 is another coin 
 of Offa, but without the portrait. The inscription on the obverse is, as 
 before, “ Offa Rex,” and on the reverse a moneyer’s name. The moneyers’ 
 names on his coins are above forty. There are also silver pennies, but rare, 
 supposed to be of Cynethryth, the queen of Offa, having on the obverse a 
 female head, with an illegible inscription ; reverse, “ Cynethryt Regin.” (No. 
 16, Plate 2.) These coins, whether of the queen or not, are evidently of the 
 same period as those of Offa. On the coins of Offa, the moneyer’s name 
 occasionally occupies the obverse, that of the king being in such case trans- 
 ferred to the reverse, but never omitted. Ecgberht, the son of Offa, A.D. 
 796, survived his father only six months; yet there are pennies with his 
 name, having the same moneyers’ names as those of his father. 
 
 Coenwlf, A.D. 796 to 818. The pennies of this king present a great 
 variety of types, evidently copied from those of Offa, but becoming gradually 
 more and more rude in execution. 
 
 Ceolwlf, A.D. 819, succeeded, and reigned only a year. There is great 
 difficulty in separating his coins from those of Ciolwf, the usurper, who suc- 
 ceeded Burgred, the last of the legitimate kings; and the almost utter 
 impossibility of assigning the proper coins to each has formed a delicious 
 field for the discussions of numismatists. 
 
 Of Beornwulf, who reigned from 820 to 824, a few pennies are known, 
 but they are very rare. 
 
 Of Ludica, from 824 to 825, and Wiglaf, from 825 to 839, the coins are 
 very barbarous, and those of Wiglaf extremely rare. The specimen in the 
 Museum was once sold for £12. 
 
 The coins of Berthulf, A.D. 839 to 852, in the same style, are not so rare. 
 
 Those of Burgred, A.D. 852 to 874, the last of the Mercian princes who 
 reigned two-and-twenty years, are more numerous than any of his pre- 
 
COINS OF THE KINGS OF THE EAST ANGLES. 
 
 55 
 
 I decessors’. When driven from his dominions by the Danes, he escaped to 
 the Continent, and retired to Rome, where he died, and was interred in St. 
 Mary’s Church, belonging to the English school established in that city. The 
 coinage of Mercia had gradually declined from the reign of Offa, and that of 
 | Burgred is the worst of all. 
 
 The coins of Burgred have generally a small rude head, surrounded by 
 I “Burgred Bex,” and on the reverse the moneyer’s name, &c., &c. On the 
 I expulsion of Burgred, his minister Ciolwf seized the reins of government, 
 but only held them for a short time ; and his deposition terminated the inde- 
 ! pendence of Mercia. Nevertheless, he struck coins, which I have alluded to 
 as being confounded with those of Ceolwlf ; but, with the exception of the 
 name, they are much more like those of Burgred. 
 
 All these were silver pennies, and were intended to weigh about twenty- 
 two and a-half grains. 
 
 KINGS OF THE EAST ANGLES. 
 
 The earliest coins of the East Angles are those of Beonna, about A.D. 750, 
 contemporary with Offa, King of Mercia. His coins were of the form, size, 
 and appearance of skeattas, and the king’s name is sometimes written in 
 Roman and sometimes in Runic characters, as on the specimen given, No. 
 17, Plate 2, which reads, “Beonna Rex:” the reverse has the name of Efe, 
 the moneyer. There is a coin in the Museum with the name of Beonna on 
 one side, and that of Ethelred, who succeeded him, on the other ; from which 
 it would seem that he had previously occupied the throne conjointly with 
 Beonna.* The history of the East Angles, in the early part of the ninth 
 century, is very obscure ; but there appears some ground for considering 
 Ethelweard,f of whom some coins exist, a prince of this district. There is 
 also a unique coin of Beorthric, a prince of whom no record exists, and who 
 is probably one of the unknown kings of the East Angles. Eadmund, A.D. 
 855 to 870, who was murdered by the Danes, and afterwards honoured with 
 canonization, is commonly called St. Eadmund. He is generally styled 
 “ Rex,” or “ Rex A.,” or An., and eighteen of his moneyers’ names are known. 
 No. 18, Plate 2, is one of his coins, having the name of Eadmund, with the 
 title “ Rex,” and an A. in the centre ; and on the reverse, the moneyer’s 
 name and a cross, &c., &c. 
 
 After the death of Eadmund, Guthrum (a Dane) was placed on the throne, 
 who, being converted to Christianity, was baptized by the name of Ethelstan, 
 a.d. 878. His name is generally found on his coins without title, but some- 
 times with “ Re ” or “ Rex ; ” on one coin, which is very rare, “ Rex Ang.” 
 (for Anglise) appears on the reverse, instead of the moneyer’s name, which is 
 the first time the title of “ King of England ” appears on a coin (unless St. 
 Eadmund’s “ Rex A.” may be also so interpreted) ; for though Egbert, King 
 
 * The form of this coin of Beonna would seem to prove that the use of the Northumbrian 
 skeattae extended along the east coasts of Yorkshire and Lincoln to Norfolk; or that the coin 
 ought to be assigned to a Northumbrian prince instead of one of the East Angles, 
 t Hawkins’s Silver Coins of England , p. 34. 
 
56 
 
 COINS OF THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 
 
 of the West Saxons, subdued nearly the whole of South Britain between A.D. 
 800 and 837, and gave the name of England to his territories, it does not 
 appear on his coins. No. 19, Plate 2, is a coin of Ethelstan, the Dane. 
 
 Only one prince, Eohric, succeeded Ethelstan in East Anglia, and there 
 are no coins known of his reign. He was expelled by his subjects, and his 
 dominions added to those of Eadward the Elder, the son of iElfred the 
 Great. 
 
 KINGS OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 
 
 The principal distinctive feature of the most remarkable of the Northum- 
 brian coins is their metal ; it is commonly termed copper, but is in fact a 
 composition, whether accidental or intentional is unknown, containing, in 
 one hundred parts, sixty to seventy of copper, twenty to twenty -five of zinc, 
 five to eleven of silver, with minute portions of gold, lead, and tin. These 
 coins are termed stycas, a name supposed to be derived from the Saxon sticce, 
 “ a minute part,” two being equal to one farthing. Small money must have 
 been wanted everywhere in times when an ox was sold for thirty pennies, 
 and a sheep for one shilling, as was the case in the reign of ^Ethelstan ; yet 
 it appears that the circulation of these stycas was confined to Northumber- 
 land. They form the great bulk of the early Northumbrian coinage, but 
 there were also the silver skeattae before mentioned, and eventually silver 
 pennies of the same weight and purity as the Saxon money of the other 
 parts of the island. One would expect in this remote part of the country to 
 find a greater degree of barbarism in the execution of the coins ; but even in the 
 earlier portion of the period during which these coins exist, which is as early 
 as A.D. 670, some of them are quite equal to those of more southern districts, 
 with the sole exception of the coins of Ofia ; and perhaps we need not be 
 surprised, when we consider the presence of the celebrated monastic establish- 
 ments of the period in that part of the island, whose artistic skill was 
 exhibited as early as the seventh century, in such wonderful works of 
 illumination as those contained in the magnificent MS. known as “ The 
 Durham Book.” A series of Northumbrian coins exists, occupying a period 
 extending from the epoch above-named to 945 A.D. ; but to some of them, 
 from the blundering in the writing of the names on the coins, and other 
 difficulties, it is not easy to assign a proper place. 
 
 The earliest known coin of this series, No. 20, Plate 2, is a styca of 
 Egfrith, who reigned from A.D. 670 to 685, and was celebrated for his 
 patronage of the church, and of religious establishments for disseminating 
 the light of truth. His Christianizing ardour would seem to have been 
 symbolized on this remarkable coin, which bears a cross surrounded by 
 “ Ecgfrid Rex,” whilst the reverse has a cross from which emanate rays of 
 light surrounded by the word “Lux” (light)* Aldfrid reigned from A.D. 
 
 * This interpretation may, however, be disputed, as there are certain other letters fol- 
 lowing the lvx., but they resemble x. i., and, if so, the inscription would be still more 
 interesting, as it might be read lvx. christi., (the light of Christ) xi. being an ordinary 
 abbreviation used for Christi. 
 
COINS OF THE KINGS OF THE EAST ANGLES. 57 
 
 685 to A.D. 705, and there are two coins, one a skeatta of silver, and the 
 other a styca, which are supposed to he of his coinage.* 
 
 Of Eadbert, from A.D. 7*37 to 758, there are coins which have hitherto 
 been assigned to Ecgberht, King of Kent. 
 
 Of Alchred, 737 to 774, there is a supposed coin; and in the list of 
 Northumbrian kings the name of Elfwald occurs, who reigned from 779 to 
 788, and to whom Mr. Hawkins is induced to attribute three coins of 
 I different readings, all evidently corrupt and blundered (as is frequently the 
 case on coins of this period). One, then in the collection of Mr. Cuff, reads 
 etfvatd, the L’s being reversed ; but by turning them we obtain “ Elfvald.” 
 
 ! The other, in the possession of Mr. Brummel, reads valdaela; one half 
 ; of this word has the F upside down, and reads backwards. If we read 
 [ the last half thus, first correcting the F, we get ALEF, and then taking 
 the other half of the word in the usual way, we get ALEFVALD. This 
 \ may seem to the uninitiated more ingenious than likely; but when the 
 | different modes of writing Saxon names are taken into consideration, also 
 '• the ignorance of the engravers of the dies, or rather punches, who could not, 
 
 | most likely, either read or write, but copied the characters mechanically ; and 
 S add to this, that in the engraving they must be made backward , as on a seal, 
 
 | in order that the impression may be read forward, — when we consider all 
 ; this, the blunders may be easily accounted for, and the ingenious interpre- 
 tation of Mr. Hawkins be considered a fair one. No. 21, Plate 2, represents 
 the first named of these coins, a styca, which seems to read ELFVALD. x. 
 
 Heardulf reigned from A.D. 794 to 806 ; but no coins of his were found till 
 1833, when a hoard of (8,000) Northumbrian coins was discovered in digging 
 an unusually deep grave in Hexham churchyard, Durham. They were con- 
 tained in a bronze vessel, and were all stycas, consisting of 2,000 of Eadred, 
 2,000 of Ethelred, 100 of Bedulf, 100 Archbishop Eanbald, 800 Archbishop 
 Vigmund, a few of Heardulf, and about 3,000 more, which were dispersed 
 without examination. It seems probable that they were buried not later 
 than 844, as there were no coins of later date, unless those unintelligible 
 ones which some have supposed, without much ground, to be of Aella.f 
 
 Alfwold succeeded Heardulf, but we have no coins of his reign. He was 
 succeeded by Eanred, from A.D. 808 to 840, whose stycas are numerous, pre- 
 senting from sixty to seventy moneyers’ names. There is also a silver 
 penny, by some attributed to him; but Mr. Hawkins prefers on several 
 grounds to assign it to some other prince of the same name. 
 
 Of iEthelred, from A.D. 840 to 848, there are stycas differing slightly in 
 the disposition of minor ornaments, from those of his predecessors. These 
 principally occur in conjunction with the name of the money er Leofdegn, 
 who seems to have aimed at a little more embellishment than his predeces- 
 sors and cotemporaries. There is in the collection of Mr. Brummel a coin 
 of fine silver of this king, in all other respects resembling his usual stycas ; 
 
 * The skeatta was formerly in the collection of Mr. Cuff, the styca in that of Mr. 
 Luxcombe. — Hawkins’s Silver Coins of England. 
 t Hawkins’s Silver Coins o f England. 
 
 E 
 
58 
 
 COINS OF THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 
 
 but such pieces, of which there are examples of different styles and periods, 
 can only be regarded as essays or caprices of some one engaged in the mint, 
 and not as forming part of the general currency. 
 
 Of Redulf, who usurped the throne for a few months only, during the 
 reign of iE their ed, there are some coins in existence of the usual character. 
 Of Osbercht, A.D. 848 to 867, who succeeded iEthelred, there are a few stycas, 
 but they are very rare. 
 
 Of Aella, who reigned about this period, there are no coins, unless those 
 unintelligible ones found among the Hexham hoard (before mentioned) 
 should prove to be his. 
 
 Regnald, the Dane, landed in Northumbria, A.D. 912, and being successful 
 in establishing himself, reigned till 944. His coins are very rare, and inter- 
 esting on account of the Roman title rex being abandoned by him for the 
 Saxon cununc. No. 22, Plate 2, in the collection of the Dean of St. Patrick’s, 
 being broken, shows only Reg , the nald being broken away ; but the word 
 cununc is perfect. The reverse shows a trefoil or triple knot, perhaps an 
 early symbol of the Trinity : it is the size and form of the Saxon penny. 
 
 Anlaf (called King of Ireland) next invaded Northumbria in 937, and 
 though at first defeated, eventually established his power, being elected in 
 942 : he was overthrown and defeated by Edmund in 945. His coins are 
 silver pennies, and very rare, of which No. 23, Plate 2 is an example. It 
 has for type the Danish raven, the badge of their enchanted standard, and 
 on the reverse a small cross, and may perhaps be considered one of the 
 earliest examples of an approach to an heraldic cognizance. His Irish coins 
 are described at the close of the following chapter. 
 
 In 927, Eric, the son of Harold of Norway, had been placed by iEthelstan 
 (grandson of Alfred the Great) as his feudatory king in Northumberland ; 
 but his authority was not acknowledged till elected by the Northumbrians 
 themselves in 949. Two years afterwards he was expelled and slain, and is 
 considered the last king of Northumbria, Eadred having succeeded in adding 
 that district finally to his dominions. The coins of Eric are silver pennies. 
 He is styled “Eric Rex,” with sometimes N for Northumbria; his type is a 
 sword, like that on the pieces termed coins of St. Peter. 
 
 COINS OF SAINTS. 
 
 This seems to be the proper place to speak of coins of saints, or rather 
 coins bearing their names, which were struck by particular abbots in virtue 
 of authority granted for that purpose. Those of St. Peter have been called 
 “ Peter’s pence,” and erroneously supposed to have been coined for the purpose 
 of paying to Rome the tribute known by that name. The coins bearing the 
 name of St. Peter are silver pennies, and were coined at York, as the legend 
 on the reverse is always Eboraci (of York), more or less abbreviated. The 
 sword on the obverse being precisely similar to that on the coins of 
 Eric, refers these coins at once to that period. No. 24, Plate 2, is a speci- 
 men. 
 
 Those of St. Martin are similar, with the exception of having “ Lincoia 
 
COINS OF DIGNITARIES OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 59 
 
 civit ” (city of Lincoln) on the reverse : they are undoubtedly of the same 
 period. 
 
 Those of St. Edmund (No. 25, Plate 2) do not bear the name of a place of 
 mintage. They appear to be earlier than the time of Edward the Confessor, 
 and must be placed at latest with those of St. Peter and St. Martin. They 
 I possibly refer to St. Eadmund Rex, of the East Angles, A.D. 855 to 870. 
 
 1 They are without the “ sword ” of the other coins of this class. On the 
 j obverse the inscription appears to read s. eadmvn. r. 
 
 COINS OF DIGNITARIES OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 The archbishops, bishops, and abbots, had authority, soon after the firm 
 establishment of Christianity in the island, to strike money and enjoy the 
 i profits of mintage. But archbishops alone had the privilege of stamping the 
 coins with their portraits and names, — a privilege withdrawn by TEthelstan 
 | in 924. The ecclesiastical coinage after that period is only distinguished 
 ; from the royal by the peculiar mint marks, and these terminated in the 
 reign of Henry VIII. The specimens given in this Plate are from the coins 
 of archbishops previous to the edict of iEthelstan. Those of the archbishops 
 of Canterbury are pennies.* 
 
 No. 26, Plate 2, is one of Jaenbert, who held the see of Canterbury from 
 763 to 790. It has a flower surrounded by iaenbrht. ar. ep., for archi- 
 episcopus ; and on the reverse “ Offa Rex,” from which it would appear that 
 they had in some way joint jurisdiction. 
 
 No. 27, Plate 2, is a coin of Ceolnoth, who held the see of Canterbury from 
 830 to 870. It has the front face of the archbishop, vfith his name, and on the 
 reverse a cross, with “ci vitas” in the angles; the legend being dorovernia 
 (Canterbury). f The legend on the obverse reads, ceolnod. arhi. epi. 
 
 The coins of the Archbishops of York were stycas till they became, by the 
 i edict of HCthelstan, assimilated to the coins of the realm. Ulphere or 
 Vulphere, who held this see from 854 to 892, is the last prelate whose name 
 occurs on coins of the episcopal mint.J (See No. 28, Plate 2.) 
 
 * Hawkins’s Silver Coins of England. 
 
 f There are also coins of Vulfred, 803 to 830; Plegmund, 891 to 923; and Ethered, 871 
 to 890 A.D. 
 
 t There are stycas of Eanbald, 796; and Vigmund, 851. 
 
60 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 COINS OF THE SAXON AND DANISH SOLE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 FROM EGBERT TO EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 EGBERT (800 to 837). The first sole monarch, as Egbert (Ecgbeorht) has 
 been termed, became the King of the West Saxons in the year 800 A.D., 
 and gradually subduing nearly the whole of South Britain, gave the name, 
 of England to his territories, which did not, however, comprise the whole of 
 England, as Burgred, King of Mercia, reigned as late as 874, in the time of 
 iElfred the Great. Ethelstan was also King of the East Angles late in the 
 reign of Alfred — namely, 890 ; while Eric, King of Northumberland, though 
 tributary to the grandson of iElfred, might even then, in 951, be considered 
 as holding separate jurisdiction. It was not till Eadred, another grandson 
 of iElfred, who succeeded his brothers .Ethelstan and Eadmund, that 
 Northumbria was annexed, and not till the reign of Edgar that the whole 
 kingdom may be said to have been firmly united under one monarch. But 
 having already spoken of the kings of the Heptarchy separately, I may 
 henceforth, for the sake of convenience of arrangement, treat of the coins of 
 Egbert and his successors as sole monarchs of England. 
 
 The . coins of Egbert do not differ in general from those of the kings of 
 the Heptarchy. Some have the king’s profile, with his name, as “ Ecgbeorht 
 Rex,” with a cross, and the moneyer’s name on the reverse ; others have only 
 a cross on the obverse, with his name and title, and on the reverse a different 
 cross with the moneyer’s name. Some, instead of the cross on the reverse, have 
 a monogram supposed to be “ Dorob. C.” (city of Canterbury) ; and others 
 “Saxo” or “Saxon,” with the king’s name and title as legend. No. 1, 
 Plate 3, is that with the supposed monogram, “ Dorob. C.,” on the reverse. 
 
 ETHEL WLF (837 to 856) succeeded his father A.D. 837; but his brother, 
 .Ethelstan, took a part of the territory — namely, Kent, Essex, Sussex, and 
 Surrey. On his death they reverted to Ethelwlf ; so that some of his coins 
 exhibit the legend, “Rex. Cant. Saxoniorum,” and sometimes “Occidentalium 
 Saxoniorum.” Canterbury is the only mint named on the coins of this 
 king. No. 2, Plate 3, is one of his coins: it has ahead surrounded with 
 edelvulf rex, and the reverse has a double cross, with the moneyer’s 
 name. There are many varieties of his coins, in which the small crosses are 
 of a different design, &c. ; some have the monogram of Christ in the centre 
 of the reverse. 
 
 .ETHELBALD (855 to 860). A. coin of this king is said to have been 
 formerly known to collectors, and No. 3, Plate 3, is from an engraving of it, 
 

 Day & .Son Lith. T? to tire Queen 
 
COINS OF ALFRED. 
 
 61 
 
 made, however, under doubtful authority. But Dr. Coombe affirmed that 
 the coin really was once in the collection of Mr. Austin. 
 
 iETHELBEARHT, second son of Etlielwlf (856 to 866). Sixty varieties 
 of the money ers’ names upon his coins are known. Mo. 4, Plate 3, a coin of 
 this king, has his bust, with the legend Aedelbearht. rex., and on the 
 reverse the letters of the moneyer’s name arranged in the angles of a 
 cross, &c. 
 
 iETHELRED (866 to 871) deprived JEthelbearht’s children of their 
 inheritance, and ascended the throne himself. His coins are generally light, 
 and of impure silver, and somewhat resemble those of Burgred, King of 
 Mercia.* No. 5, Plate 3, is a specimen. 
 
 ALFRED, or iELFRED, the Great. Alfred, who was the younger 
 brother of iEtlielred, reigned from 871 to 901 A.D. I have, in my restricted 
 space, found it necessary to describe very briefly the coinage of the 
 Heptarchy, and of the (so-called) sole monarchs up to this period ; but the 
 coinage of this celebrated Anglo-Saxon prince seems to call for somewhat more 
 detail in its description, not only on account of the European importance 
 then, for the first time, assumed by an English monarch, but also on account 
 of the intrinsic interest which the coinage of his reign in itself presents to the 
 researches of the numismatist. Till recently but few well authenticated 
 coins of Alfred had been discovered; but late researches have so much 
 increased their numbers that a great variety of types are now known, 
 which form an interesting monetary evidence of the activity and progressive 
 character of this remarkable reign. v 
 
 The name of the king is spelt in many different ways on the coins 
 issued at different epochs and in different places ; it is found as iEfred, 
 Elfred, Elfered, iElfreed, iElfrede, and even Aelbred. 
 
 The coins which are attributed to his earliest issues are those with a 
 small rude head, and the name written elfered, with M— x +, which last 
 letters are generally considered to refer to a place of mintage, and not to 
 the sovereignty of Mercia, as formerly supposed. On the reverse the 
 moneyer’s name and titles occupy three lines ; Tata, the name of a moneyer, 
 being in the centre, MON above, and ETA below, forming MONETA, an 
 abbreviation of monetarius. The names of Tilepeine, Dudd, Biarnulf, 
 Deigmund, Dunn, Cialmod, and several others, occur on this series. Among 
 them, those bearing the names of Cialmod, Sieestef, Cialulf, and some 
 others, are of very base metal, and belong perhaps to the unsettled early 
 period of the reign, being like the coins of Burgred (of Mercia) and Ethelred 
 in general character. Among the coins to be perhaps placed next in 
 succession in his reign, is a remarkable one, with what has been called a 
 Tau, or capital T, on the reverse, but which I think may very probably be 
 merely a cross, the upper limb of which has not been completed by the die 
 sinker; for no probable meaning has ever been assigned to the device taken as 
 a T. The really remarkable part of its character is the name of the place of 
 
 * Hawkins’s Silver Coins of England. 
 
62 COINS OF THE SAXON AND DANISH SOLE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 mintage “at Gloucester,” written in Saxon, as “JET. gleapa.” The obverse has 
 the head of Alfred evidently copied from that of a Roman emperor, of the 
 debased latter coinage of Rome, with the inscription Alfred, x. 
 
 The next class of Alfred’s coins to be mentioned, as presenting a peculiarity 
 of device, is that in which there is no portrait on the obverse, and in place of 
 it the name and title written so as to form a cross, as on the coins of Ethelwulf 
 and Ethelbert, with trifoliate ornaments in the angles ; the reverse having a 
 rather graceful quatrefoil ornament, much in the style of those on the coins 
 of Offa, containing the name of the moneyer. The next in chronological 
 order are probably those of the type of the leaden pattern, or trial, found 
 during some excavations near St. Paul’s. These have the portrait on the 
 obverse, in the style of those of the late Roman emperors (having about the 
 head the royal fillet or diadem). They have the inscription “iEfred,” or 
 “ Elfread Rex S.,” or “ Rex Sax,” for “ Rex Saxonium” — King of the Saxons. 
 These coins, it is supposed, were issued about 874, in the fourth year of his 
 reign. A specimen of this class is engraved in Plate 3, No. 7 : the name of 
 the moneyer reads diarmvnd. 
 
 It would appear that as the power and influence of Alfred increased, that 
 the credit of his coinage, as well as his fame as a military leader and 
 legislator, extended to the Continent ; and that, as in later times, the Ester- 
 lings or Sterlings (the silver pennies) of Edward the First, Second, and Third, 
 were imitated on the Continent in consequence of the high estimation in which 
 the English money was held for its full weight and purity, so in the reign 
 of Alfred similar imitations of the English coin took place. Some of these 
 have on the obverse ^elfr .... rex, round the portico of a temple, and on 
 the reverse the name of the place of mintage, QVETOWCI. They are remark- 
 able as presenting types not known on the coins of Alfred — no specimens of 
 the original from which they were copied having been found; but such 
 we may safely expect to occur, as fresh specimens, many of them with 
 new types, are being constantly added to our collections. This device, the 
 temple portico surrounded by ALFRED REX, is a precisely similar type to 
 that found on the Franco-Gallic coins, which have the legend CXRISTIANO 
 RELIGIO. The next coins of his reign are those perhaps which have attracted 
 the greatest amount of attention among the curious, as having the name 
 of London as Londonia written in the form of a monogram, which occupies 
 the whole of the reverse. The coin engraved in Plate 3, No. 6, is a fair 
 example of this class, of which many varieties are now known; some 
 having the D to the right of the N, which is, in fact, its proper position; 
 otherwise it has to be read backwards. There are silver halfpennies, of 
 the large monogram type, which are the first known of the British series. 
 The coins with the large monogram of London are supposed to have been 
 issued on the rebuilding of London in 881, after it had been burned by the 
 Danes. They may therefore be considered as very interesting historical 
 monuments. Some of them, of a later issue, have the monogram much 
 smaller, and placed between two lines, which contain the name of the 
 moneyer. Some of Alfred’s coins of this epoch have the names of other 
 
COINS OF ALFRED. 
 
 63 
 
 places of mintage, written in a small monogram similar to that of London. 
 After about this period the coins of this prince were issued without the 
 portrait. Alfred, being a good judge of art, may not have approved of the 
 grotesque figure he was made to assume on his coinage, and may therefore 
 have insisted on the name only being used. Whether this conjecture be 
 well founded or not, the coins from this time forward appear without the 
 royal portrait. They have generally a small cross within a circle on the 
 obverse, round which the name and title are so grouped as to form a cross ; 
 XEL being generally the upper group of letters, FR' the group to the right, ED 
 the lower group, and re the group to the left. On the reverse is generally 
 the moneyer’s name, with the place of mintage, many of them having been 
 struck at Lincoln ; Alfred’s coins having probably been the first struck in that 
 city. One of the coins of this class has a very singular reverse formed of a 
 cross, with a letter attached to each of its limbs, which letters read cnvt. 
 (a common Danish name of the period), with R . E . x . disposed in three of the 
 angles. It would appear that this is the name of a piratic prince who 
 succeeded in establishing himself in some part of England during the reign 
 of Alfred, and during some forced acknowledgment of joint authority, struck 
 these coins, which have the name of iElfred on the obverse. The names of nearly 
 a hundred different moneyers occur on the coinage of this reign, having the 
 lettering grouped in the form of a cross. In one or two cases the abbreviated 
 word, mone or moneta, is replaced by ME. fec (it). The cruciform arrangement 
 of the letters of the name and titles is peculiarly English, and principally 
 confined, in the English coinage, to the coins of Alfred and his cotemporary, 
 Guthrum, the Dane who was converted to Christianity, and reigned in East 
 Anglia, This style of coinage appears to have commenced between 880 and 
 890, and continued to the end of the reign. 
 
 There are in some places coins belonging to the last period of Alfred’s 
 reign, which appear to have been issued jointly by the king and Plegmund, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, who succeeded to the see in 890 A.D. On these 
 coins the name of the bishop, abbreviated, follows that of the king, as 
 aelfred. rex. plegn., others have AELFRED. rex. doro., Doro being the 
 abbreviation of Dorobernia (Canterbury): on the reverse they have the 
 moneyer’s name. The next and last coins to be mentioned of this reign have 
 the inscriptions both of the obverse and reverse arranged in three lines. This 
 is somewhat remarkable, as in almost all other coins of the Anglo-Saxon series, 
 those which have the name and titles arranged in horizontal lines have a cir- 
 cular arrangement of the inscriptions on the reverse. Some of the coins of this 
 epoch of the reign have the king’s name on the obverse, followed either by 
 that of the moneyer, or of some person, as a prelate, for instance, who shared 
 the privilege of coining with the king. Of this class those with ALFRED 
 berxvaldmo may be cited. On the reverse is orsnaforda, sometimes writ- 
 ten oksnaforda (Oxford) ; and on some of similar character the place of 
 mintage follows that of the king on the obverse, and the name Bernualdmo, 
 or Bernualdia, is transferred to the reverse. Of all the coins with the inscrip- 
 tions running across, those witli x. yELFRED rex. saxonvm, at full length, 
 
64 COINS OF THE SAXON AND DANISH SOLE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 
 divided into four lines, are perhaps the most interesting. These have 
 generally no moneyer’s name. Among the places of mintage, Exeter is repre- 1 
 
 sented by the letters x placed in a vertical line on the reverse of the coin ; 
 and those of Winchester with ^ arranged in a similar manner ; the Saxon p 
 
 being used instead of w. There is a large coin of this reign, of similar j 
 character to the last described, which some have supposed to be a quarter of a 
 silver mancus. It weighs 1 64 J grains, the weight assigned to the mancus I 
 being 675 grains, which would give 168J as its quarter. If this should prove to ] 
 be a coin of this description, and not a pattern, or a medal, it would be a i 
 very remarkable example of the advanced views of this monarch, as no silver 
 coins of so high a value were issued in Europe for several centuries after the j 
 reign of Alfred. 
 
 EDWARD the Elder (901 to 925) succeeded his father Alfred. His 
 coins are very numerous, exhibiting above eighty varieties of. moneyers’ j 
 names. Both pennies and halfpennies of his reign occur : the latter, how- 
 ever, seldom weigh more than from 7 to 9 grains.* His portrait generally 
 occupies the obverse of his coins, in a rude but somewhat Roman style, the 
 reverses being very various ; some having a building, too coarse in execution to 
 be interesting as a record of any period of architecture, but which is stated 
 to be a copy of the gate of the Praetorian camp, as it is sometimes represented 
 on Roman coins from Diocletian to Theodosius (No. 9, Plate 3). Others have 
 a large hand, expressed by raised outlines, as in No. 8, Plate 3, which has the 
 hand issuing from a cloud, as the hand of Providence ; the obverse having 
 merely the legend “ Eadweard Rex,” and a small cross in the centre. Some 
 of the reverses of iEthelstan have a similar building, and the moneyer’s 
 name “ Regnald,” with “ Eboraci cv.” (City of York) ; the obverse having 
 no head, but merely the king’s name, with the addition of a small cross in the 
 centre. Other buildings, as well as the gate of the Praetorian camp, are found 
 on late Roman coins, from which those of the Anglo-Saxon coinage may 
 have been copied. Some of the coins of this reign, probably the first, are 
 in precisely the same style as the last of Alfred ; having the name and title 
 in four lines on the obverse, and the place of mintage only on the reverse, 
 generally Bath, written BA. or bad. 
 
 iETHELSTAN (925 to 941) succeeded his father. He paid considerable 
 attention to his coinage, determining, among other regulations, made at a 
 grand synod at which Wulfhelme, Archbishop of Canterbury, and all the 
 wise and powerful of the kingdom were assembled, that the whole coinage 
 of the realm should be alike. He therefore withdrew from archbishops, or 
 others, the privilege of having their portraits or names on the coins which 
 they minted. He also established places of coinage at a number of the then 
 principal towns; and the ecclesiastical and royal mints have, from that 
 period, no distinctive types, till about Edward I., when those privileged to 
 coin money adopted mint-marks, such as initial letters or badges, by which their 
 
 * It lias been thought from their weight that they are thirds of pennies, as such coins 
 are mentioned in the laws of Alfred. 
 
EADMUND, EADRED, AND EADWIG. 
 
 65 
 
 j coins are to be distinguished. In the laws of iEthelstan regarding the 
 ; coinage, it was enacted, with a view to suppress the numberless private or 
 j secret mints that had sprung up, “ that no one shall strike money except 
 I within the walls” — that is, the walls of a privileged city; and that those who 
 work in a wood, or elsewhere, unauthorized, shall suffer amputation of the 
 hand. The number of mints was for the first time regulated as follows : — 
 
 I That there shall be in Canterbury seven moneyers ; in Rochester, three ; in 
 London, eight; in Winchester, six; at Lewes, two; at Hastings, one; at 
 Chichester, one; at Hampton, two; at Durham, two; at Exeter, two; at 
 I Shaftsbury, two ; and at the other mint towns, one. 
 
 iEthelstan, however, while suppressing the names of such as were 
 allowed the privilege of coining, retained the name of the actual moneyer, 
 which still continued on the reverses of the coins, and was from that period 
 much more constantly accompanied by that of the place of mintage, 
 preceded by the word “Urbs,” or “Civitas.” He is generally styled 
 “ Rex,” sometimes “ Rex Saxonum,” but frequently “ Rex totius Britanniae ;” 
 showing that Egbert and his descendants have not been fancifully styled 
 sole monarchs of all Britain by subsequent historians, but that it was 
 actually a title they assumed. Indeed, so great an event was the con- 
 solidation of the Heptarchy considered, that more than one of the British 
 monarchs had thoughts of taking the title of emperor (imperator), but 
 yielded to a contrary wish of the Pope. There are on the coins of iEthelstan 
 about sixty variations of names of mints, and full 100 of moneyers’ names, 
 and the reverses of some have rude buildings, previously referred to, like 
 those of his father. Some little confusion occurs as to a few coins formerly 
 attributed to AEtlielstan the sole monarch, which Mr. Hawkins is inclined to 
 attribute to another King iEthelstan, of the East Angles ; but the specimen 
 No. 10, Plate 3, is an undoubted coin of the grandson of Alfred. It has the 
 head of the king, in imitation of the debased Roman style, and on the 
 reverse the moneyer’ s name and the place of mintage, which appears to be 
 “ London.” 
 
 EADMUND (941 to 946). His coins are similar in general character to 
 those of his brother iEthelstan, but none have been found having buildings 
 on the reverses, like those of his two predecessors. His portrait has some- 
 ( times a helmet, and sometimes a crown: in the specimen No. 11, Plate 3, it 
 it helmeted. The place of mintage is generally omitted on his coins : some 
 of them have been mistaken for those of St. Edmund. 
 
 EADRED (946 to 955), another brother of iEthelstan. The types of his 
 coins are similar to those of his immediate predecessor. The specimen No. 
 12, Plate 3, has “ Eadred Rex,” and on the reverse the moneyers name. 
 Norwich is the only ascertained place of mintage in this reign. 
 
 EADWIG (955 to 959), the son of Eadmund, succeeded his uncle. The 
 specimen No. 13, Plate 3, has his portrait, with “ Eadwig Rex:” the reverse, 
 which I have not given, has only the money er’s name and a small cross. 
 No. 14, Plate 3, is the reverse of another of his coins, with the moneyers 
 name and a peculiar ornament. The head (No. 13) approaches the style of 
 
66 COINS OF THE SAXON AND DANISH SOLE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 the continental art of the period more nearly than any other specimen of the 
 series. 
 
 E AD GAR (958 to 975) had been elected to, or rather had usurped, 
 during his brother’s life, a portion of the country, and on his death became 
 sole monarch — the first Saxon king who has a real claim to that title. He 
 renewed the edict of lEthelstan respecting the uniformity of the coinage, and 
 also enacted’ that none should refuse it — an edict rendered necessary by the 
 clipping of the pennies, which had reduced them to half their value. St. 
 Dunstan refused to celebrate mass on Whitsunday until three moneyers, 
 who had falsified the coin, had undergone their punishment — loss of the 
 right hand. The coins of Eadgar present few distinctive characters from 
 those of his predecessors, and he is styled simply “Rex,” but sometimes the 
 letters TO. bi. occur, which may be “Totius Britannise.” His coins are 
 numerous: the moneyer’s name frequently occurs without the place of 
 mintage. The specimen No. 15, Plate 3, shows the king’s head with a fillet 
 and crown ; the reverse has the moneyer’s name, &c. 
 
 EDWARD the Martyr (975 to 978), son of Edgar, after reigning three 
 years, was murdered at the age of seventeen, by command of his step-mother, 
 Elfrida. Notwithstanding his early death and short reign, his coins are 
 common ; but they appear somewhat ruder in execution than those of his 
 father. He is styled “ Rex Anglorum,” more or less abbreviated : in the 
 specimen No. 16, Plate 3, it is AGL. only. His name is spelt eadpeard, the 
 Saxon p being used instead of the w. 
 
 iETHELRED, the son of Elfrida (978 to 1016). This weak prince 
 succeeded to the throne at the early age of ten, and the improvement in the 
 coinage must probably be attributed to Dunstan, who, tired of the political 
 intrigues which had occupied too much of his earlier career, devoted himself 
 in his declining years to those arts in which he is known to have been a 
 great proficient. The coin selected as a specimen (No. 17, Plate 3) represents 
 the king in a sort of mailed armour peculiar to the period, and wearing a 
 crowned helmet, partially of mail, but protected by a longitudinal orna- 
 mented bar ; the whole sufficiently well executed to form an interesting 
 record of the arms of the period. The reverse exhibits one of the first 
 examples of the “voided cross,” which, with the addition of the martlet in the 
 angles, formed subsequently the device of some of the coins of Edward the 
 Confessor, and has been termed his “ arms.” A sceptre also appears for the 
 first time on some of the coins of iEthelred, in front of the profile (No. 18, 
 Plate 3), which in subsequent reigns became general : on the reverse is the hand 
 of Providence of the coins of Edward the Elder. There is much controversy 
 respecting some coins bearing this king’s name, which resemble the coins of 
 the early Irish kings, and are by some supposed to have been coined by 
 IE their ed in Dublin, his father having possessed himself of a large portion of 
 Ireland. (See end of the following chapter.) 
 
 EDMUND IRONSIDE, the son of JEthelred (1016 to 1017), on the death 
 of his father, found the kingdom in the greatest confusion from the contest 
 going on with the Danes, who had landed in great numbers, led by Sweyn, 
 
CNUT, HAROLD, HARTHACNUT, EDWARD. 
 
 67 
 
 in the year 1013, and whose son, the youthful Cnut, now disputed the 
 kingdom with the successor of ^Ethelred. It was eventually agreed to 
 divide it; hut Edmund dying in 1017, Cnut became sole monarch. Of 
 Edmund Ironside no coins have been discovered. 
 
 CNUT (1017 to 1035). His coins are very numerous, and exhibit above 
 340 variations of moneyers’ names, various types, and more places of mintage 
 than any other coins of the period. They resemble in execution those of 
 iEtlielred. The specimen No. 19, Plate 3, is supposed to commemorate the 
 peace established with Edmund Ironside in 1016, having the word “ Pacx ” 
 (Peace) in the angles of a voided cross on the reverse. No. 20 is another 
 coin of Cnut, having the title at full length, as “ Rex Anglorum.” Those on 
 which he is described as “ Rex Danorum ” are very rare ; they were doubtless 
 coined in Denmark.* There are also coins of his which have the name of 
 Dublin on the reverse; which may prove that he held in subjection a portion 
 of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son. 
 
 HAROLD I. (1035 to 1040). His coins closely resemble those of his 
 father and iEthelred. The specimen No. 21, Plate 2, has his portrait in a 
 sort of mail armour, with a sceptre, and “Harold Rex:” the reverse, the 
 voided cross, &c. 
 
 HARTHACNUT (1040 to 1042) was elected king of England on the 
 death of his brother. English and Danish coins (both rare) of this king are 
 found, and it is difficult to separate them, as there was a place of mintage in 
 Denmark the name of which cannot be distinguished from London. The 
 specimen No. 22, Plate 3, has on the reverse a cross' formed of four ovals, 
 similar to crosses on some of the coins of his father. He is merely styled 
 “ Rex,” without any reference to Denmark or England. 
 
 EDWARD the Confessor (1042 to 1066). On the death of Hartha- 
 cnut, who perished from excess of gluttony, thoroughly detested for his 
 cruelty by the whole nation, the Saxon line was restored; and the throne 
 reverted to Edward, the surviving son of iEthelred. His coins are very 
 various. On some of them the head is bearded, possibly in allusion to his 
 coming to the throne at a late period of life — a somewhat unusual circum- 
 stance in those times ; or possibly, from his wearing a beard, in fulfilment of 
 some vow or penance connected with his well-known devotional character, 
 which gave him the cognomen of Confessor. His pennies vary exceedingly 
 in size, from half an inch to an inch, but appear to have been all of the 
 same nominal value, every intermediate gradation occurring without any 
 regularity. It appears that halfpence and farthings were generally formed in 
 this reign by cutting the pennies into two or four, as parcels of coins have 
 been found so cut, which had evidently never been in circulation, seeming to 
 prove that they were so issued from the mint. The specimen No. 24, Plate 
 3, is a coin of this king, which, for the first time, exhibits a full figure of the 
 sovereign seated on a throne, holding the orb and sceptre. It has the legend 
 eadprd. rex ANGLO., for “ Eadward Rex Anglorum,” the Saxon P being 
 
 Hawkins. 
 
68 COINS OF THE SAXON AND DANISH SOLE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 used for w in Edward. The reverse shows the voided cross, with martlets 
 in the angles, called the Confessor’s arms. No. 23, Plate 3, is another silver 
 penny of this king: the head is bearded, with a helmet; and there is a 
 voided cross, and the place of mintage, on the reverse. In a communication 
 by Sir H. Ellis to the Numismatic Society, a halfpenny also of his reign is 
 mentioned. Edward is supposed to have first introduced from Normandy, 
 where he had long resided in exile, the oppressive custom of frequent re- 
 coinages, each alteration causing a great loss to the nation and great gain to 
 the prince — a practice extensively abused by some of the first sovereigns 
 after the Norman conquest. 
 
 HAROLD II. (1066). A son of the powerful Earl Godwin, whose 
 daughter the late king had married, now usurped the throne. His father 
 having married a daughter of Cnut had also some pretensions to the crown, 
 through the Danish line; and overlooking, therefore, the claims of the infant 
 Edgar Atheling, Harold at once assumed the title of king. His reign 
 terminated nine months afterwards on the battle-field of Hastings. But 
 though he reigned only nine months, there are coins that may undoubtedly 
 be ascribed to him, as they have been discovered in parcels which contained 
 no others, except those of William the Conqueror and Edward the Confessor; 
 otherwise they might have been attributed to Harold I. The specimen No. 
 25, Plate 3, exhibits the profile of the king, with a double arched crown 
 (like some of his predecessor’s), and a sceptre. I have heard no good reason 
 assigned for the word “ Pax” on the reverse, the existence of which seems 
 rather to invalidate the supposition given for the appearance of that word on 
 a coin of Cnut. Ruding (who quotes North) explains this by the circum- 
 stance of its existing on a coin of Edward the Confessor, struck, he thinks, in 
 commemoration of a peace or compact made with Earl Godwin (Harold’s 
 father), by which that family was to succeed to the throne. The word was 
 also adopted in rivalry by William of Normandy, in token of his own alleged 
 compact with Edward for his succession to the throne. It was continued by 
 Rufus, probably with the same feeling. The portrait of Harold is repre- 
 sented bearded, like that of Edward the Confessor; possibly to convey an 
 idea of his being his adopted successor, as beards were not generally worn at 
 the period, but merely a moustache on the upper lip, which the immediately 
 succeeding Norman coins represent very distinctly. The coins of Harold 
 close the Anglo-Saxon series. 
 
 To those engaged in forming collections of the most interesting types of 
 the Anglo-Saxon series of coins, it should be known that some of the most 
 important and interesting coins of this series are to be found in the national 
 collections of Copenhagen and Stockholm. 
 
 THE GOLD COINAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXON EPOCH. 
 
 Though a few gold coins have been discovered belonging to this epoch, 
 which are undoubtedly genuine, yet they are of such an exceptional character 
 as not to call for detailed description in this work. They belong (at present, 
 at all events) to the mere curiosities of the subject, and as such, our space 
 
EARLIEST COINAGE OF IRELAND. 
 
 69 
 
 forbids their admission here. That OfFa struck a few imitations of the Arab 
 coins which circulated in Spain, and other princes also struck a few pieces, 
 some of them imitations of the Merovingian triens, is pretty certain ; but it is 
 | equally certain that there was no national coinage of gold in Saxon times. 
 
 ’ The gold piece, with the types of Edward the Confessor, weighing 54 J 
 I grains, now in the possession of Mr. Spurrier, is generally believed to be 
 either a forgery or an essay struck in a die engraved for a silver penny. 
 
 EARLIEST COINAGE OF IRELAND. 
 
 At the period of the Norman conquest of England the old Celtic ring- 
 i money was still used in many parts of Ireland, though the Danish invaders, 
 
 | who had subdued the southern portion of the island, had introduced a coinage 
 ! of silver pennies similar to that of England, and apparently copied from 
 i those of the Anglo-Saxon princes of the period. These Irish coins had, 
 
 I however, peculiarities of execution not found on those of England, especially 
 i in the curious treatment of the hair by the barbarous artists of the Irish 
 i mints, and which, by our early antiquarians, was taken for rays, representing 
 j a kind of glory — a mistake long since disproved. This peculiarity will be 
 I better understood by reference to the coins Nos. 2 and 3, Plate 18. 
 
 The supposition that the Irish had no other money than the ring-money 
 | previous to the first Danish invasion, about 853 A.D., is to some extent cor- 
 roborated by the fact that no native coins have been discovered, while a 
 series of Hiberno-Danish coins commence from that epoch, which extends to 
 the period when the whole of Ireland was subjected to the Anglo-Norman 
 princes of England, in the reign of Henry II. (1154-1189 A.D.). Of Anlaf I., 
 the first Danish King of Ireland, no coins are known ; but to Imars or Ifars, 
 King of Limerick, his brother, the rude coin No. 1, Plate 18, may with 
 tolerable certainty be attributed. Ifars was at first King of Limerick only, 
 but after the death of Anlaf he succeeded to all the Danish possessions in 
 Ireland. The rude coins attributed to this prince are now common in Ire- 
 land. They are of very peculiar execution, the form of the face being 
 expressed by dots. On each side of the head are the characters IMF. or ime., 
 turned towards the head; the remainder of the legends, which are very 
 irregular and blundered, seem to read nnd, also repeated. These letters are 
 found on many Hiberno-Danish coins, and are supposed to stand for “ Nor- 
 manorum, D} r flin,” or “ Nonnanorum Dominus;” most probably they ex- 
 press N ORMAN ORVM DIFLINAE (of the Normans of Dublin) — that is, money of 
 the Northmen of Dublin. The characters Hie. would appear to stand for 
 IMAR. or imfar. The same letters are found on Anglo-Saxon skeattse ; and as 
 Imars was King of the Northmen both in Ireland and England, it is possible 
 the skeattse in question were also struck by this prince, the types of both 
 series being doubtless a rude imitation of some Anglo-Saxon coin. 
 
 The next specimen, No. 2, Plate 18, is' attributed to ENRED, a cotem- 
 porary of Sithric III. (989 A.D.). It resembles in type the coins of the last- 
 named prince, and also those attributed to Donald. The legend on the 
 obverse is t enred. rex. m. n., and on the reverse herve. mo. dir. No 
 
70 COINS OF THE SAXON AND DANISH SOLE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 prince of this name (Enred) occurs in the Irish annals, but the close general 
 resemblance of the coin to those of the princes above referred to, has induced 
 Mr. Lindsay to attribute it to the same district as the coins bearing the 
 legend dymnroex. mn., which are cotemporary with those of Sithric III. It 
 may, therefore, be a coin of Anrad, one of the princes of the Northmen who 
 fought at Clontarf, and was killed in that battle. Over which of the petty 
 Irish kingdoms he ruled, it is not easy to guess ; but the letters referring to 
 the name of the place of mintage, dir., may eventually lead to the desired 
 discovery. 
 
 No. 3, Plate 18, is another Hiberno-Danish coin: it belongs to IFARZ II., 
 King of Dublin in 993. It bears the usual type, the rude head on the 
 obverse and the long double cross on the reverse. The legend round the head 
 appears to be iimrz. rex, the remaining letters being probably intended for 
 difnlin. On the reverse is a legend, which seems intended for faerein. mo. 
 dinl., retrograde — for faerein. moneta (or monetarius) Diflinse: the coin is 
 neatly executed, and one of the very few whose appropriation to this king 
 may perhaps be said to be beyond question. 
 
 The coins of SITHRIC III. (989 A.D.) are more numerous than those of any 
 other Danish king of Ireland. The specimen engraved, No. 4, Plate 18, has 
 a portrait of the king bareheaded, with the hair executed in the manner 
 peculiar to the Irish coinage of the period. The legends generally read, when 
 perfect, zitir. diflmeorvm, the last word being contracted, as we find on 
 English coins of fiEthelred, which may, perhaps, be meant to express “ Zitiric 
 (chief of) the people (Northmen) of Dublin.” The reverse has a short double 
 cross, with CRVX in the angles; the moneyers’ names that occur on the 
 reverse of the coins of Sithric III., are fastol., eolf., ciolf., alfste., and 
 several others. 
 
 No. 5, Plate 18, is attributed to ANLAF Y. (1029 A.D.). On this rude but 
 singular coin a part of the legend is retrograde, and terminates in the letters 
 LAF, from which circumstance it has been assigned to Anlaf Y. or YI., King 
 of Dublin. On the neck of the portrait is that curious kind of ornament, or 
 cross, found on many rude Scandinavian coins, and which may, perhaps, 
 represent a reliquary. 
 
 No. 6, Plate 18, is attributed to ASKEL (1159 A.D.). Of the series of 
 coins of the Hiberno-Danish princes which continued to be issued till late in 
 the twelfth century, those known are attributed to Ifars II., Anlaf Y, 
 Anlaf YI., Ifars III., Ecmargach, Regnald, Oictor, Ifars (King of Limerick), 
 Askel, and others. Askel, to whom the coin under description is attributed, 
 was the last but one of this race of Danish princes holding authority in 
 Ireland. The legend exhibits the letters AbIeil. eov, reversed and retrograde, 
 intended for AZEIL. eovnvnc. If the monetary symbols on this coin, which 
 appear to be ancient fibulse and pieces of ring-money, should prove to be so, 
 they render it very interesting, and seem to show that the Celtic money in 
 that form was still in circulation, at all events as tribute, or for devotional 
 donations, in which cases the ring was no doubt richly ornamented in the 
 manner of those engraved in Plate 16 A. The enlarged cups or knobs at 
 
BRACTEATE COINS. 
 
 71 
 
 each end of the rings seem, in fact, very clearly defined on this curious 
 coin. 
 
 One of the real difficulties attending the correct attribution of the 
 f Hiberno-Danish coins, arises from the rudeness of the legends, which are 
 ! frequently nothing more than a series of strokes made to imitate the ap- 
 I pearance of a legend. The only coins that can be attributed to native Irish 
 1 princes belong to a period subsequent to that of the earliest Hiberno-Danish 
 j coins. These are the pieces attributed to Donald or Domnald, a king of a 
 part of Ireland, who reigned from 956 to 980, or Donald Claen, King of 
 Leinster, who was defeated by Melachlin, King of Ireland, in 983. These 
 coins have a portrait in the usual Irish style, with the spike -like hair, and 
 j the legend dymn. roex. mneehi. They might, however, considering the 
 j blundered and irregular character of the inscription, be assigned to a prince 
 I bearing some such name as menechi, bearing the title of King of Dublin, 
 
 I the inscription being read as mnechi. roex. dymn (blynae). 
 
 | Irish coins bearing the names of CNVT (Canute) and /EDELRED (iEthelred) 
 j are supposed by some to prove that JGthelred and Canute held temporary 
 I possession of Dublin, and some portion of the surrounding districts ; but by 
 i other numismatists they are considered copies of English coins by Danish 
 I moneyers who were incapable of executing original types. 
 
 Bracteate Coins. — Previous to 1837 very few specimens of Bracteate 
 coins had been discovered in Ireland. Bracteates have a raised type on one 
 side only, the reverse showing a deep indent of the s^me type. They are 
 very thin, and appear to have been struck by means of a punch, having the 
 same type cut in relief as that sunk in the die, and into which the plate 
 of silver was driven. Bracteate coins of this kind were struck in Switzer- 
 land and other parts of the Continent, between the tenth and thirteenth 
 centuries, but none were known in the British Islands till the discovery of 
 the coins in Ireland, of which the engravings 7 , 8, 9, and 10, Plate 18, are 
 specimens. It is possible that they were imported money, but archaeologists 
 are in favour generally of the opinion that they are of Irish fabric. The 
 reverse of these coins is not represented, being nothing more than the hollow 
 form of the raised device on the obverse. 
 
 In 1837 a large hoard of coins of this kind was dug up at Fermoy. No 
 intelligible legend is to be found on any of them, the place being occupied by 
 a circle of straight strokes (before referred to) similar to those on other Irish 
 coins. They appear to belong to the period from about the reign of Harold 
 — of whose coins some of them appear to be copies — to the time of Stephen. 
 
 After the subjection of Ireland to the Anglo-Norman princes, in the reign 
 of Henry II., the first coins that appear are those of John, who was created 
 Lord of Ireland. The account of that coinage will, therefore, be resumed 
 after the period of the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland, from which time 
 the coinages of the two countries will be described together. 
 
 No well authenticated Scottish coins are known belonging to this period: 
 the earliest coins of that portion of Britain will therefore be described in a 
 future chapter. 
 

 72 ■ 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 FROM WILLIAM I. TO RICHARD III. 
 
 The great political changes following the Norman conquest might he 
 expected to produce great modifications in the coinage— probably by the 
 introduction of gold coins, as used, though sparingly, by continental nations, 
 especially in France and Spain. But such was not the case. The only 
 changes made being those affecting imaginary coins , or rather denominations 
 for certain sums, of which no positive coin existed, such as the mancus ; 
 by some supposed to be derived from manucusum — “coined money.” It 
 is also supposed that the mancus may possibly have been a positive 
 Arabic coin, of gold, which found its way to Britain through Spain ; but 
 soon disappearing, and leaving only its name and value, as a means of defin- 
 ing larger sums than it was convenient to estimate by the small silver coin of 
 the land. But the most favourite derivation at present is manica — “a bracelet,” 
 which would connect the term in a very natural manner with the old system 
 of ring-money. The mancus expressed a value equal to thirty pennies, or 
 six shillings of five pence, then the value of the shilling. 
 
 This Shilling — the Saxon Scil, or Scilling — was equally an imaginary 
 coin. By this term the Saxons at one time intended five pennies, and at 
 another four. William I. settled the Saxon Shilling at four pennies, but 
 also established the Norman Shilling at twelve pennies ; yet no positive coin 
 of either value appeared till the reign of Henry VII., when the first Shilling 
 of twelve pence was coined. The term “Shilling” has been favoured with 
 many derivations; some trace it to the Latin “sicilicus,” which signified 
 a quarter of an ounce ; others to a Saxon word meaning a scale or measure. 
 
 The “ Mark” was a Danish term of computation, introduced about the 
 time of iElfred ; it was then valued at 100 pennies, but, on the coming of 
 the Normans, when their shilling of twelve pennies was introduced, the 
 Mark was valued at 160 pennies. 
 
 The “ Pound” was also what might be termed an imaginary coin, but 
 referred principally to weight. The “Pounds” were of gold, or silver, and 
 referred rather to a pound weight of those metals than to the amount of 
 current coin that could be made from it ; though up to the time of Edward 
 III., as Stowe tells us, large sums were still paid by weight, the metal being 
 merely “ cut into blanks, and not stamped.” 
 
 These imaginary coins are known as “ moneys of account,” and it was 
 possibly to represent such imaginary sums, when larger than easily repre- 
 


 
 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR AND WILLIAM RUFUS. 
 
 73 
 
 sented by current coin, that the Chinese invented their paper money, 
 previously alluded to. “ Sterling,” or “ Easterling,” is another term early 
 connected with our coinage, which soon became a name by which English 
 money was distinguished on the Continent, Walter de Pinchbeck, a monk 
 of St. Edmundsbury, in the time of Edward I., derives it from “ Easterling,” 
 a name given to persons who periodically examined the mint and regulated 
 the coinage — possibly at Easter; so that the term means, true money, 
 according to the last examination; as, 100 pennies, or pounds, easterling, 
 or sterling.* It would appear from Stowe that the Easterlings were 
 first appointed to examine the coin in the reign of Henry II., from which 
 period the pennies are first described as Easterlings. 
 
 With this short introduction, we may proceed to examine the actual 
 coins of William the Conqueror and his immediate successors, which consist 
 entirely of silver pennies ; for, with the stycas of the Saxon era, copper entirely 
 disappears for a long period. The derivation of the word penny has been 
 before alluded to; but I shall here briefly return to the subject, to state 
 that the Gaelic word pen — “ the head,” may have suggested the term penninc, 
 or penning, which might have been adopted to distinguish money in the 
 medallic form, which generally bore a portrait on the obverse, from the 
 ancient ring-money. If this be allowed, it is easy to conceive that the 
 term would be eventually applied, especially, to the coins which formed 
 for several centuries almost the only national currency. 
 
 WILLIAM I.(a.d. 1066 to 1087). After the Conquest, and on the accession 
 of William of Normandy, it might have been expected, as I have just 
 suggested, that a great change would take place in the style of the coinage, 
 seeing that the arts in general were in a much more forward state, at this 
 period, on the Continent than in England. Yet no improvement took place, 
 and the Saxon types were strictly adhered to, as well as the weight and 
 standard. 
 
 There is much difficulty in assigning the coins (all silver pennies) of the 
 first two Williams to their respective issuers ; and as a great variety of 
 types of each are known, it would be impossible, in the compass of this 
 work, to point out all their different characteristics, with the reasons for 
 attributing them to the one or the other William. Farthings and half- 
 pennies, as under Edward the Confessor, were formed by cutting the pennies 
 in two or four. The specimen No. 1, Plate 4, is an undoubted penny of 
 William I. In “Pillem Rex,” the William is spelt with the Saxon P 
 instead of W. Nearly all the coins till recently known of this reign were 
 similar to the one engraved ; but a specimen has recently been discovered in 
 an old collection, with the head much larger, and turned the other way. 
 The inscription sometimes reads Pillemus, and sometimes Pillelmus. 
 
 WILLIAM RUFUS (1087 to 1100). The specimen No. 2, Plate 4, 
 
 * Grimm, in his Deutsche Mythologies has given us the derivation of Easter, from Bede, who 
 states that April, in which Easter generally falls, was anciently called, by his countrymen, 
 Esturmonat (Eastermonth), from the name of their goddess Eastra, whose festival occurred 
 at that period of the year. 
 
 F 
 
74 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 represents the king in full face, crowned, with pillem rex, as in the coins 
 of his predecessor. The number of coins of these kings discovered together 
 at Bear worth, in Hampshire, in 1833, exceeded 12,000; so that one or two 
 of their types, which, before that time, were rare, have become amongst the 
 most common of our early coins. Some of the coins of this reign are so 
 round that it would seem that they must have been struck in a collar, 
 though that system did not prevail till several centuries later. 
 
 HENRY I. (1100 to 1135). It is on record that this king enacted 
 especial regulations with regard to the coinage, but of what precise nature 
 numismatists are not agreed. He, however, abolished the oppressive tax 
 called moneyage, previously alluded to : and to prevent falsification of the 
 coin, then become excessive, he enacted that, in addition to the loss of the 
 right hand, the guilty party should suffer also loss of sight, and further 
 mutilations. It is clear, however, from the evidence of the coins themselves, 
 that, although this prince was surnamed “ Beauclerk,” from his learning and 
 accomplishments, he did not interest himself greatly in the art bestowed 
 upon his moneys, for they are certainly more rude than those of his immediate 
 predecessors. It has been said that some little difficulty exists as to the dis- 
 tinction of the coins of the different Henrys ; but, with the coins of the present 
 king, that difficulty can only occur between those of his reign and those of 
 Henry II. and Henry III. ; and, in most instances, the difficulty does not 
 appear very great, for the general features of the coins of Henry I. place 
 them at once nearest to those of the two Williams. Another distinction 
 appears to be, that the crown ornamented with the fleur-de-luce was not 
 generally adopted till the reign of Stephen, and even then not perfectly 
 defined ; but in the next reign (Henry II.) it became much better developed, 
 and in Henry III. nearly perfect ; whilst on the coins of his son it assumed 
 that complete and decisive design which continued on all the silver coins 
 through a long succession of reigns, even to Henry VII. If I am right in 
 this conjecture, some coins may be removed from Henry I. to Henry II. 
 The specimen given,* No. 3, Plate 4, is much like some coins of Rufus; it 
 has a front face, with a moustache on the upper lip. Some have the 
 inscription HNRE EX I. ; others, HENRI, and some HENRICUS. A ring on each 
 side of the head is also a mark peculiar to the coins of this reign. 
 
 STEPHEN (1135 to 1154). It has been said that Stephen, and 
 especially some of his barons (who during the civil wars of his reign 
 assumed the privilege of coining money), debased the coin to a very great 
 extent ; and these charges are partially borne out by existing coins, 
 although many of those struck by the king himself, or even by his barons, 
 are of tolerably good weight and purity. 
 
 The specimen No. 4, Plate 4, is one of the most common of his coins: it 
 shows the fleur-de-luced crown before spoken of, and has a flag instead -of a 
 sceptre, the legend being “ Stifne Rex,” which is, however, very variously 
 spelt on different coins. A remarkable coin of his, struck at Derby, has 
 
 * These remarks may be exemplified by reference to Plate 4. 
 
STEPHEN. — BARONIAL COINS. 
 
 75 
 
 “ Stephanus Rex.” The head is peculiarly barbarous ; but on the reverse 
 the device (called the arms of the Confessor) is pretty well executed. Some 
 have the name spelt “ Steine.” 
 
 There is a distinct class of coins belonging to this reign, which are generally 
 i termed the “ Baronial coins they were struck by influential persons, who 
 | during the civil wars assumed the privilege of coining money bearing their 
 own effigy. The most remarkable of these coins is that of Henry, Bishop of 
 ! Winchester, the king’s brother: it has the bishop’s head, crowned, and 
 j accompanied by a crozier, with the legend “ Henricus Epc.” There are also 
 ! coins supposed to be those of Robert of Gloucester, the illegitimate son of 
 Henry I., which are the earliest examples of an English coin with a figure on 
 horseback. They are rather expressively, though quaintly, executed; and 
 have the legend “ Robertus. . St. t.” The reverses of these coins much 
 resemble those on the coins of the king ; but are curious on account of the 
 ornament between the letters of the legend. Coins are also known of 
 Eustace, the son of Stephen, coined by him at York. Their type is a figure 
 in a sort of mail armour, holding a sword, and wearing a conical helmet 
 with the nose-piece. The legend is simply “Eustacius.” The reverses 
 always bear the name of the' place of mintage — “Eboraci” (York), &c. 
 Another coin of Eustace has what has been termed a “lion passant” to the 
 right, which, if it be so, is very interesting, as an extremely early example 
 of a true heraldic device on an English coin — the earliest well-known 
 example of a device of that description being the quarter-florin of gold of 
 Edward III., which has a helmet surmounted by a lion passant, guardant, 
 the subsequent noble of the same reign having the royal arms complete. 
 Other coins of this class have inscriptions which read “ Wereric:” they are 
 therefore attributed to Henry or (Roger) Newburgh, Earl of Warwick. 
 These coins bear the names of several different towns, all, as it would seem, 
 within the jurisdiction of the earls of Warwick of that epoch. Some have 
 j disputed the assertions of cotemporary writers, to the effect that the money 
 issued without royal authority at this period was of debased metal and 
 i light weight, on the ground that no specimens of such base money have 
 come down to us. But Mr. Rashleigh, in an article in the Numismatic 
 Chronicle , appears to have little doubt that the coinage of the turbulent 
 barons was base almost to worthlessness. Almost every castle had its 
 private mint when this base money was manufactured; and he mentions 
 several existing examples from a hoard found in Kent in 1825, of the 
 attribution of which no reasonable doubt can exist, and of which he gives 
 a long list. Many of the names, are, however, illegible from clumsiness of 
 fabrication. In some cases the king’s name, as stiefne, is combined with that 
 of the issuer, doubtless ‘with a view to give an appearance of royal authority ; 
 and places of mintage occur which are never found on the national coinage. 
 One of the most interesting coins of this reign has on the obverse two full 
 figures, formerly supposed to be Stephen and Henry, struck in commemo- 
 ration of the treaty of peace concluded between them in 1 1 53 ; but Mr. 
 Hawkins considers the figures to be Stephen and Matilda his wife, struck 
 
76 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 when she commanded the army by which his liberation was effected. These 
 two figures, though rude, are yet interesting relics of such art as was 
 bestowed upon the coinage of the period. I mention art as connected with 
 the coinage, because the arts in genera] of this period, especially architecture, 
 the art of illuminating books, and the goldsmith’s art, as displayed in the 
 chasing of rich reliquaries, were all in a flourishing state ; and, indeed, the 
 twelfth century may be considered the finest artistic epoch of the Middle 
 Ages for grandeur, richness, and consistency of style, in merely decorative 
 art. It seems extraordinary, therefore, that the artistic efforts of such a 
 period should not have been extended to the coinage. 
 
 HENRY II. (1154 to 1189), on ascending the throne after the death of 
 Stephen, found himself perhaps the most powerful monarch of Europe. He 
 had previously inherited from his father, Touraine and Anjou; from his 
 mother, Normandy and Maine. With his wife he received the great duchy 
 of Aquitaine, comprising a large portion of the south-west of France. So 
 that the extent of his territories in Europe, without conquest or aggression, 
 was greater than that of any succeeding monarch, with the exception of 
 Henry Y. and VI., during the short and illusory conquest of France. His 
 first coins were very badly executed, as appears by those found at Royston in 
 1721, and a large parcel (5,700) found at Tealby (Lincoln), in 1807, which 
 were as fresh as if just issued from the mint. In a subsequent coinage he 
 procured a foreign artist, Philip Aymary, of Tours, and the execution, 
 though still not good, was much better than the first coinage. The portrait 
 
 a full face, and the crown exhibits the fleur-de-luce pattern pretty 
 perfectly defined. The first coinage has “ Henri Rex Angl.” variously 
 abbreviated ; the reverse is an ornamental cross, with crosses in the comers. 
 The second coinage has the legend “ Henricus Rex.” The specimen No. 5. 
 Plate 4, is one of the first coinage. Coins of this reign have been discovered 
 bearing the moneyers’ names Achetil and Lantier, — names which occur in 
 the record, called the “ Chancellor’s Roll,” of the 11th Henry II., as 
 moneyers at Wilton; which satisfactorily proves these corns to be of this 
 reign, and not of Henry I. or III., and shows Ruding and Combe were 
 right in the respective attributions of the coins of those sovereigns. 
 
 Henry II. also issued money in his extensive continental possessions, 
 of similar character to that struck in England, but of superior style, so far 
 as regards the execution of the legends. The denier of Aquitaine, a name 
 derived from the Roman term denarius, was of the same weight and value as 
 the English penny. (See Plate 5, No. 1). In this reign the conquest of 
 Ireland took place ; but no Anglo-Irish coins are known previous to the 
 time of John. 
 
 RICHARD I. (1189 to 1199) and JOHN (1199 to 1216). Richard!, 
 during a reign of ten years, only passed four months in England, and those 
 were chiefly employed in oppression and extortion ; whilst his rival, Philip 
 Augustus of France, whose fame has been unfairly eclipsed by the barbaric 
 valour of Richard, was busily employed in reforming the French coinage, 
 which in his reign moved a good two centuries in advance of that of 
 
HENRY III. 
 
 7 7 
 
 England. He re-established the ancient gold coinage by some new pieces,* 
 and the style of the silver was improved ; while there are no English coins of 
 the reign of Richard in existence ; and possibly none were struck, though some 
 of his continental pieces are known, describing him as Duke of Aquitaine, 
 i which bear also. his title of King of England. Of his continental money, the 
 |l Denier of Poictou, Plate 5, No. 2, will serve as an example. 
 
 Of the disgraceful reign of John we have some coins struck in Ireland, 
 
 I but no English ones are known, though records exist proving that coinages 
 ) took place in his reign. He had, in his fathers life, received the title of 
 Lord of Ireland, and probably struck coins there under that authority, and 
 subsequently as king, examples of both epochs being in existence. No. 11, 
 Plate 18, is an example of his coins struck as Dominus; they have the 
 | inscription IOANNES. DOM. The halfpence of this coinage weigh 11^ grains, 
 
 ; and the farthings, first discovered in 1806, are half that weight. The 
 farthings have for types, on the obverse, a lozenge, and on the reverse a large 
 cross, having in the angles the letters forming the money er’s name. (No. 
 12^). No. 12, Plate 18, is an Irish penny, struck after John’s accession to 
 the crown: it reads, on the obverse, JOHANNES, rex. The first authentic 
 notice of the coinage of this reign is in 1210, when John de Grey, Bishop of 
 Norwich and Lord Justice of Ireland, caused pennies, halfpennies, and 
 farthings to be coined of the English standard, which gave 22J grains to 
 the penny. The triangle found on the Irish coins of J ohn r Henry III., and 
 Edward I., is supposed to be a symbol of the Trinity, the ancient arms of 
 Trinity Priory in Ipswich being represented in a similar manner. In 
 Ireland, it may have been used in allusion to the first English mint being 
 1 established in the monastery of the Trinity in Dublin. 
 
 HENRY III. (1216 to 1272). His silver pennies have the king’s head, 
 in front face, and “ Henricus Terci,” or III., which distinguishes them from 
 those of Henry II. The fleur-de-luced crown, too, has become more perfect, 
 and only requires to be thrown into perspective, by lowering the flowers at 
 the sides, and taking away their exterior leaves, to make it in all respects 
 like the fully-developed crown of this style of the next reign. The specimen 
 i No. 6, Plate 4, has the king’s head, a front face, bearded, with the crown, 
 
 I and also exhibits, for the first time, the waving hair which afterwards 
 became general. The reverse has a cross botone (that is to say, with double 
 | limbs, each terminating in a pellet), and the old ornament of the three 
 pellets is renewed in the angles, — a device which, with the exception of 
 the cross being made simple, now became the type of all the silver money 
 up to the reign of Henry VII., and did not finally disappear till the end 
 of James I., 400 years after its re-adoption by Henry III. Nearly all the 
 coins of the reigns recently described have still the moneyer’s name and 
 place of mintage on the reverse. Ruding supposes that this prince issued 
 a coinage of halfpennies and farthings, which were afterwards recalled. It 
 was in this reign that other small symbols began occasionally to occupy 
 
 * The authenticity of the gold coins attributed to Philip has, however, been disputed. 
 
78 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 the place of the sign of the cross that occurs at the beginning or end 
 of the chief legend. The sign used was a star, or a star between the 
 horns of a crescent moon, like the modern badge of Turkey, which, in 
 fact, is derived from that of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, before 
 it received from its re-founder the name of Constantinople. This badge was 
 borne by Richard I, and it appears upon his great seals. He possibly 
 assumed it on the capture of some Saracenic banner, of which it was 
 the device; and it was on that account that it was adopted, first by John, 
 and afterwards by Henry III., who forbade its use except by those of 
 his own household. 
 
 Henry III. issued also a gold coinage, called gold pennies, which, 
 however, circulated but a short time. At the top of Plate 21 is a specimen. 
 It was very superior in style to his silver coins, having for type the king 
 sitting on a throne ornamented with mosaic work. This coin has been 
 engraved in the work of Folkes, and in other numismatic treatises; but 
 in every case the engraving conveys the idea of a much finer coin than 
 the real one. Ruding describes the gold issue of Henry III. as one called 
 gold pennies, and weighing two sterlings, and being coined to pass for 
 twenty pennies of silver; but that it afterwards passed for twenty-four, 
 or two shillings of twelve pence. He says this piece, properly a royal, was 
 the first of the sort coined in modern Europe ; which, if the coins attributed 
 to Philip Augustus are eventually assigned to another French sovereign of 
 the same name, may be the case, as the famous florins of Florence were not 
 issued till some time later. 
 
 Henry III. issued an Irish coinage similar to his second English 
 coinage, the long double cross appearing on the reverse, and the legend 
 hericus REX ill. on the obverse, the N being frequently omitted. The 
 reverse of this coinage has the moneyer’s name and place of mintage. An 
 example of this issue will be found No. 13, Plate 18 ; — a silver penny. 
 
 The coins of EDWARD I. (a.d. 1273 to 1307) exhibit the head of the king, 
 designed, for the first time, in a style and manner (already indicated in 
 those of Henry II.) that was to continue without alteration for eight 
 successive reigns, including the commencement of that of Henry VII. ; no 
 difference being made in the face to suit the individual likeness of the 
 respective sovereigns : it was, in fact, a merely conventional “ king’s head.” 
 The reverse finally adopted at the same time — the simple cross and pellets — 
 continued, during the same period as the head, to be the only device 
 on our silver coins, and remained in use on some of them even until the 
 comparatively recent reign of James I. 
 
 The consequence of this similarity in the head has been the great 
 difficulty experienced in accurately assigning the respective coins to kings 
 of the same name — especially Edwards I., II., III. — as they have no 
 numerals after the name. Numismatists have, nevertheless, suggested many 
 ingenious methods of assigning the proper coins to each successive reign. 
 
 One of these means is afforded by the money struck at Durham by the 
 bishops, whose personal mint-marks distinguish the coins of each. Bishop 
 
EDWARD I. 
 
 79 
 
 Beck’s, for instance (during the last twenty-four years of the reign of 
 Edward I. and the first three of Edward II.), have a small cross moline for 
 mint-mark; therefore his early coins, if they can be ascertained, are 
 undoubtedly of the reign of Edward I. Bishop Kellow held the see 
 from 1313 to 1316, in the reign of Edward II., and, therefore, all having 
 his mint-mark — a small cross, with one limb bent in the form of a crosier — 
 are undoubtedly of the reign of Edward II. Bishop Beaumont held the see 
 during the last two years of Edward II. and the first three of Edward III., 
 and his coins are marked with a lion rampant. 
 
 By comparing the coins of these prelates with other coins of the realm, 
 which were precisely similar, with the exception of the mint-mark, an 
 approximation to a proper separation of the coin of these three reigns may 
 be arrived at ; and this examination has suggested, as a general though not 
 an unvarying rule, that the coins upon which the name is expressed by EDW. 
 belong to Edward I. ; that those with edwardvs at full belong to Edward 
 III., and all intermediate modes of writing the name to Edward II.* 
 
 It is generally supposed that Edward I. coined the first groats, or four- 
 penny pieces ; if so, very few were put into circulation, and the specimen 
 No. 7, Plate 4, if belonging to this reign, was certainly only a pattern, and 
 not one of the current pieces, as the only specimens known of it vary so 
 considerably in weight (from 80 to 138 grains) as to preclude the possibility 
 of their having been current coins. It has the king’s front face, or rather 
 the front face of a king, crowned, with the perfect form of the fleur-de-luced 
 crown, or crown flenrie , and the draperies at the neck hastened with a 
 rosette. The whole bust is enclosed in a quatre-foil compartment, sur- 
 rounded by the legend, edwardus di gra rex. angl., for “ Edwardus Dei 
 Gratia Rex Anglise ; ” the reverse has an ornamented cross (Jleurie) with the 
 three pellets in the angles, extending to the edge of the coin. Immediately 
 round the pellets are the words, “ Londonia civi,” for “ Civitas ;” and the 
 exterior legend is, DNS hibne. dvx. aqvi, for “Dominus Hiberniae, dux 
 Aquitaniae” (Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine). Some authors have 
 ascribed these groats to Edward III., when the first extensive issue of coins 
 of that size took place; and the name at full length seems somewhat to 
 justify this view ; but the drapery of the neck — while the neck is invariably 
 bare on the groats of Edward III. — seems to favour the first hypothesis. It is 
 the more probable that the groat was coined as an experiment in the reign 
 of this great prince, as we know that a general re -coinage then took place, 
 more extensive perhaps than any previous one ; or than any that occurred 
 again till the famous one in the reign of William and Mary. It was 
 when Gregorie Rokesley, Mayor of London, was master of the king’s 
 exchanges or mints, as Stowe informs us, that this great re-coinage occurred. 
 
 The pennies of this reign (No. 8, Plate 4), have the head without 
 the quatre-foil ornament, and the legend, edw. r., or rex ANGL. dns. 
 hyb., for “ Edwardus Rex Anglise, Dominus Hibernise;'’ the reverse of 
 
 * See Hawkins’s Silver Coins. 
 
80 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 the specimen has the cross and pellets, with “ Civitas London ; ” some have 
 “ Villa,” instead of “ Civitas,” as “ Villa Berevvici” (Berwick). 
 
 Some of the pennies of this reign have the head in a triangle, like the 
 Irish coins of J ohn. Halfpennies and farthings are, for the first time, found 
 pretty plentifully. The specimen No. 9, Plate 4, is a farthing, being of the 
 same type as the penny, with the exception of the omission of the circle of 
 beading round the head. These were the first farthings regularly coined. 
 Up to this reign, it is supposed, as before mentioned, that halfpennies and 
 farthings were often formed by cutting the pennies into two or four — an 
 operation performed at the mint, coins having been found in quantities, so 
 cut, that had evidently never been circulated. 
 
 The extensive coinage of this reign took place in several parts of the 
 kingdom, the names of twelve or more different mints being known. On 
 the coins struck at Reading, a mint-mark of scallop shells, the arms of the 
 abbey, instead of the pellets, appears in the first quarter of the cross ; and on 
 those struck at St. Edmundsbury the name of the moneyer appears in its 
 ancient form, for the last time on English money. It is that of Robert de Hadley, 
 written either in Norman-French, as Robert de Hadeleie, or in Latin, as 
 Robertus de Hadl., the surname being abbreviated. From an ancient 
 record, dated 1279, it appears that at that time William de Tummere was 
 master of the London mint. It is from this reign also, as marking the 
 extinction of moneyers’ names, that we may date the commencement of 
 their substitutes — the mint-marks. These were small objects generally in- 
 troduced in the line of the legend, — a coronet, a crosier, an amulet, a bow, a 
 fleur-de-luce, a sun, &c., &c., which were distinctive marks by which the 
 mintage of certain years and certain moneyers were thenceforth known ; and 
 which will henceforward be frequently referred to. 
 
 As a specimen of the money coined by this prince in his continental pos- 
 sessions, I have engraved a penny of Aquitaine. (No. 3, Plate 5.) 
 
 Coins were struck in Ireland in this reign, under the government of 
 Stephen de Fulborn, Bishop of Waterford, lord-deputy in 1279. Some of 
 the Irish pennies are without the triangle, and some with. No. 14, Plate 18, 
 is a penny without the triangle, the legend is EDW. R. ANGL. DNS. HIB. ; 
 the reverse has the usual cross and pellets, with “ Civitas Dublin,” which, in 
 other specimens, stands “ Dublini.” 
 
 Many coinages took place in Ireland during the reigns of Edward I. and 
 Edward III., as is shown by the various orders in council concerning the 
 Irish coinage in both those reigns ; but it is impossible to distinguish those 
 of Edward III. from those of Edward I. Some of the coins attributed to 
 the three Edwards indiscriminately, bear the inscriptions of other mints than 
 Dublin — waterfor (Waterford), and corcacie (Cork). 
 
 THE COUNTERFEIT STERLINGS. 
 
 It was about this period that the high reputation of the English 
 coinage for weight and purity led to its imitation by many small States 
 
COUNTERFEIT STERLINGS — EDWARD II. AND EDWARD III. 
 
 8J 
 
 and petty princes of the Continent. The pieces thus imitated were 
 termed counterfeit sterlings. This counterfeit money continued to be 
 issued for a very considerable time; but I shall not refer to it again, 
 as an account of all forgeries would lead me too far from the main 
 object. The brief general account of the character of this imitative money 
 given in this place must therefore suffice. On the obverse of these coins 
 the name and title of the issuer generally occurred round a head which 
 resembled any other monetary portrait ; for they were, all over Europe, pretty 
 much alike. The type of the reverse, however, was always closely copied 
 from the cross and pellet of the English coins, and the accompanying 
 inscription, though recording the real place of mintage, was arranged so 
 as to look as like as possible to similar inscriptions on the English coins. 
 As the great bulk of those among whom the coins circulated could not read, 
 and could not certainly distinguish much difference between one rude 
 monetary head and another, it was the English type of the cross and pellet 
 that formed the authority upon which the coin was accepted as English. 
 There are examples, however, in which more direct forgery is carried out, 
 i even the name of the king being copied, as well as that of an English place 
 i of mintage. 
 
 Among the counterfeit sterlings, the following may be cited as good 
 examples. Those of Guido II., Bishop of Cambray, from 1296 to 1306, 
 
 I have, on the obverse, a full face, with a wreath of roses arranged much 
 like the fleur-de-luces of the English crown, the inscription being 
 GVIDO. EPISCOPVS. ; on the reverse, the English cross and pellet, with 
 i CAMERACENSIS. Those of John, Count Hainault, from 1280 to 1304, and 
 those of Arnold, Count of Loos, from 1280 to 1328, are of very similar 
 ! character. Those of Guido, Count of Flanders and Marquis of Namur, have 
 j on the obverse G. comes, flandie. ; and on the reverse, round the English 
 cross and pellets, SIGNVM CRVCIS. Some of the counterfeits with names of 
 I kings of England on the obverse, and locenbgensis on the reverse, are 
 supposed by Snelling to be the “ Lushburgs” referred to in a penal statute of 
 ( Edward III 
 
 EDWARD II. (1307 to 1327). The coinage remained of the same 
 weight and standard as in the previous reign. There is no record of a 
 1 coinage of groats; but the penny (No. 10, Plate 4) has the same types as 
 those of the preceding reign, and has for legend, ED WAR. R. ANG. DNS. hyb., 
 and on the reverse, “ Ci vitas London.” No coins of the Anglo-Irish money 
 have been assigned to this reign. 
 
 EDWARD III. (1327 to 1377). The silver coinage of this reign are 
 groats and half-groats, pennies, halfpennies, and farthings. It will be seen 
 that the title of King of France is assumed on groats of this king, and this, 
 with other peculiarities, go to prove that the groat previously mentioned 
 i must either have been an essay or pattern made very early in the reign, 
 before the assumption of that title, or; which is most probable, that it really 
 belongs to the reign of Edward I. The groat of this reign (No 11, Plate 4) 
 begins to exhibit, permanently, those characters of the art of the period 
 
82 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 which had been first shown in the supposed groat of Edward I. ; but in this 
 and the succeeding reigns, the head is enclosed in a compartment formed of 
 a tressure of nine small arches instead of four, terminating at their junction 
 in a trefoil exactly in the same style of ornament as the architectural 
 decorations of the time. It is a decoration, however, which, though new to 
 the English coinage, had previously appeared on that of France. The words 
 “ Dei Gratia” were adopted for the first time on English coins in this reign; 
 first on the gold coin, and afterwards on the groats. It had, however, 
 appeared on the great seal, since William I., and on the coins of France, 
 with more or less variation, since the time of Charlemagne, who seems to 
 have adopted “ Christianity” as his watchword; for on the reverse of his 
 coins the words “ Christiana religio” appear, and on others he was styled 
 “ Karolus Augustus a Deo Coronatus ,” &c. Some of his successors adopted 
 " Misericordia Dei,” &c. ; but “ Dei Gratia” became general on the French 
 coins, eventually the settled form, and was adopted long before it was 
 introduced in England* 
 
 The legend on the groat of Edward III. stands, Edward d. g. rex. 
 angl. z. FRANCE. D. hyb., for “ Edwardus Dei Gratia Rex Angliae et 
 Francise, Dominus Hibernise ;” the title of King of France having been 
 assumed in 1 389. The reverse of this groat of Edward III. has the plain 
 cross extending to the edge of the coin, with the three pellets in the angles, 
 and exhibiting, for the first time, the motto, “Posui Deum ajutorem meum” 
 — “ I have made God my help ;” adopted very probably in allusion to his 
 declaration, that with the “ help of God” he would by force make good his 
 claim to the throne of France. Slightly abbreviated, in an inner circle, is 
 “ Civitas London.” The half-groat is the same, with the omission of 
 “ France” in the legend of the obverse. The coinages of some towns have 
 their mint-mark in one angle of the cross, instead of the three pellets. 
 There were half-groats similar to the groats. In reference to the general 
 decrease of weight of the silver coinage in this reign, the chronicle of 
 Walsingham states, “ In the year 1351, William Edington being Bishop 
 of Winchester and Treasurer of England, a wise man, but loving the king’s 
 commodity more than the wealth of the whole realm, and common people, 
 caused a new coin, called a groat and a half-groat, to be coined and stamped ; 
 the groat to be taken for fourpence, and the half-groat for twopence, 
 neither of them containing in weight according to the pence called 
 easterlings, but much less, to wit, by five shillings in the pound, by reason 
 whereof victuals and merchandise became the dearer through the whole 
 realm.” 
 
 The penny was reduced in this reign from the previous general average 
 of about twenty-two or twenty-two and a half grains, to twenty and a 
 quarter, then to twenty, and eventually to eighteen.f The specimen No. 
 
 * Folkes observes, speaking of tbe gold coins of Edward III., u ‘Dei Gratia’ was now 
 used for the first time; but there are, as stated, some previous examples in England, as well 
 as the general previous use of it on the coins of France.” 
 
 f Edward II. had previously coined forty-three out of the silver before used for forty. 
 
EDWARD III. 
 
 83 
 
 12, Plate 4, is a silver penny, having the motto “ Edwardus Rex Angli,” 
 and on the reverse “ Civitas Eboraci” (York). The halfpence and 
 farthings are similar to the pennies, but have the legends shortened for 
 the space ; some having only “ Edwardus Rex some of the farthings 
 have only E. R. ANGL. D. H. for “ Edwardus. Rex. Anglise, Dominus 
 Hibernia.” 
 
 The great feature in the coinage of this reign is the noble gold issue, 
 said by English writers to be superior to any of the cotemporary gold coins 
 of Europe. It may be considered our first gold coinage, as the attempt in 
 the reign of Henry III. was too partial to take the first rank from the 
 extensive and beautiful issue now effected. It was first determined, after 
 much deliberation, that three moneys of gold were to be made, to he current 
 at 6s., 3s., and Is. 6d. The first was to have two leopards, the second a 
 mantle, with the arms of England and France, and the small one, a helmet, 
 &c. ; being called florins, half-florins, and quarter-florins — a name derived 
 from the celebrated gold coin of Florence, which had been copied in several 
 parts of Europe, bequeathing the name of its parent city to many gold coins 
 of other countries, after its original value and even its devices had dis- 
 appeared. Edward III., in fact, adopted only the name, the devices and 
 values being original and national. No. 13, Plate 4, exhibits the obverse 
 and reverse of a quarter-florin. It was found that this first gold coinage 
 was rated too high, and was therefore soon recalled ; consequently, specimens 
 are very rare. 
 
 Another gold coinage was then determined upon — the famous one of the 
 Nobles. These coins were not named after a place of mintage, like some of 
 the gold coins of other nations, but, as is supposed by an old writer, either 
 after the noble metal of which they were composed, or from their superior 
 execution, weight, and purity, in which they surpassed any gold coins of 
 the period in Europe. This remark, however, can only apply to their 
 weight and purity. The pieces were called nobles, half-nobles, and quarter- 
 nobles, the nobles passing as 6s. 8 d. It appears singular that they did not 
 acquire their popular name from the ship forming part of their device, which 
 was not in use on any other European coins ; and any new and popular type 
 was generally the means of giving its name to a coin, as will be noticed in 
 another place. Some imagine that this device must, from its singularity, 
 have been adopted in commemoration of the great naval victory of Mid- 
 summer Eve (1340), when two French admirals and thirty thousand men 
 were slain, and two hundred and thirty of their large ships taken, with 
 small loss on the part of the English. But the ship is the well-known 
 Roman symbol of “ the State and it seems possible that the king at the 
 helm of the State may have been intended in this striking device — for 
 striking it is, both in design and execution ; and it is the first example of 
 anything like the best cotemporaneous art being applied to the English 
 coinage. There are other conjectures respecting this device too numerous to 
 describe; one, however as a very ancient one, may be mentioned, though 
 evidently incorrect. Edward did not claim the sovereignty of the seas till 
 
COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 84 
 
 1359, fifteen years subsequent to the issue of these coins, and yet the old 
 poet sings :* * * § ■ — 
 
 But King Edward made a siege royall, 
 
 And wonne the town, and in speciall 
 The sea was kept, and thereof he was lord ; 
 
 Thus made he nobles coins of record. 
 
 The legend is, edward dei gra. rex anglo., et France, d. hyb. ; the 
 reverse a rich cross fleurie,f with lions under crowns in the angles; 
 and the legend, ihs autem transiens p. medium illorum ibat — “ Jesus 
 autem transiens per medium illorum ibat” These words J had been used 
 as a talisman of preservation in battle, and also against thieves. As a 
 spell against thieves, says the learned editor of the Canterbury Tales , 
 “ it was the most serviceable, if not the most elegant, inscription that 
 could be put upon gold coins.” I give a specimen of the gold noble, 
 No. 14, Plate 4; but there are other varieties, some having the title of 
 “ Duke of Aquitaine,” after Ireland, and others a flag at the stem of 
 the ship, bearing St. George's Cross; on others, struck after the Treaty 
 of Bretigny, in 1360, when Edward renounced his claim to France, 
 “ France” is omitted in the titles. 
 
 The half nobles have the same type and legend on the obverse as the 
 nobles; but the reverses have, in some cases, the motto, “Domine ne in 
 furore tuo arguas me:” on one, which is in the British Museum, the sense of 
 the motto, from the Sixth Psalm, is entirely changed by the accidental 
 omission of the word “ ne :” reading “ Domine in furore tuo arguas me.” 
 Others have “ Exaltabitur in gloria.”§ No. 15, Plate 4, is a specimen of the 
 quarter-noble, the types of which were distinct. 
 
 The first grand coinage of nobles proved so valuable that they were 
 secretly exported for profit, and a lighter coinage was made, causing, how- 
 ever, some unreasonable discontent. The Commons afterwards petitioned 
 for gold coins of the value of ten or twelve pennies ; but there is no record of 
 such an issue. 
 
 The types of our national coinage do not afford accurate indications of 
 costume. The kings, from Edward I. to Henry VII., are without beards on 
 their coins, while on their broad seals and monuments they are bearded. 
 Folkes suggests that the king is represented as beardless, because supposed 
 to be always in the prime of youth, and that the coins thus give rather the 
 political than the true image of the sovereign. It u ding cites a singular 
 evidence of this sort of feeling in the monuments of the children of Edward 
 III. (Blanche and William), in Westminster Abbey, who, though they died 
 in the earliest infancy, are represented as a knight and lady : princes had, it 
 would seem, in feudal polity, no infancy and no old age. 
 
 * Selden, reign of Henry VI. 
 
 t Copied from the “ecus d’or,” or “royal,” of his rival, Philip of Valois, whose several 
 gold coins were finely executed, especially the Florin George, where the figure is much finer 
 than even that on the George Noble of Henry VIII., executed nearly two hundred years 
 later. 
 
 % Luke, chap, iv., ver. 30. 
 
 § Which some have supposed to be an allusion to his claim on the crown of France. 
 
EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE. 
 
 85 
 
 This period was marked by the first arbitrary interference with com- 
 merce, on the part of the legislature, that led to so much inconvenience 
 and national loss in after- times, and from which we are but just emerging. 
 The earliest measure of this kind arose from the state of the coinage. The 
 French sovereigns had begun, earlier than the English, the system of 
 debasing the coin — a circumstance to which a French writer (Le Blanc) 
 attributes the loss of the battles of Cressy and Poictiers, in consequence of 
 the lords and knights not being able to equip themselves properly, as 
 armourers and others refused the base money. Be this as it may, it is 
 certain that the fine gold coinage of Edward III. was rapidly finding its way 
 to France through this state of things ; to obviate which, he established the 
 complicated system of staple towns (from the German word stapelen, to pile 
 or heap), where only British merchandise could be sold to the foreign 
 | merchant, in the presence of a government commissioner, who compelled 
 the foreigner, on the sale of his own merchandise, to spend whatever moneys 
 ! he might have received, in the purchase of British products, then principally 
 wool. This arrangement, and the protection to buyers and sellers which 
 ' it professed, were somewhat similar to that of the great fairs on the 
 Continent; but the scheme utterly failed in England, for the king was 
 unable to protect the dealers from the robberies and oppressions of the 
 neighbouring nobles. 
 
 The coins struck in France by Edward III., are of several values and 
 denominations, the gold being much more finely executed than even our 
 boasted nobles. The fine gold piece issued in Guienne, and known as the 
 Guiennois, is a very splendid coin, of which an example will be found in 
 Plate 5, No. 4. The king is represented in complete armour, on the obverse ; 
 and the reverse has an ornamental cross of very rich and graceful Gothic 
 design, the legend being “ Gloria in excelsis Deo,” &c. 
 
 The Leopard, so named from its device, is another gold coin issued 
 by this sovereign in his continental possessions — it is represented in Plate 
 5, No. 4±\. Examples of the silver and billon Anglo-Gallic coins of this 
 sovereign will be found in the penny of Aquitaine, No. 5, Plate 5, and the 
 Double Hardi of Aquitaine, No. 6, Plate 5. 
 
 EDWABD THE BLACK PRINCE, who was invested with, the princi- 
 pality of Aquitaine during the life of his father, in his capacity of sovereign prince 
 issued several coinages, some of the coins of which are remarkably beautiful. 
 The gold piece, which was popularly known as the “ Pavilion ” (No. 7, Plate 
 5), from the Gothic canopy under which the prince is represented as standing, 
 is a very beautiful coin, and the type is interesting on account of the 
 detached ostrich feather in the “field” — so placed in commemoration of his 
 having displumed the helmet of the King of Bavaria at the battle of Cressy. 
 Another Anglo-Gallic coin of the Black Prince is almost, if not quite, equal to 
 the handsome “ Pavilion.” It is known as the “ Chaise,” from the throne 
 or chair of state on which the prince is seated, in the type of the obverse. 
 The reverse is a richly-designed Gothic cross, &c. It is represented in Plate 
 5, No. 8. N os. 9 and 1 0, in the same Plate, are the obverse and reverse of 
 
86 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 the groat of Bordeaux, coined by the Black Prince, and are interesting as 
 exhibiting the very superior design of the continental coinages ; for, while 
 on the English silver of the period the unmeaning conventional crowned 
 head formed the unvarying device, the continental coinages exhibited an 
 endless variety of types. On the Bordeaux groats of the Black Prince the 
 type of the obverse is a well-designed half-length figure of the prince 
 holding the sword of Justice, and evidently intended as a portrait, though 
 not a very complimentary one. No. 6J, Plate 5, is a pattern for a new issue 
 of the groats of Bordeaux in billon, or base metal — a kind of coinage which 
 had become very general on the Continent, and the bad example of which 
 was followed in Scotland — but never in England : the debased silver issued 
 by Henry VIII. and his immediate predecessors being merely a fraudulent 
 alloy of the silver, and not a systematic and open issue of billon, or black 
 coin. 
 
 RICHARD II. (1377 to 1399). The silver coins of Richard (groats, half- 
 groats, pennies, halfpence, and farthings) are so precisely similar to those of 
 his grandfather, Edward III., that I only give one — a groat — as a specimen, 
 No. 16, Plate 4. The motto is ricard. di. gra. rex. angl. z. franc. 
 The reverse has the same legend as the preceding reign. His gold coins also 
 are precisely similar to those of his predecessor; so that a half-noble will 
 form a sufficient example: it is represented in Plate 4, No. 17. No Irish or 
 Anglo-Gallic coins are known of this reign. 
 
 HENRY IV. (1399 to 1413). The coins of the four Henrys, who now 
 succeeded each other, are very difficult to distinguish. These princes issued 
 money of precisely the same types, without any mark of distinction, till 
 Henry VII., in the eighteenth year of his reign, added the numerals “ VII.” 
 in the legend. There is, however, a tolerably secure guide for determining the 
 pennies of Henry IV. In the early part of his reign they were of the 
 weight of those of his two predecessors — namely, eighteen grains ; but in the 
 thirteenth year of his reign they were reduced to fifteen, and the other 
 silver coins in proportion: any penny of eighteen grains, therefore, of the 
 proper type, is pretty certainly of Henry IV. The early groats may be 
 distinguished in a similar manner. Halfpence and farthings were also 
 coined ; but. as their weight was never very carefully adjusted, it is difficult 
 to separate those belonging to the first thirteen years of this reign. The 
 specimen of his heavy money is a groat, No. 1 8, Plate 4 ; the legend is, 
 HENRIC di. GRA. rex ANGL. D. H. — the reverse as in preceding reign. His 
 gold coins are nobles, half-nobles, and quarter-nobles, which do not differ 
 from those of his predecessors, but may be distinguished from those of his 
 successors, by the arms of France Seme of fleurs-de-lis, instead of being 
 charged with three only, as was afterwards the custom. The specimen No. 
 19, Plate 4, is a quarter-noble. No coins appear to have been struck in 
 Ireland in this reign nor in the continental possessions, which, since the 
 premature death of the Black Prince, had nearly all fallen into the power of 
 the King of France. 
 
 HENRY V. (1413 to 1422) and HENRY VI. (1422 to 1461). The coins of 
 
HENRY V. AND HENRY VI. 
 
 87 
 
 these reigns, both of gold and silver, are tolerably plentiful; but most of 
 them must be attributed to the very extensive coinage at the beginning of 
 the reign of Henry YI. It appears extraordinary that the regent Bedford, 
 whose taste for the fine arts is exhibited in the magnificently illuminated 
 books executed for him, and of which several are in existence and in 
 beautiful preservation, should not have attempted, in the plenitude of his 
 vast power, which extended over both England and France, some further 
 improvement in the style of the coinage. He did not, however, turn his taste 
 for the arts in that direction, but followed exactly the old types. This 
 appears the more extraordinary as the coins struck in France of this 
 reign, after the king’s coronation as sovereign of both countries, are quite 
 equal to those of the previous and immediately succeeding kings of France; 
 especially the “Franc d’or,” having the king on horseback beautifully 
 executed on the obverse. The silver pieces, too, struck in France, where the 
 silver coinage had not been latterly much in advance of our own, were now 
 improved; and on the “ grand blanc ” two shields appeared — the one 
 bearing the arms of France, the other those of France and England — being 
 nearly a century earlier than the adoption of the royal arms as a type on 
 any English silver coins. 
 
 The English and Irish coins of both Henry Y. and Henry YI. are, in most 
 instances, quite undistinguishable, notwithstanding certain very ingenious 
 numismatic suggestions for their separation. The only specimen of English 
 silver I give is therefore a groat (No. 20, Plate 4), which, as it has a “ Y” after 
 “ Bex,” may be assigned to Henry Y. There were half-groats, pennies, 
 halfpennies, and farthings of these two reigns. The gold coins are, as 
 before, nobles, half-nobles, and gold farthings (or quarter-nobles). Those 
 of Henry Y. are scarcely distinguishable from those of his predecessor and 
 successor. The specimen No. 21, Plate 4, is a half-noble. I have not 
 engraved any gold of Henry YI., as he only coined angels during his short 
 restoration, and they were imitations of those of Edward IY. 
 
 In the reign of Henry YI. the restrictions on the freedom of commerce, 
 with the view of keeping the bullion in the country, were rendered still 
 more stringent than in the previous reigns; the foreign merchant being 
 compelled to reside, during his stay, with a person appointed, who took notes 
 of all his bargains, causing him to outlay all moneys received, in British 
 products, and whose salary consisted in a tax of 2d. in the pound upon all 
 bargains so made. 
 
 No Irish coinage can with safety be attributed to Henry Y. ; but even if 
 none were coined, little inconvenience was caused, as the greater proportion 
 of the money in circulation in that country was of the English coinage 
 — as proved by the hoard of pennies of Henry III., discovered at Ban try, 
 in which, out of 702 pieces, only 83 were Irish, all the rest being of English 
 mintage. 
 
 Of the 38th year of the reign of Henry YI., there is a document relating 
 to the Irish coinage, in which it is ordered that a groat of forty-five grains 
 be struck ; also two coins of base metal, an Irelav.de d’argent, to pass for a 
 
88 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 penny, and a Patrick, to stand for one-eighth of a penny. No specimens of 
 the former have ever been found, and they were, perhaps, never issued ; but 
 of the latter, three have been recently found at Trim, and published, first by 
 the Rev. Mr. Butler, and subsequently by Mr. Lindsay. No. 15, Plate 18, is 
 one of these small base coins. 
 
 The Irish groat of this reign of the pattern with an open crown for 
 principal type, is common ; it is similar to that on the penny of Edward IY. 
 (No. 17, Plate 18), but surrounded with a tressure of twelve arches, without 
 legend, the reverse having the old cross and pellets, &c., &c. There are also 
 groats attributed by some to this reign, with the same types as those of 
 Edward IY. (No. 16, Plate 18) ; but they are most probably of Henry YII. 
 There was subsequently a penny struck with the types of the groat with the 
 crown, and no legend. 
 
 The last Irish coins of this reign are groats exactly similar to the 
 English groats, but with ci vitas dublinie, or ci vitas waterford, in the 
 inner circle of the reverse. (See English groat of Henry V., No. 20, 
 Plate 4.) 
 
 The Anglo-Gallic coins of Henry Y. and Henry VI. form a fine series of 
 considerable variety, only the most striking of which can be described in a 
 condensed work of this extent. The Mouton d’or (Nos. 11 and 12, Plate 5) 
 is a fine gold coin of Henry V., issued by him as sovereign of both England 
 and France. It received its name from the principal type, the lamb. Nos. 
 13 and 14, Plate 5, are the “ Salute” of Henry YI., issued after his coronation 
 at Paris. It received its popular name from the type of the obverse, the 
 “ salutation of the Virgin,” very quaintly and beautifully executed, in the 
 most pleasing style of Gothic art. It was one of the last of the fine series of 
 Anglo-Gallic coins, as the reverses consequent on the premature death of 
 Henry Y. soon deprived the English of the whole of their continental 
 possessions, except the solitary town of Calais. 
 
 EDWARD IY. (1461 to 1483). His silver coins are exactly like those of 
 the several preceding reigns, with the exception, in some cases, of marks or 
 letters on the field or breast. The specimen (a groat) No. 22, Plate 4, has a 
 quatre-foil on each side of the neck, a crescent on the breast, and an annulet 
 preceding, and a rose ending the legend, EDWARD Di. GRA. rex ANGL. 
 z. FRANC. The reverse, which I have not thought it necessary to give, has, 
 as in the previous reigns, “ Posui,” &c. The weight of the penny was 
 reduced, after a.d. 1471, to twelve grains. A great variety of his coins 
 of different mints exist, but all of one type, only varying in mint-marks 
 and names of places of mintage. The reduction of the weight of the 
 silver coins caused great dissatisfaction. Stowe says, he made silver money 
 of only threepence to the groat, and so of other coins after that rate, to the 
 great horror of the commons. 
 
 O 
 
 The gold coinage of this reign, on account of several changes that took 
 place, is more interesting than any since Edward III. 
 
 The first issue established the nobles to pass at 8s. &d . ; by which it will 
 easily be perceived that the value of the precious metals was now rapidly 
 
EDWARD IV. 
 
 89 
 
 rising, and that less gold and silver were put into coins, the nominal value 
 of which remained the same ; or, as in the case of the nobles above men- 
 tioned, the nominal value of the coin was increased in accordance with the 
 raised price of the metal. 
 
 In another coinage, an increased price was given for bullion at the mint, 
 to insure a supply, for it had become scarce; and the weak king had 
 recourse, about 1455, to the assistance of the alchemists, announcing, with 
 confidence, that he soon should be able to pay his debts with gold and silver 
 produced by “the stone.” The additional price offered at the mint, however, 
 procured gold faster than “ the stone,” and a new issue of nobles took place, 
 fifty being made out of the pound weight. Shortly afterwards this pro- 
 portion was changed, and only forty-five were coined out of the pound 
 weight; but they were to pass for 10s., and to be called rials, to distinguish 
 them from the old nobles — a name borrowed from the French, who had coins 
 called rials (royals), in consequence of their bearing the effigy of the king in 
 his royal robes. In the case of the English coins, the name was less 
 applicable, as they bore the same device, or nearly so, as the old nobles. 
 
 The angels and lialf-angels were new gold coins, so called from their device, 
 the archangel Michael piercing a dragon with a spear. The reverse had a ship, 
 with a large cross for the mast ; the letter E on the right side, and a rose on 
 the left ; against the ship, a shield with the usual arms, as in the specimen 
 ! No. 23, Plate 4. The motto on the reverse of the half-angel was, o crux 
 ave SPES UNICA. This coin was probably intended to replace the old noble, 
 superseded by the rial. The nobles and rials differed but slightly from the 
 I nobles of previous reigns, with the exception of having the central portion of 
 the cross-fleurie of the reverse replaced by a sun, the badge of the king, 
 i This recognizance was assumed, as we are told by a chronicler, after his victory 
 at Mortimer’s Cross; on which occasion it is said that an appearance of 
 three suns was observed, which Edward interpreted as an omen of victory. 
 
 I Another “ object,” similar in form to a sun, but, as it has been said, evidently 
 not a sun, is found on some other of his coins. On his great seal, and 
 I other seals, it alternates very conspicuously with “ roses.” 
 
 The reason stated for not believing this “object” to be a sun is, that the 
 i rays have more the appearance of 'petals, turning up at the ends, &c. I 
 believe this difficulty to be susceptible of very simple explanation. When 
 !| the sun had to be represented in conjunction with the rose, which was the 
 I badge of Yorkists, the figure of the sun was symbolized by a “ sun-flower,” 
 j which, as a floral emblem, accorded better with its companion symbol, the 
 | rose. This apparently was a fancy of some of the superior engravers of 
 1 the mint, or of those entrusted with the making of royal seals, but was 
 not constantly adopted. It may be urged that, according to botanists, the 
 1 sun -flower was not introduced till 15.96 to ordinary garden collections in 
 I this country ; but that, as a native of the south of Europe, it should have 
 [I been unknown in England in the reign of Edward IY. is very unlikely. 
 
 It is well known that the sun type of some of the gold of Edward IY., 
 
 [ afterwards adopted on the coinage of other reigns, was done with so 
 
 G 
 
90 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 little character, that it was taken for the rowel of a spur, and pieces hearing 
 it were termed spur rials, &c. 
 
 The reduction of the weight and increased alloy of the gold coinage, 
 when the Lord Hastings was master of the mint, is greatly condemned in 
 cotemporary records. Still further encroachments were perpetrated in this 
 reign against the liberty of both the foreign and British merchant, principally 
 with a view to prevent the exportation of coin. 
 
 The changes effected in the Irish coinage in this reign are some- 
 what remarkable. In the first place, it was enacted that a maile and 
 quadrant of silver should he made in the Castle of Dublin of the same 
 type as the new denier ; these were continental terms, more frequently 
 applied to the Irish coinage than to the English. The terms maile 
 and quadrant refer to the silver halfpence and farthings, of the types of 
 the foreign penny, or denier. Soon afterwards a base coin, four to go 
 to the penny, was ordered to be struck in Ireland, but none have been 
 found. In the third year of this reign groats were struck of the same 
 type as those of Henry VI., with the crown without legend. These coins 
 have a tressure of seven arches instead of twelve, as in those of Henry 
 VI. Pennies of the same type were also issued (No. 17, Plate 18), as well 
 as brass Patricks similar to those of Henry VI., eight to the penny: also a 
 new brass coin, having a bishop’s head, and the legend Patrick on the 
 obverse, and on the reverse the word salvator. This coin was to go for 
 one penny. No examples of this coin were known till Mr. Butler published 
 an engraving of one lately discovered at Trim. 
 
 There are also Irish groats of this reign very similar to the English 
 groat, only having the title, dominus hibernie, on the obverse, in addition 
 to the name, and on the reverse, civitas dublinie, in the inner circle. 
 (See English groat, Plate 4, No. 22.) These coins were also struck at 
 Waterford, Limerick, and Trim; but of the two last-named places none 
 have been found. The most remarkable coinage of Irish groats was one 
 with a new type, having a cross on one side and a sun on the other, and 
 with which were issued pennies, with a rose on one side and a cross on 
 the other ; but no Act has been found referring to such an issue. 
 
 Another new coinage, that referred to in Act 7, Edward IV., consists of 
 groats, half-groats, and pence, having the head in the style of the English 
 groats on one side, and the radiated sun, the favourite device of this 
 prince, for the reverse, similar to that found on his English rials, which 
 have in consequence been termed spur rials. Coins of this type were 
 ordered to be made at several mints, but only those of Dublin are known. 
 Many false coins were made in this reign, by persons pretending to hold 
 letters-patent, and others, against all of whom bills of attainder were 
 issued. The king’s master of the mint, Geronym Lynch, was also attainted 
 for making light coin, but subsequently pardoned, and reinstated in his 
 offices.* 
 
 There were also several Irish coinages in this reign, of groats, &c., 
 
 * Mr. Butler, Numismatic Journal. 
 
EDWARD V. 
 
 91 
 
 of precisely the English types, differing only in the titles and the names 
 of the places of mintage ; but the last coinage of the reign was of entirely 
 new device, and of a national character, having on the reverse the arms 
 of Ireland, “three crowns” in a cross, in pale, and on the obverse the 
 arms of England and France, quarterly, on a shield, separated by a 
 similar cross, extending to the edge of the coin. No. 16, Plate 18, is 
 a groat of this coinage, which is remarkable, as an example of placing 
 a true heraldic shield of arms on the silver coinage of Ireland before it 
 had appeared on that of England. On the obverse, the legend is, rex. 
 ANGLIE. francie., without the king’s name; and on the reverse, dominvs. 
 HIBERNIE., also without the king’s name. 
 
 A variation of this type, differing in having the addition of the 
 king’s name, and the name of the city of Dublin, and an interesting 
 variety bearing the arms of the Earls of Kildare on each side of the 
 arms of England and France, have recently been discovered. This is 
 probably the mint-mark of coins struck by that family, as chiefs of one 
 of the Irish mints. There are several other varieties of this type. 
 
 Towards the close of this reign a small brass coin appears to have 
 been struck, of which there is no record. It must have been of the 
 value of the Patrick — eight to the penny — and has three small crowns 
 on a shield on the obverse, with a rose and sun in the centre of a Ions: 
 cross for reverse, with the usual legend. (See Plate 18, No. 18.) " 
 
 The brass coins here alluded to in this reign are analogous to the base 
 money of the Continent, and of Scotland, known as “ black money.” 
 
 The Irish coinage became lighter than the English at this period, and 
 continued to do so to a greater extent in the subsequent reigns. 
 
 EDWARD Y. Till quite recently no coins were attributed to the 
 infant son and ephemeral successor of Edward IY. Indeed, in his brief 
 and nominal reign, from the 9th of April, 1483, to the 22d of July, in 
 the same year, it was thought probable that no new coinage was issued. 
 Mr. Sainthill, however, has shown, in a very interesting paper on the subject, 
 (full of interesting details), that the Duke of Gloucester, as protector of 
 the realm in that disturbed period, required, in all probability, an immediate 
 supply of money, and that, to meet the necessity, money was, in fact, coined 
 in the Tower during the first half of the year 1483. Mr. Sainthill also 
 states that the mint-marks used on the coins of Richard III., after he 
 became king, were his own crest, the boar’s head, on the obverse; and on 
 the reverse a half sun and half rose united. These marks, which do not 
 occur on the coins of any previous reign, Mr. Sainthill has detected on coins 
 bearing the name of Edward, and precisely resembling in other respects those 
 of Edward IY. These, therefore, with every probability of being correct in 
 his attribution, Mr. Sainthill assigns to the short reign of the infant Edward 
 Y, struck under the immediate authority of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in 
 his office of protector of the realm. The evidence of the mint-marks seems, 
 in fact, conclusive, so that a lapse in the series of coins illustrative of the 
 i reign of the Plantagenet princes appears to be satisfactorily filled up. 
 
92 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN KINGS. 
 
 RICHARD III. (1483 to 1485). In the two years of his brief but 
 energetic reign, he contrived to issue a considerable coinage ; but his coins 
 are, nevertheless, more or less rare. Their type is precisely similar to those 
 of his predecessors, and the proportion of 12 grains to the penny was the 
 standard of weight. The specimen No. 24, Plate 4, is the obverse of a 
 groat, having rioard. di. gra. rex. Angl. z. franc., with his crest (the 
 boar’s head) for the London mint-mark. The reverse of the groat had, 
 as before, the motto, posui, &a, but with the new mint-marks of the 
 half sun and half rose united. He issued groats, half-groats, pennies, and 
 halfpence; but no farthings have yet been found. His gold coins are 
 precisely similar to those of Edward IV. ; it is, therefore, unnecessary to 
 give a specimen; the angelets, or half-angels, have sometimes the mint- 
 mark of a boar’s head, like the groat. 
 
 The only Irish coins of Richard III. are of the same type as those of the 
 English coinage, except as to the names of the places of mintage. 
 
San. LitiPto the Que 
 
 
 
 
 Eifel 
 
 1L' ^ KjS 
 
 
 Bg^j 
 
 |y| 
 
 
93 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 COINS OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS, 
 
 FROM HENRY VII. TO EDWARD VI. 
 
 HENRY VII. (from 1485 to 1509). The groats, pennies, &c., of the first 
 portion of this reign continued the same as in the previous one, and have 
 all, till recently, been confounded with those of Henry VI. The sagacious 
 ingenuity of a numismatist,* by referring carefully to the episcopal mint- 
 marks, has at last solved the difficulty, by discovering on a York penny 
 the marks of Thomas Rotherham, archbishop, who did not possess the 
 see of York till 1480, while Henry VI. died in 1461 : these marks are, a “T.” 
 on one side of the neck, and a key on the other. The pennies with that 
 mark are, therefore, indubitably those of Henry VII. Specimen No. 1, 
 Plate 6, is a groat, now in the British Museum, which, though without 
 the marks alluded to, has, from its close resemblance to those with 
 the marks, also been assigned to Henry VII. The reverse is exactly 
 similar to those of previous reigns. The weight is 48 grains; and as the 
 pennies of Henry VI. were only reduced to twelve grains during the 
 short period of his restoration, it is very improbable that all the groats 
 corresponding to that weight should belong to that period; and on that 
 account also this coin has been assigned to Henry VII. 
 
 In the second style of coinage of this reign, the design of the crown 
 is changed from the open crown of fleur-de-lis, of his own previous coins, 
 and of those of so many of his predecessors, to an arched crown, some- 
 times called an imperial crown. It has also been stated that there is 
 some attempt at a portrait in the full face; but this I am not able to 
 discover. This coinage is of course easily distinguished from those of 
 the previous reigns. The specimen No. 2, Plate 6, is a groat of the 
 new type ; it has the usual motto, but the tressure is enriched with 
 small roses in the angles or spandrels. The reverse, however, is precisely 
 as before. 
 
 Other groats of this period vary in the number and richness of the 
 tressures which surround the head, and also in the style of the crown, 
 though always arched. The reverses still continued to be of the old type. 
 
 Specimen 3, Plate 6, is a penny, having the arched crown; in the 
 motto France is omitted. The reverses also still continued the old type, 
 or nearly so. Folkes mentions a piece of this period, which appears to 
 have been a trial pattern for a twenty-penny piece. 
 
 * Mr. Cuff. 
 
94 
 
 COINS OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 The eighteenth year of this reign (1503) was marked by an entirely new 
 coinage, in which the silver coins, for the first time, received some attention 
 as to their artistic execution ; a positive portrait in profile being attempted, 
 and in fact very fairly executed. The shield with the royal arms was now 
 first adopted for the reverse ; and, in short, the model, of which the types of 
 the coinage of our own times have been but modifications, was now first 
 adopted. 
 
 This was the most florid and decorative period of mediaeval art; the 
 English version of (so-termed) Gothic art, had attained its highest degree of 
 complication and perhaps over-loaded richness, as exhibited in this king’s 
 celebrated chapel at Westminster; while in France, at a somewhat earlier 
 period, it had taken a similar direction, but towards a still more over- 
 wrought character, combined, however, with greater boldness, which has 
 earned for it, in architecture, the title of Gothique flamboyant. Other arts, 
 besides that of architecture, were rapidly assuming, if I may use the term, an 
 intensely decorative character, especialty those of the goldsmith, and of the ] 
 book decorator or illuminator, which latter art now reached its zenith ; and 
 we must not overlook the intricate monuments of iron- work of the celebrated 
 blacksmith of Antwerp. It is not so surprising, therefore, that a change at 
 last took place in the style of the coinage, as that it did not take place 
 before; and that, when it did, it was not still more in the rich, highly- 
 wrought style of the general art of the period. 
 
 We know by the great seals of the respective monarchs, at all events 
 since Edward III., that there were artists at command who could design l 
 and execute intricate models suited to coins — such as the sovereign in regal 
 robes, sitting beneath a rich canopy, surrounded by the emblems of state ; 
 and on the Continent such devices had long been placed upon coins ; but it 
 was not till this reign that in England anything like the rich device of the 
 great seals was transferred to the coinage. Such a design now first appeared 
 on the principal gold coin of this reign — a large piece called the “ sovereign.” 
 
 The shilling was the most remarkable feature in the new silver coinage 
 now issued, this main feature of our present silver coinage being coined 
 for the first time in the 18th year of the reign of Henry VII. The 
 shilling thus became, at last, a form as well as name ; for, as has been stated, 
 the term shilling had long been in use as “ money of account,” though no 
 real coin of that value or name was in existence. Of groats, half-groats, and 
 pennies (but no halfpennies or farthings), there was also an issue in the 
 new coinage of 1503. No. 4, Plate 6, is a specimen of the shilling; the 
 legend is, henric. vii. di. gra. rex. angl. z. fr. This is the first 
 instance of the use of numerals after the name since Henry III., whose 
 coins are a nearly solitary instance of its occurrence in the earlier periods. 
 Sometimes this coinage has sept., septim., or Septimus, instead of VII. i 
 The half-groats of this issue exactly resembled the groat and shillings, except 
 in the absence of the numerals or sept, after the name. 
 
 Some of the pennies have the king seated on a throne, as on the gold 
 double rials or sovereigns, with simply henric. di. gra. rex. — the 
 
HENRY VII. 
 
 95 
 
 I reverse having the arms, &c. The pennies issued with this device are 
 of the ecclesiastical mints ; principally Durham, with the initials of Dunel- 
 mensis and Sherwood, the bishop, and, on the reverse, the upper limb of 
 ! the cross turned into a crosier. 
 
 The name of the place of mintage was omitted in the third coinage 
 of this reign, in the inner circle of the reverses of the shilling, groats, and 
 I half-groats, but continued as the legend on the reverses of the smaller 
 pieces. 
 
 The great feature of the gold coinage of this reign was the issue of the 
 double rial (or royal), — twenty-two and a-half such pieces to be coined out 
 of the pound weight tower. On this piece the king is represented in the 
 l royal robes, as on the rials of France, and it might thus receive the name 
 ! more legitimately than those of Edward IV. ; but to distinguish it from the 
 previous rial, it was determined to call it a “ sovereign” — a term which 
 disappeared after a few reigns, not to be again adopted till the great new 
 coinage of George III., in 1817. The title on the obverse is henricus. 
 dei. gracia. rex. anglie. et. francie. DNS. ibar. (Specimen No. 5, Plate 6.) 
 Some have Hibn. instead of Ibar. On the reverse of this piece the last trace 
 of the old cross-fleurie of the nobles of Edward III. disappears, and a tressure 
 of ten arches encloses an heraldic figure of the full-blown rose, in the centre of 
 which is placed a shield with the arms. Leake has observed that this device 
 of the single full-blown rose was adopted to show the union of the houses of 
 York and Lancaster. In painted devices, where colour could be used with 
 effect, the full-blown rose, when used as a symbol of the union of the 
 rival houses of York and Lancaster, was divided by an imaginary line into 
 four sections, the alternate quarters being red and white. There is a mint- 
 mark on some of the coins of this reign, which is generally considered 
 to have a similar reference to the union of the houses of York and 
 Lancaster by the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth of York. This 
 mark consists in the junction of a fleur-de-lis, or rather lily, with a rose; the 
 red rose being more strictly the badge of the house of York, while the 
 Lancastrians, instead of their badge of the white rose, frequently adopted 
 that more distinct emblem of white (as opposed to red), which is furnished 
 by the lily. These mint-marks, though exceedingly small, as having to 
 run in the line of the legend, are yet very distinct, and the lily above 
 the rose, or lily growing out of the rose, are easily recognizable. The 
 greyhound, which is also one of the mint-marks of this reign, is said to have 
 been used as the badge of his great grandfather, John de Beaufort, Earl 
 of Somerset. The portcullis, another favourite badge of Henry VII., 
 and which is so conspicuous in the ornamentation of the celebrated 
 chapel which he erected at the east end of Westminster Abbey, was not 
 adopted as a mint -mark till the following reign. It was, like the grey- 
 hound, derived from the Beauforts, who, on the appointment of an additional 
 poursuivant, gave him the name of “ Portcullis.” There are other varieties 
 of this reverse, some having the shield surmounted by a crown, in which 
 case the rose occupies the whole field, to the exclusion of the tressures ; in 
 
96 
 
 COINS OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 another case, the rose, though larger than in our specimen, is somewhat 
 less than the last mentioned, and differently arranged. Specimens of the 
 half-sovereign, better known as the rose rial, are peculiar, from having only 
 the arms of France. The obverse of these coins have the king in a ship, 
 with two flags, one bearing the letter “ H,” and the other the English 
 dragon. The angel and half-angel differed little from those of Edward IV. 
 
 The avarice of the king having caused much light money to be made, 
 and many pieces also being clipped, great complaints arose, which were 
 silenced in a rather summary manner ; for it was therefore enacted that no 
 person should refuse the king’s coin, if good gold and silver, on account of 
 thinness or smallness of size, on pain of imprisonment or death . By the 
 year 1509 he had, through this mode of working the coinage, and by 
 imposing extravagant fines and other extortions, collected greater riches 
 than had ever before been possessed by an English king; and the last of 
 the stringent commercial regulations respecting the bullion and the “ royal 
 exchangers” was passed in this reign. The royal exchangers were persons 
 through whose hands all bills of exchange were compelled to pass for 
 adjustment; and they enjoyed a very lucrative monopoly. 
 
 Though no official documents relating to the Irish coinage of Henry VII. 
 have been discovered, it is evident, from the large number of specimens in 
 existence, which can only be attributed to this reign, that a considerable 
 quantity of coin was struck by him in Ireland. 
 
 The groats of the type of Edward IV., with the three crowns, are 
 sometimes attributed to Henry VI., but are generally thought to belong 
 to the reign of Henry VII. 
 
 I have stated that no Irish coins of distinct types can be with certainty 
 attributed to Richard III. and Henry VII., and probably but few were 
 issued. The Irish groats of these reigns are of the English type, with the 
 conventional king’s head. The Irish coins evidently belonging to the 
 reign of Henry VII., consist, therefore, of groats and half-groats (the pennies 
 being very rare), of the two varieties of the English type — that with the 
 head wearing the old or flat crown, and that with the head wearing the 
 arched crown. The style of these coins may be known by reference to the 
 English specimens (Nos. 1 and 2, Plate 6), from which they differed little, 
 except in having an Irish place of mintage on the reverse, civitas dublinie, 
 those of no other Irish mint having been discovered of this reign; they are 
 also lighter than the English coin. 
 
 The groats, half-groats, and pennies, attributed to this reign, with 
 the types of Edward IV., the arms of England on the obverse, and those 
 of Ireland (the three crowns) on the reverse, are, as above remarked, 
 doubtful. 
 
 The groats issued by the pretender, Parkin Warbeck, are supposed 
 to have been struck for him by the Duchess of Burgundy: they have 
 the arms of England on a crowned shield for obverse, with the motto, 
 DOMINE. SALVUM. FAC. regem — “ God save the king,” and on the reverse 
 the curiously-selected motto, mani techel phares, and the date 147S. 
 
HENRY VIII. 
 
 97 
 
 (See Plate 5, Nos. 15 and 16.) No royal coin of the English series 
 exhibits a date up to this period. 
 
 HENRY VIII. (1509 to 1547). The silver coinage of Henry VIII. 
 may be divided into five classes: the first exactly resembles the third 
 coinage of his father, even the head being the same; the numerals alone 
 being altered from “ VII.” to “ VIII.” The farthings of this coinage are 
 very rare. 
 
 Folkes has engraved a large silver piece of Henry VIII., which he calls a 
 quadruple testoon, which in the Pembroke collection appears to have been 
 called a silver crown. It is, however, crossed out in the manuscript catalogue 
 of that celebrated cabinet. 
 
 The second coinage has a likeness of the king in profile, which may 
 easily be distinguished, as he appears both younger and fatter than his 
 | father; the reverse remaining the same. The half-groats are similar; but 
 those of York have Wolsey’s initials, and , the cardinal’s hat on the reverse. 
 The pennies have the king on the throne, with the motto ROSA SINE 
 SPINA. The halfpennies have still the old “ cross and pellets ;” and the 
 farthings, like those of his first coinage, have the portcullis, which appears 
 for the first time on the coins in this reign. There are other varieties of the 
 coinage of this epoch, but more rare. 
 
 In the third coinage of this reign the weight of the penny was reduced 
 to ten grains, and that of other silver coins in proportion, a great increase of 
 alloy (two ounces in twelve) being used. This already great amount of 
 alloy was increased, in the base issues which followed, to eight ounces of 
 alloy to only four of silver. The execution of this coinage — which consisted 
 of shillings, pence and halfpence, groats and half-groats — was rather bold 
 and striking, though still without any high relief. The portrait of the king 
 is, for the first time, a three-quarter face, and an excellent likeness, especially 
 on the shillings, or testoons, as they were named; the reverses of which 
 bore for type a large crowned rose — a very handsome device, with the old 
 motto, posui, &c., which was still preserved. The groats and smaller 
 pieces have the reverses of last reign, the halfpennies still exhibiting the 
 ancient type of the cross and pellets. 
 
 The types continued the same on the fourth coinage ; but an infamous 
 degree of debasement took place;* the pennies being of the same weight 
 (ten grains), but the alloy increased to the amount of half alloy to half 
 silver. The fifth coinage, in the following year, was still more debased, and 
 i the motto on the groats was changed to redde cuique quod suum est; 
 seeming like a satirical joke upon the fraud thus committed on the public, 
 but probably not so intended. The silvering soon wore off the nose, leaving 
 the copper bright and red, from which circumstance the king received, from 
 • some of his faithful subjects, the sobriquet of “ Old Copper Nose.” A bag 
 containing a number of these base groats of the fourth coinage has recently 
 
 * These base coins, having the nearly full face of the king, soon began to show the inferior- 
 metal at the end of the nose, the most prominent part; and hence the sobriquet, “Old 
 I Copper Nose , 11 which the king received in reference to this base coinage. 
 
98 
 
 COINS OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 come to light in a rather singular manner. On the 28th of February, in 
 the present year (1860), a hurricane of unusual violence visited the coast of 
 Norfolk, carrying away some hundreds of tons of sand at Yarmouth, near to 
 the Star battery. The next day, a man collecting stones of the kind sent to 
 Newcastle for the glass manufacture, turned over something heavy, which 
 had the appearance of a leathern bag, but which became dust as soon as 
 moved. Its contents becoming thus exposed, turned out to be seventy -five 
 of the base groats just described. I am indebted to W. E. Fisher, Esq., for 
 the account of this “find,” and for a sight of one of the coins, which was 
 purchased of the finder. Whether the coins had been concealed where they 
 were found, or whether washed up from a wreck, and buried in the sand, it 
 is impossible to conjecture. 
 
 The specimen No. 7, Plate 6, is a shilling or testoon of the third coinage, 
 with the full face, an excellent likeness, in the ordinary dress of the time, 
 but wearing the crown, with the legend, henric. 8 D. G. ANGL. franc. 
 z. hib. rex. The reverse (No. 8) has a well-executed rose and crown, 
 with “ H. E.” crowned, and the old motto, posui, &c. It is supposed that 
 the testoon was so named from a French coin of similar value, which, on 
 first receiving the impression of a portrait head, was called a teste-on. This 
 term did not continue long attached to the English coin, and the old national 
 term, shilling, soon resumed its place. The groats and half-groats were 
 similar, but with the faces not quite so full. 
 
 The specimen No. 6, Plate 6, is a York half-groat of the second 
 coinage, with the initials of Wolsey “ T. W.” and the cardinal’s hat. Nos. 
 11 and 12, Plate 6, are the obverse and reverse of a farthing of the portcullis 
 type. 
 
 The initials and hat of Wolsey on these coins were mentioned among 
 the frivolous charges brought against him on his fall. The passage is cited 
 by Lord Coke : — “ Also the said Lord Cardinal, of his further pompous and 
 presumptuous mind, hath enterprised to join and imprint the cardinal’s hat 
 under your arms in your coin of groats, made at your city of York, which 
 like deed hath not been seen to have been done by any subject within your 
 realm before this time.” It is very true that a cardinal’s hat had not been 
 used before as a mint-mark, but only because the previous bishops of 
 York were not cardinals; such badges as they were entitled to, both of 
 family arms and ecclesiastical title, having been commonly used before — as 
 the crosier, the mitre, &c., &c. ; by which it will be seen that this charge 
 was frivolous and ridiculous; but his fall being resolved on, such charges, 
 or less, under a comparative despotism, would have been all-sufficient. 
 Nos. 9 and 10 are the obverse and reverse of a halfpenny of the third 
 coinage. 
 
 During his temporary conquests in France, this sovereign coined money 
 at Tournay. The issue consisted of silver groats, which are classed with the 
 Anglo-Gallic coinage of the English sovereigns. (Specimen Nos. 17 and 18, 
 Plate 5.) They have the date 1511, though no date had as yet appeared 
 on our national coinage ; and though dates had been placed on the coins of 
 
HENRY VIII. 
 
 99 
 
 petty continental principalities for nearly a century, those of the bishops of 
 Cambray being, perhaps, the earliest known. 
 
 The gold coins issued during this reign display the quaint characteristics 
 of the German art of the period, which, through Albert Diirer, Lucas von 
 Leyden, &c., influenced the whole of the north central portion of Europe. 
 This taste was more firmly established in England by Holbein, and may be 
 especially traced on our national coinage in the angular folds of the king’s 
 robes on the obverse of the “ sovereign.” But Holbein having been invited 
 to the English court, where he greatly influenced the art of the goldsmith as 
 well as that of the painter, it becomes the more surprising, therefore, that 
 artists of first-rate excellence were not sought out to engrave the dies for 
 our national coinage, especially as it must have been well known that the 
 celebrated Benvenuto Cellini was employed in the Florentine mint (between 
 1523 and 1537) with such remarkable results. The coins from dies engraved 
 by this great artist are equal to some of the exquisite Italian medals of this 
 period ; and his portraits of the Medici on the Florentine money now in fact 
 rank as medals, especially those of the Duke Alexander and Clement VII., 
 which are preserved for their rare artistic merit, quite independently of their 
 historic interest as coins. 
 
 The gold coinage was greatly debased at this time, to make it accord in 
 value with the coins of the Continent ; the old sovereigns being ordered to 
 pass first for twenty -two shillings, and afterwards for twenty-two shillings 
 and sixpence. The first sovereigns had on the reverse the large rose with the 
 arms in the centre, but afterwards, the royal arms surmounted by the crown, 
 and supported by a lion and dragon, which is the first example of heraldic 
 supporters on English coins. (No. 13, Plate 6.) There were half-sovereigns 
 of both sorts; and also the old noble, now called the “rose noble,” to 
 distinguish it from the new George noble which had been recently issued. 
 St. George and the Dragon formed the type of the obverse of this last-named 
 coin, — a device which was not repeated in any subsequent reign till it was 
 adopted in that of George III. as the reverse of the silver five-shilling pieces, 
 and on the sovereigns. The angel was still coined as before, but crowns and 
 half-crowns of gold were now added for the first time ; one type having for 
 reverse the crown and rose, similar to the testoon or shilling, the other a 
 cross-fleurie, with a large rose in the middle ; both having the crowned arms 
 for obverse. (See specimen No. 14J, Plate 6.) 
 
 Specimen No. 13, Plate 6, is the sovereign above alluded to; the obverse 
 has the king seated on the throne, with henric. di. GRA. ANG. franc, z. 
 hib. rex., and the reverse, the royal arms, surmounted by the crown, and 
 supported by the lion and dragon. 
 
 No. 14, Plate 6, is the George noble, having St. George on horseback, in 
 the costume of the time, about to transfix the dragon, with the motto, tali. 
 
 . dicatt. sig. mes. FLUCTUARi. neqt., more or less abbreviated, for “Tali dicat sig- 
 no meus fluctuare nequit,” which may be freely translated — “Devoted to such 
 an emblem the mind cannot waver,” — the emblem alluded to being doubtless 
 the “cross” on the banners of St. George. The reverse has a ship with three 
 
TOO 
 
 COINS OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 crosses for masts, and a rose on the centre mast, with the motto henricus 
 d. G., &c. 
 
 The angel of Henry VIII. closely resembled those of the previous reigns, 
 the motto on the reverse being per. crvce. tva. salva. nos. x. re. redet., 
 more or less abbreviated, for per. crvce (m) tva(m) salva. nos. x. (for 
 christe) redemptor — “ By Thy cross save us, 0 Christ, the Redeemer.” 
 
 No. 15, Plate 6, is a gold crown, with the cross-fleurie and large rose, 
 from the half-crown. It has the legend HENRIC. 8. DE. GRA., &c., on the 
 obverse ; and on the reverse, henri viii., rutilans. rosa sine, spina — “ The 
 blushing rose without a thorn,” which is doubtless an allusion to the badge 
 being now used as a type for a peaceful purpose, which had once served as a 
 badge in the sanguinary wars so recently brought to a close by the union of 
 the houses of York and Lancaster. A great variety of mint-marks appear on 
 the different coinages of this reign, — that of the arrow of the London mint 
 may have been adopted in allusion to the assumption by the king, at the 
 field of the cloth of gold, of “ an archer drawing his arrow to the head.” The 
 bow of the same mint was probably adopted for the same reason, though 
 said to be used as a punning device upon the name of Sir Martin Bowes, 
 master of the mint, a kind of conceit common to the period. The pome- 
 granate on the Canterbury coins appears to have been used by the Archbishop 
 Wareham, in compliment to the Queen Catherine of Arragon, of whose family 
 it was the badge. While Archbishop Cranmer afterwards used the Catherine 
 wheel as a mint-mark in compliment to Queen Katherine Parr; not, in 
 all probability, to Katherine Howard, who was a papist. 
 
 In this reign the pound troy superseded the pound tower in the mint, 
 and the standard of gold was settled, which has ever since been termed 
 crown gold. It was, in the latter years of the reign, greatly debased, but 
 the standard, correctly termed crown gold, was twenty-two carats fine, to two 
 carats alloy. 
 
 The excessive debasement of the silver coin in this reign was the first 
 blow struck against the oppressive regulations passed in previous reigns with 
 a view to prevent the export of coin; for it caused foreigners to prefer 
 merchandise or bills of exchange, which thus at once rendered the whole 
 oppressive machinery useless, with the exception of the office of royal 
 exchanger; against which, however, the elder Gresham* pleaded so wisely 
 and so boldly that the stern and obstinate Tudor at last listened, and if he 
 did not at once abolish the office, it became nearly a sinecure. 
 
 The most remarkable Irish coins of this reign are the series of groats 
 with the arms of England, crowned, on the obverse, and the Irish harp, 
 crowned, on the reverse, with the “ R. H.” on each side of the harp ; and on 
 later issues, in succession, the letters H. A., for “ Henry and Anna,” during 
 his marriage with Anne Boleyn. H. J., for “Henry and Jane Seymour;” 
 and H. K., for “ Henry and Katherine Howard.” (See No. 19, Plate 18, one , 
 of the Anna Boleyn groats.) Half-groats of these types are also known, but 
 
 * Father of the builder of the Royal Exchange. 
 
EDWARD VT. 
 
 101 
 
 are very rare. In this reign the title of “ King of Ireland ” was adopted on 
 the coins, instead of the old style, “ Lord ” or “ Dominus.” 
 
 In the thirty-sixth year of this reign pieces of sixpence, threepence, three - 
 halfpence, and three-farthings were first struck in Ireland, similar to the 
 coinage issued in England at the same time. They had a three-quarter face 
 of the king on the obverse, and the arms of England, traversed by a long 
 cross, on the reverse. The inscriptions were, on the larger pieces, henric. 8 
 
 D. G. AGL. FRA. z. HTB. REX., differently abbreviated, for “ Henricus VIII. Dei 
 Gratia Anglise Francise et Hibernise Rex and on the reverse, the place of 
 mintage, CIVITAS dublinie. The three-halfpenny pieces had H. D. G. ROSA. 
 SINE. SPINA., and on the reverse CIVITAS DUBLINIE. The three-halfpenny and 
 three-farthing pieces are of the greatest rarity. 
 
 Several forgeries, with rude and blundered legends, which were put into 
 circulation in this reign, are occasionally found. The Irish coinage being 
 greatly debased in the royal mints, was probably the principal incentive to 
 these forgeries. 
 
 EDWARD VI. (1547 to 1553). This prince was little more than nine 
 years of age when he ascended the throne ; but in the journal which he kept, 
 in his own wilting, and which is still preserved in the British Museum, he 
 made several entries respecting the coinage, which show that he had been 
 taught to appreciate the subject. It was determined that the base state in 
 which Henry VIII. had left it should be remedied ; but an honesf way of 
 going about the work does not appear to have occurred either to the youthful 
 king or his ministers. The first silver coinage he issued was of the same low 
 standard as the last of the previous reign — viz., 4 ounces of silver to 8 ounces 
 of alloy, and the penny was of 10 grains. 
 
 Of this issue there were also testoons, groats, half-groats, pennies, half- 
 pennies, and farthings ; but groats, half-groats, and pennies only are known. 
 They have a well-executed profile of the king, and the reverse has the arms 
 traversed by a cross, the motto remaining as before. The penny has the legend 
 
 E. D. G. ROSA. SINE. SPINA, variously abbreviated. Some of the legends of the 
 obverses of this coinage read Edoard ; and the Bristol pennies are blundered 
 in the legend of the reverse, which reads spipa instead of spina. In the third 
 year of the reign there was an attempt made to improve the coinage by 
 issuing shillings of only 5 to 6 ounces alloy instead of 8. They have the 
 king’s profile, crowned, not very different from the previous groats ; but they 
 have, in the legend, the Roman numerals VI. instead of the Arabic 6, as in 
 the groats ; and the reverses have, for the first time on the English coinage, 
 an oval shield without a cross, decorated in a style of ornament which then 
 began to supersede the (so-called) Gothic manner ; a further modification of 
 which has since been termed “ Elizabethan.” The motto was TIMOR, domine. 
 fons. vitas, mdxliv,,* round the head, and the name and titles on the reverse ; 
 but some had the name and titles round the head, and INIMICOS EJUS INDUAM 
 
 ‘ confusione — “His enemies will I clothe with shame,” Psalm cxxxii., the 18th 
 
 * “ The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.” — Proverbs xiv., verse 27. 
 
102 
 
 
 COINS OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 and last verse, described as 19 in Mr. Hawkins’s work, there being a 19th 
 verse in the “Prayer Book” version. The date was now introduced for the first 
 time on the English coinage. The motto Timor domine, &c., is that of the 
 Earls of Dunboyne ; and a writer in the numismatic chronicle states that a 
 member of that family informed him that an ancestor was master of the 
 mint in the reign of Edward VI., who very probably commemorated his 
 tenure of that office by placing the family motto on the coinage, after the 
 manner pursued by the triumviri of the Roman mint, who placed family 
 badges and mottoes connected with their family history on the coins struck 
 under their direction. 
 
 The issue of the third year seems rather to have added to the confusion ; 
 for testoons were soon cried down to ninepence, and other coins in proportion, 
 robbing the public to the amount of one-fourth of the original value of the 
 silver coinage. Subsequently the shillings were cried down to sixpence, and 
 eventually, in the reign of Elizabeth, these base shillings were marked with j 
 a particular mint-mark (a portcullis in some cases), and ordered to pass for 
 fourpence-halfpenny ; so that, in the end, a fraud of three-fourths of the j 
 nominal amount of the base coinage was effected. This dishonest abuse of 
 power is alarming to contemplate, even at a distance; but it is happily 1 
 rendered impossible in our own more fortunate times, by improved institu- 
 tions and the popular curb which has been placed upon monarchic power. 
 
 The confusion in the value of the precious metals at this time appears to 
 have been extreme; silver being rated at 12s. the ounce, and gold at only 
 60s., so that gold was only made five times more valuable than silver ; and in 
 the third year of the reign, when gold was at the lower rate of 48s., it was 
 only four times the value of pure silver. There could, it would appear, have 
 been no freedom in the exchanges, or the value of gold must have been at 
 that time eleven times greater than that of silver. The discrepancy in the 
 relative prices of the two precious metals could not have been occasioned from 
 an over abundance of gold in the country ; for Stowe tells us that “ the base 
 money caused the old sterling moneys to be hoorded up, so that he had 
 himself seen 21s. given for an old angel to guild withall.”* 
 
 It seems scarcely credible that, after the crying down of the shillings to 
 ninepence (and those, in fact, only worth fourpence-halfpenny), a still 
 baser coinage was issued; and to ascertain with what view, let us see the 
 king’s own journal: — “It was appointed to make 20,000 pounds weight 
 somewhat baser , to get gains £15,000 clear, by which,” &c., &c., the coin was 
 to be amended ! ! The silver now issued had 9 ounces of alloy to 3 ounces of 
 silver. These coins bear the same types as the preceding ones, and in the 
 reign of Elizabeth they were stamped with a greyhound, and ordered to pass 
 for twopence-farthing. The base shillings were alluded to by Bishop 
 Latimer | in a remarkable passage of one of his sermons: — “We have now a 
 pretty little shilling, a very pretty shilling,” &c., but “the fineness of 
 the silver I cannot see, yet thereon is printed a fine sentence, TIMOR 
 
 * The angel ought to have been current for 6s. 8 d. 
 
 f Folkes. 
 
 
EDWARD VI. 
 
 103 
 
 DOMINI fons vit,e — ‘ The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.’ I would 
 to God this sentence was always printed in the heart of the king.” In 
 another place, speaking of the baseness of the coinage, he says, applying a 
 text of Isaiah, “ Argentum tuum versum est in scoriam — ‘Thy silver is turned 
 into’ — what? into testions? No! Scoriam! ‘into dross!’” These passages 
 both occurred in sermons preached before the king. Such allusions having 
 been spoken of as seditious, Latimer replied, in a subsequent discourse, — 
 “ Thus they burdened me ever with sedition,” &c., said the preacher ; “ but I 
 have now gotten one fellow more a companion in sedition, and wot you who 
 is my fellow? — Esay, the prophet,” alluding to the passage from Isaiah which 
 he had quoted. 
 
 The coins with the mint-marks of the swan, rose, arrow, and bow, are said 
 to have been coined at the mint in Durham House, in the Strand, by Sir 
 Martin Bowes. Of all ways that were tried to keep up the circulation of 
 a base currency, the most determined were proclamations, ordering the 
 j people, under severe penalties, to bring corn and provisions to the markets, 
 which they withheld in consequence of the bad money. Next, arbitrary 
 prices were fixed for bread, butter, poultry, &c. But, all proving ineffectual, 
 it was at length determined really to be honest, and to reform the coinage in 
 I the true sense of the word. 
 
 In 1551, crowns, and half-crowns of silver (the first struck in England), 
 shillings, sixpences, and threepences, were issued — 11 oz. 1 dwt. fine, to 19 
 dwts. of alloy, being only 1 dwt. worse than the old standard ; and thus five 
 shillings in the silver coin became truly worth five of the gold. The silver, 
 in the indentures respecting this coinage, made, no doubt, upon correct but 
 too tardy information on the subject, was rated at 5s. 5d. the ounce, while 
 gold was at 60s. ; showing that the proper value of gold, with reference to 
 silver, was as eleven to one. Notwithstanding this excellent advance in the 
 right direction, groats were afterwards issued, as well as pennies and half- 
 pennies, of base metal, by which the government still sought dishonest gain. 
 It was at this time (1551) agreed that the ‘‘stamp on the shilling and 
 , sixpence should be, on one side, a king, to the shoulders, in parliament 
 robes, with the collar of the Garter,” &c., and that the five-shillings and half 
 five-sh illi ngs should have “ a king on horseback,” &c. Also, that the fine 
 moneys should be coined in the Tower and in Southwark ; and the smaller 
 pieces, of baser metal, at Canterbury and York. Those coined in the Tower were 
 struck under the direction of Throgmorton ; those of the Southwark mint 
 under that of Sir John York, which have the initial of his name, Y, as their mint- 
 mark. There are many interesting mint-marks upon the various coinages of 
 this reign, among which, the head of a falcon, or griffon, may have been 
 adopted in compliment to the mother of the king, the unfortunate Anne 
 Boleyn, as being the badge of her family. 
 
 No. 16, Plate 6, is the obverse of the shilling, on which the oval shield, 
 &c., was first used for the reverse. 
 
 No. 17, Plate 6, is a crown of the fine coinage of 1552; it has the king, 
 i crowned, on horseback, wearing the armour of the period. The horse, the 
 
104 
 
 COINS OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 housings, and the figure of the king, are better executed, as to correct 
 drawing, than the devices of any previous British coins. It has likewise the 
 peculiarity of the date, now newly used on the coins ; the title is as on the 
 previous shillings : on the reverse, the oval shield is abandoned, and the arms 
 traversed by the cross again used, with the old motto of Edward III, 
 posui, &c. Although this is the first occasion on which a date was placed 
 on the coinage of the kings of England, struck in England, it may be 
 observed that on the groats of Henry VIII., struck at Tournay in 1511, the 
 date of that year appears in Arabic numerals. (Nos. 17 and 18, Plate 5.) On 
 the coins struck by the Duchess of Burgundy for the use of the pretender 
 Perkin Warbeck, the earlier date, ] 478, appears, as shown in Arabic numerals, 
 of archaic form, in the specimen No. 16, Plate 5. The coinages of the 
 Continent exhibit much earlier specimens than either of these; the earliest 
 example among which is a silver penny of Aix-la-Chapelle, bearing the date 
 1374 in Roman numerals, as MCCCLXXim. Another coin of the same mint 
 bears the date 1404, in Arabic numerals ; and a coin of the celebrated Charles 
 the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, bears the date of 1474, also in Arabic numerals.. 
 The early use of Arabic numerals among the neighbouring nations of the 
 Continent is a curious circumstance worthy of careful investigation, as it 
 appears to have followed very quickly upon the first appearance of the Arabs 
 in Europe, of which the date, 794, inscribed on the tomb of Fastradana, the first 
 wife of Charlemagne, is a curious example, — the figures are of the ancient 
 form, 
 
 No. 18, Plate 6, is a sixpence of this coinage; and the same types 
 appeared on the shillings and threepenny pieces — viz., a nearly full face of 
 the king, in parliament robes, with the collar of the Garter, and numerals on 
 the field, to denote its value — the shillings having XII., and the threepences 
 III., which was the first time the value of the coins was so marked on the 
 coinage of England. The reverses have the arms on the old pointed shield, 
 with the cross, and the motto, POSUI, &c. 
 
 The London pennies of baser silver, coined at this time, had the king on a 
 throne, with E. D. G. ROSA. SINE. SP. ; and on the reverse, the arms, with 
 Cl VITAS LONDON. The York pennies had a simple rose, with ROSA, &c. 
 The reverse like the London ones, but with CIVITAS eboraci. 
 
 Each coinage had, as in all the recent reigns, distinct mint-marks — the 
 tun, the rose, a swan, &c. 
 
 No. 19, Plate 6, shows the obverse and reverse of a York penny. 
 
 Of the gold coinage of this reign it may be said that our gold had never 
 been so much debased. It was remarkable, however, in the later issues, for 
 its improvement in execution, and the complete disappearance of the Gothic 
 feeling of art. The earlier issue of double sovereigns, sovereigns, and angels, 
 closely resembled the sovereigns and angels of the previous reign — too closely 
 to render an example necessary, yet distinguished easily by the name, &c. 
 In the subsequent coinages, however, of which specimens are given, the gold 
 coins assumed a new and, artistically considered, very superior character, if 
 not quite so picturesque. 
 
EDWARD VI. 
 
 105 
 
 Different standards of gold continued to be used after the reform of the 
 coinage; for instance, a pound weight of gold, of 28 carats fine to 1 carat 
 alloy, was coined into 24 sovereigns of 30 shillings, equal to 36 sovereigns of 
 20 shillings each ; while a pound weight of gold of 22 carats fine to 2 carats 
 alloy, was coined into 33 sovereigns of 20 shillings each. 
 
 Specimen No. 20, Plate 6, is a treble sovereign. It has the king enthroned 
 (the Gothic character having quite disappeared), with the usual name and 
 title : the reverse has the arms, supported by a lion and a dragon standing on 
 a scrolled ornament, in the new style, with the letters E. R, the motto being 
 still the old one of the nobles of Edward III. — jesus autem, &c. 
 
 Specimen No. 21, Plate 6, is the obverse of a still later coinage, of a 
 pattern of which sovereigns, half-sovereigns, five-shilling pieces, and two- 
 shilling-and-sixpenny pieces were coined. The sovereign only differed in 
 having supporters to the arms on the reverse, like the previous sovereigns ; 
 and the smaller pieces had E. R on either side the arms, instead of supporters 
 The mottoes on the sovereigns and half-sovereigns are jesus autem, &c. ; 
 on the crown, scutum fidei protegeteum — “The shield of faith protects 
 him ;” and on the half-crown the same, abbreviated. The three-quarter figure 
 of the king, in embossed armour, on these pieces, is very elegant, and rather 
 in the Italian style of art which prevailed in England and France at this 
 period; but which, in the English coinage, is confined to this reign, and does 
 not re-appear. 
 
 A crown of another pattern was issued, having the king’s bust, in armour, 
 and bareheaded, on the obverse ; and on the reverse, the crowned rose. The 
 half-crown of this type had the rose without stalk. There are also sovereigns, 
 half-sovereigns, crowns, and half-crowns, with the same bust, but having the 
 oval shield (like the shillings) on the reverse. Another series only varies 
 from the last mentioned by having the head crowned. 
 
 A six-angel piece of beautiful workmanship is figured by Foikes; the 
 figure of the angel being in the high Italian school, and might almost be 
 termed Raffaelesque. The reverse, instead of an old ship or galley of the 
 time of Edward III., which had been accurately copied on gold pieces of a 
 certain class up to this period, and having a figure of the king of a size which 
 reduced the ship to the dimensions of a slipper-bath, had now a fine ship of 
 the sixteenth century (the grand original type of our three-deckers of the 
 present day), bearing a shield, with the royal arms, on the side, behind which 
 is a figure in something like proper proportion ; other figures being placed in 
 the rigging, in order to give due effect to the dimensions of the vessel. This 
 is, perhaps, the finest piece in the annals of English coinage prior to the great 
 reforms, and the introduction of the mill and screw, under the energetic 
 government of Cromwell. It is, however, only a pattern, and as coin, was 
 never issued. I have not, therefore, engraved it in this work. 
 
 Although Acts were prepared, during this reign, with a view to the 
 striking of money in Ireland, it is doubtful whether any was issued ; no 
 pieces having been discovered which can be with any certainty assigned to 
 Edward VI. 
 
 ii 
 
106 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 COINS OF MARY, MARY AND PHILIP, AND ELIZABETH. 
 
 MARY (1553 to 1558), on her accession, declared her intention of restoring 
 the old standard in the silver coinage, namely, 11 oz. 2 dwt. fine, and 18 dwt. 
 alloy ; but instead of that, the new coinage fell 1 dwt. lower than the last 
 of Edward YI. On her first coins she is represented in profile, crowned, 
 and styled maria d. g. ang. fra. z. hib. regi. (for Regina). The motto 
 of the reverse is frequently veritas temporis filia — “ Truth is the 
 daughter of Time,” suggested, it is supposed, by the Romish priesthood, in 
 allusion to the restoration of the Roman Catholic faith, after its suppression 
 during two reigns. On her first coins, subsequent to her marriage with 
 Philip of Spain, the queen’s head appears crowned as before, with the legend, 
 Philip z. maria D. G. rex. z. regina. Soon afterwards, however, a coinage 
 was issued, partly, no doubt, from the treasure brought over by Philip, 
 which was sent with so much ostentation to the Tower. On this coinage 
 the bust of Philip appears facing that of Mary : to which Butler alludes in 
 the lines: — 
 
 “ Still amorous, fond, and billing, 
 
 Like Philip and Mary upon a shilling. 
 
 The legend on these coins stood philip et maria d. g. r. ang. fr. 
 neap. pr. hisp., thus describing the two sovereigns as King and Queen of 
 England, France, and Naples, and Princes of Spain. On the reverse, the 
 old motto, posui &c„ was changed to the plural, as, posuimus deum, 
 ADJUTOREM NOSTRUM. 
 
 There is another pattern shilling having the king’s head on one side of 
 the coin, and the queen’s on the other, with the legend, philippus dei g. 
 R. ang. fr. neap. pr. hisp., on one side, and maria, with the same 
 titles, on the other; the coin engraved as an example, No. 6, Plate 7, has the 
 date 1554; others are dated 1557. 
 
 After Philip became King of Spain, by the abdication of his father, the 
 title of “ Princes of Spain” became inconsistent, and all allusion to foreign 
 dominion was omitted, the legend standing philip et maria d. g. rex et 
 regina ang., for although Philip had now become King of Spain, he never 
 assumed that title on the English coinage. 
 
 The motto of the reverse remained the same, and the Spanish arms were 
 impaled on the right side, and the English on the left. 
 
 Specimen No. 4, Plate 7, is a groat previous to her marriage. 
 
 Specimen No. 6, Plate 7, is the shilling, on which the head of the queen 
 occupies one side, and that of the king the other. 
 

 WM& 
 
 
 wm- r ' / 
 
 
 Sx 1 aPHf 
 
 |p5sR> ry>C £ 
 
 
 IJgxi L 
 
 »o?> S^r^JiSivr 
 
 Via-* c v w I/Ski cjW v 
 
 !®m kS ’. -v 
 
 BUII 
 
 X 7 ./Mfak, 
 
 iOL^^I 
 
 
 Day Hr, S on, .LithT” to th c Queen 
 
MARY AND PHILIP. 
 
 107 
 
 Specimen No. 5, Plate 7 , is a shilling, with the busts facing each other. 
 There were also coined pennies of strongly alloyed silver, some with the 
 queen’s profile, some with the rose; both having the motto, ROSA sine 
 spina, on the obverse, and the place of mintage on the reverse ; and there 
 were others like No. 4J, Plate 7. 
 
 The gold coinage of Mary does not exhibit a continuation of the im- 
 || provement in style commenced by her predecessor. The largest gold were 
 j termed sovereigns, and were ordered to be current at thirty shillings. The 
 half-sovereigns were called royals of gold, and were ordered to pass for 
 fifteen shillings. The angel was to be current at ten shillings, and the 
 half-royal at five shillings. It is somewhat singular that no traces of 
 Philip appear on the gold coins, except in the inscriptions. 
 
 The sovereign (specimen 1, Plate 7) is a return to the precise style of 
 art of those of Henry VII. and VIII. The rial of gold, or half-sovereign 
 (No. 2, Plate 7), has the old ship, with the figure holding the shield and 
 sword transformed to that of a female, and the reverse like the spur rials of 
 Edward IV. ; while the angels have precisely the old type, rather more 
 coarsely done. Specimen 3 , Plate 7 , is an angelet, or half-angel. It was, 
 probably, with a strong Homan Catholic feeling, of reducing all things to the 
 state and form they occupied previous to the Reformation, that this retro- 
 grade movement in the art, as applied to the coinage, took place. 
 
 In this remn, and that of Elizabeth, legislative interference with the 
 import and export of coin was in a sort of transition state, most of the acts 
 remaining in force, but inactive ; the prejudices of the commercial interest 
 of the country being, from sheer habit, favourable to their retention. It 
 may save trouble to mention at once, that in the reign of James I. the last 
 part of this machinery, that of the office of royal exchanger, was swept away. 
 Its abolition had been retarded in consequence of the Burleighs holding its 
 emoluments as a sinecure ; but public opinion having greatly changed, and 
 the mischievous as well as troublesome tendency of this office becoming 
 evident to all, it was at last swept away. 
 
 In the year 1553 , shillings, groats, half-groats, and pennies, were struck 
 in Ireland, having a good profile of the queen on the obverse, equal to that 
 on the English coinage (see Plate 7 , No. 4), and on the reverse the Irish 
 harp, “ crowned” between the letters “M. R.,” and also surmounted by small 
 crowns. The legend on the obverse of the shillings and groats was maria 
 D. g. ANG. fra. z. HIB. REGINA ; more abbreviated on the half-groats. The 
 legend of all the reverses was the same as that of her chief gold coinages in 
 England, veritas temporis filia, and they bore the dates 1553 and 1554 . 
 These coins are of as good silver as the English coinage of this reign; 
 but the penny in the Duke of Devonshire’s cabinet appears sufficient 
 evidence to substantiate the statement of Simon, that a base coinage was 
 also issued of as coarse and base a metal as that used in the reign of 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 After her marriage, Irish coins were struck with the portraits of the king 
 and queen facing each other, and the legend PHILIP ET MARIA D. G. REX. ET 
 
108 
 
 COINS OF MARY, MARY AND PHILIP, AND ELIZABETH. 
 
 REGINA ANG., with the date 1555. The reverse was the same as on the 
 previous issues, with the exception that the crowned initials were “ P. M.” 
 and the legend, posuimus deum adjutorem nostrum. 
 
 In this reign (1557) the circulation of the English “rose pennies” of 
 Henry VIIX. and Edward VI. was restricted to Ireland; and in this and 
 future reigns the name of the Dublin mint was omitted on the Irish coinage, 
 and mint-marks used instead, as on all the larger coins of the English money. 
 
 ELIZABETH (1558 to 1602). The complete restoration of the integrity of 
 the currency is justly ascribed to Elizabeth, although she only gave the 
 finishing hand to what had been already commenced by her brother. In the 
 first instance, she only ascertained the amount of silver in the base money, 
 and caused it to be stamped and pass for its true value (a course which 
 involved loss to the nation and gain to the government, which received back 
 as 2 ^d. that which it had issued as 12 d. For this, perhaps, we do not owe 
 her much gratitude), but she afterwards produced a coinage scrupulously 
 corresponding in weight and purity with its nominal value — with the 
 exception, of course, of a deduction for that rate of profit or seignorage 
 which had always been considered the fair privilege of the sovereign. 
 It would appear, however, from the discovery of letters, &c., &c., in the 
 state-paper office,* that we are chiefly indebted for the originating and 
 carrying out of this great measure to a London merchant — the same 
 illustrious Gresham to whom the city owes its Royal Exchange and other 
 useful institutions. It would appear that some difficulties occurred as to the 
 mode of refining the base metal of which the existing silver coinage was 
 composed, and Gresham, during his residence in Antwerp, effected arrange- 
 ments with a great firm in that city for refining the whole for the remuner- 
 ation of f oz. per pound of silver, and also the whole of the copper contained 
 in it. The following may be cited as an extract from one of his 
 letters, introducing one of the Flemish merchants to Sir Thomas Parry, 
 treasurer of the queen’s household : — “ Albeit the enterprise is of great 
 importance, and the sooner it is put in hand the more honour and proffyt it 
 wolle be to the Quene’s Majestie and the realme; for, doughtless, this will 
 rayse the exchange to xxv. viiid. at the least.” 
 
 Thus it would appear that the great cause of the veiy effectual reform of 
 the coinage was the growing wants of our rapidly-extending commerce, 
 represented and advocated by the acute genius of Gresham. But no mention 
 is of course made of him on the medal struck in honour of the queen, 
 to commemorate the event. Of the final return to good money she 
 should, however, at least have shared the honours with her brother, Edward 
 VI., by whom the good work was, in fact, fairly begun, Elizabeth only 
 putting the completing hand to it, even if the energy and talent with which 
 Gresham pushed forward the cause were to be counted as nothing. But she 
 saw, no doubt, the eventual f popularity that would accrue to her from 
 
 * Discovered by Mr. Burgon. 
 
 f It was unpopular at the time, and no wonder, from the mode of carrying it into execu- 
 tion, by compelling every man to give up for 2^d. the shilling for which he had given 12 d. 
 
ELIZABETH. 
 
 109 
 
 appearing as the principal actor in such a measure, and therefore made 
 herself as conspicuous as possible in its advocacy, even going to the 
 Tower and coining pieces of fine money with her own hand, which she 
 graciously distributed to those immediately around her. 
 
 The coinage of her first three years consisted of shillings, groats, half- 
 groats, and pennies, which were of the same fineness as the last of the 
 preceding reign. But inconvenience being felt for want of small money, she 
 soon after issued a coinage of sixpences, threepences, three-halfpences, and 
 three-farthings, of the full old English standard of 11 oz. 2 dwts. fine silver, 
 s : to 18 dwt. alloy. 
 
 Of these coins of three -halfpence and three-farthings, none were issued in 
 I previous or subsequent reigns ; and yet Shakspeare, with that disregard of 
 I anachronism in such matters common to writers of that age, finding them 
 I current in his time, speaks of them as though they had been current in the 
 [ reign of John, making Faulconbridge ridicule the leanness of his legitimate 
 [ elder brother, by likening him to a “ half-faced groat,” — referring to the new- 
 i made groats, which had a profile instead of full face ;* and then, referring 
 i to the rose on one side of the three-farthing pieces, he says he would not own 
 
 “ a face so thin 
 
 That in mine ear I durst not stick a rose, 
 
 Lest men should say, Look where three-farthings goes.” 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, in “The Scornful Lady,” also refer to these three- 
 , farthings, which had a rose, like the 6d., 3d., and 1 \d. of this issue, at the 
 side of the head, the erasure of which made them look something like the 
 penny of the earliest coinage of the reign. The passage occurs when speak- 
 ing of a culprit who should be “ whipped, and then cropt, for washing out 
 J the roses in three-farthings, to make them pence!’ 
 
 In the year 1582 these three-farthings and three-halfpenny pieces were 
 i discontinued, and shillings, half-groats, and pence, were revived, of similar 
 , types. Upon the whole of this coinage the date was placed, and seldom 
 omitted on English coins afterwards. The small coins of this reign 
 were the last that bore the name of the place of mintage, as CIVITAS 
 | LONDON, &/C. 
 
 But the great event in the coinage of this period was the temporary 
 I introduction of the mill and screw, instead of the hammer and punch 
 i principle ; by which reform in their mechanical production, coins of a much 
 more workmanlike and regular appearance were produced. Indeed, the 
 regularity of this process, combined with the placing of the date on the 
 coins, were, together, the cause of the ultimate discontinuance of mint- 
 j marks, previously rendered necessary in order that irregularities in weight, 
 execution, &c., should be attributed to the proper mint and mintage. 
 
 Folkes tells us that, “ The maker of this milled money is reported to 
 have been one Philip Mastrelle, a Frenchman, who eventually fell into the 
 practice of coining counterfeit money, and was convicted, and executed at 
 
 * It is well known that no groats of any description were executed in the days of John 
 

 110 COINS OF MARY, MARY AND PHILIP, AND ELIZABETH. 
 
 Tyburn, on the 27th of January, 1569.” But Mr. Hawkins does not place 
 any reliance upon this statement, and asserts that the name of the introducer 
 of this process is unknown, and the whole history of its employment 
 involved in obscurity. The principal feature in the new method was the 
 power of ornamenting the edges of the coins; but the whole appearance of 
 the money so produced was more workmanlike. Most of the milled coins* in 
 this reign may be distinguished by a star of five points at the end of the 
 legend. Patterns of half-crowns exist of the coinage between 1561 and 1575 ; 
 but none were issued till those of 1601 and 1602, which are very handsome 
 coins, and the first large silver that was coined after the death of Edward 
 VI. There are also shillings, sixpences, half-groats, pennies, and halfpennies, 
 of this coinage. It was in 1601 that silver coin was again reduced in 
 weight, and, as Folkes tells us, the same standard of value was then adopted 
 which has been ever since retained. 
 
 On some of the coins of Elizabeth the arms of Zealand are found 
 stamped; others have “H” for Holland: both which are supposed to have 
 been so marked for subsidies to be taken to the Low Countries by 
 Leicester. 
 
 The East India merchants were also allowed to coin what have been 
 called crowns, half-crowns, and shillings, for circulation in their foreign 
 dealings, but which were, in fact, struck to accord with the weight of the 
 Spanish piastre, and the half, the quarter, and the half-quarter of the same. 
 These coins have been called the “ portcullis money,” from a large portcullis 
 occupying the whole of the reverse, forming a very striking type. 
 
 Specimen No. 7, Plate 7, is one of the first, or hammered shillings, having 
 the profile young-looking, and crowned, with ELIZAB. D. G. ANG. FR. ET. HIB. 
 regi, and on the reverse the arms traversed by the cross, with the old 
 motto, posui, &c. ; the oval shield of Edward VI., without the cross, not 
 appearing on any of the coins of this reign. 
 
 Specimen No. 8, Plate 7, is the threepenny piece. 
 
 Specimen No. 9, Plate 7, is one of the three-farthing pieces, with the rose 
 behind the head, and E. D. G. rosa sine spina ; the reverse, with the arms 
 like her other coins, has also the date (for the first time on small pieces), and 
 CIVITAS LONDON. The threepence has the same types, &c., but the six- 
 pence has the queen’s titles in full. 
 
 Specimen No. 10, Plate 7, is a halfpenny. 
 
 Specimen No. 11, Plate 7, is one of the thick-milled shillings, with the 
 broad cross. 
 
 Specimen No. 12, Plate 7, is a five-shilling piece. 
 
 A great variety of mint-marks occur on the coinages of Elizabeth, by 
 means of which coins may be assigned to almost every year of the reign ; 
 none of them are, however, of special interest, though some, from then- 
 rarity, cause the coins to sell for large prices. One of the sixpences, known 
 as the Pudsey sixpence, which have a large scallop shell on the reverse, sold, 
 in 1838, for £3 8s., though it is well known that they have only been so 
 stamped by the caprice of some silversmith. 
 
ELIZABETH. 
 
 Ill 
 
 It will appear extraordinary that, notwithstanding the restoration of 
 the English coinage, base money was still coined for Ireland, as though 
 unfairness and oppression towards that unfortunate country had ever formed 
 part of a positive system with the English government. 
 
 The gold coins of this reign do not vary much from those of Mary. 
 There was the double rial with the queen on the throne, and the rose 
 reverse, with the arms in the centre ; and the rial with the queen in the 
 ship, having the reverse still like the old noble. 
 
 There were two standards of gold : one called the old standard, 23^ carats 
 fine to half a carat alloy, one pound weight of which was to be coined into 
 24 sovereigns of 30s. (equal to 36 of 20s.) Another standard of 22 carats 
 fine to 2 carats of alloy (crown gold), of which the pound weight was to be 
 coined into only 33 sovereigns of 20s. Afterwards, about 10s. more was 
 made from the pound of each standard. 
 
 Specimen No. 13, Plate 7, is the rial, with the device of the old nobles — 
 the ship, &c. The reverse of this coin is the famous “ sun” device of Edward 
 IV. This rial of England was the handsomest coin of these types that had 
 appeared. 
 
 The angels, half-angels, and quarter-angels, were similar to those of Mary 
 and her predecessors, but rather better executed than those of Mary. The 
 only new artistic feature of the gold coinage of this reign being the sovereigns, 
 half-sovereigns, quarter-sovereigns, and half-quarter-sovereigns, which were 
 of a new type. 
 
 The specimen No. 14, Plate 7, is a half-sovereign of the new type. The 
 obverse has the profile of the queen, crowned, with ELIZABETH, D. G. AXG. 
 FRA. ET hib. REGINA. The reverse has the royal arms surmounted with a 
 crown, which has the arch indented in the centre, like the modern crown, 
 with “ E. R” on either side, and the motto, scutum fidei proteget eam. 
 There are several varieties of this type, some having a line and beading 
 within the legend, others with different forms of the crown, and some having 
 an ermined robe. No. 15 is a quarter-sovereign of the same type. 
 
 Specimen No. 16, Plate 7, is a half-crown, or half-quarter-sovereign, of 
 precisely the same pattern as the half-sovereign. 
 
 During this reign there was coined, of silver, including the base silver of 
 Ireland, £4,718,579 %s.S\d.\ of gold, £440,552 8s. 9£<i. 
 
 The first money coined in Ireland in this reign was that shameful 
 recoinage in Dublin of the base metal then current in England, only three 
 ounces fine in the pound troy. This base issue has the same types, with the 
 exception of the portrait, name, and crowned initials, as the shilling of 
 Mary. 
 
 Between 1598 and 1601 another Irish coinage took place, equally base, 
 consisting of shillings, sixpences, and threepences. The type of the reverse 
 of these coins was varied by having three harps upon a shield, instead of the 
 single crowned harp. On either side of the shield is the date, instead of the 
 crowned initials. There was also another issue of shillings, sixpences, 
 and threepences, the types of which were the arms of England on the 
 
112 
 
 COINS OF MARY, MARY AND PHILIP, AND ELIZABETH. 
 
 obverse, and the Irish harp, crowned, on the reverse, with no initials or 
 date. 
 
 Copper pence and halfpence, the first struck by a British sovereign, were 
 issued in Ireland in this reign (1601); and farthings are also mentioned in 
 the record, but none have ever been discovered. 
 
 The copper money only differed from the silver last described in having 
 the initials “ E. R” on each side of the shield on the obverse, and the dates, 
 16-01 and 16-02, on either side of the harp. 
 
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CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE COINAGE OF SCOTLAND PREVIOUS TO THE UNION. 
 
 Before describing the coinage of James I. of England and VI. of Scotland, it 
 will be necessary to take a hasty review of the origin and progress of the 
 Scottish coinage, after which the Scottish coins will be described in each 
 reign till the abolition of the Scottish mints. 
 
 The earliest coins attributed to Scotland, previous to the appearance of 
 Mr. Lindsay’s work, were those of William the Lion, 1165; and even these 
 were by many considered doubtful, and as probably belonging to William the 
 Conqueror. It is possible, however, that a regular coinage was known in 
 Scotland at least two centuries earlier ; for the southern portion of what is 
 now termed Scotland was included in the Saxon kingdom of Northumberland, 
 and the Northumbrian coin circulated there, while a great portion of the 
 North was possessed by the kings of Norway, who coined money certainly in 
 the tenth century. It is not, therefore, that coins were unknown to the 
 people of Scotland till the twelfth century, but that they did not assume a 
 distinctive and national character before that period. 
 
 A few coins have been recently attributed to princes of the Hebrides, 
 which, however, are not of earlier date than the eleventh century ; of these 
 the coin No. 1, Plate 19, appears to have been coined by a prince bearing the 
 name of Somerled, whose name, blundered and badly executed, is followed by 
 the letters RO-AE : RO, the word expressing king on northern coins, and AE, 
 which is probably an abbreviation of aebrydae — “ of the Hebrides.” Somerled 
 is a name only found in connection with the iEbridae, or Hebrides, and this 
 coin has, therefore, with good show of probability, been attributed to that 
 region. 
 
 No. 2, Plate 19, is, however, the first coin attributed to a native Scotch 
 monarch: it is assigned to Malcolm III., a cotemporary of William the 
 Conqueror, and was first published by Mr. Lindsay in his valuable work. 
 The style of the front face, and the cross and pellets of the reverse, which last 
 belong to a somewhat later period, render this attribution doubtful. Coins 
 have been recently attributed also to Donald VIII. (1093), and the long 
 disputed ones of Alexander I. (1107) finally adjusted — some of them being 
 securely attributed to that prince. 
 
 Coins attributed to Malcolm IV. are doubtful. Those issued by 
 William I., surnamed “The Lion,” are, however, undoubted, and are very 
 numerous. These coins bear the names of various moneyers and places of 
 mintage, after the manner of the English coinage of the period ; those of the 
 Berwick, Edinburgh, and Perth mints being most common. No. 2, Plate 19, 
 is a silver penny of this monarch. 
 
114 
 
 THE COINAGE OF SCOTLAND PREVIOUS TO THE UNION. 
 
 The coins of Alexander II. and III. are very difficult to distinguish, and, 
 like those of William I, are very rude in execution, and much inferior to the 
 English coinage of the period. Those of John Baliol, however, and Robert 
 Bruce, which are at once recognizable, are in some respects superior to the 
 English cotemporary coinage, inasmuch as the head, which is a profile, 
 appears to be an attempt at a real portrait, and not the unmeaning conven- 
 tional face which, from Edward I to Henry VII., is found on the coinage of 
 England. No. 4, Plate 19, is a silver penny of Robert Bruce. The groats 
 with robertus rex are all now assigned to Robert II. The coins of this 
 prince and David II. resemble those of Robert Bruce in the treatment of 
 the head. 
 
 DAVID II. (1371) entered into a convention with Edward III. of 
 England, for the purpose of equalizing the monetary values, so that the 
 money of Scotland might circulate in England, and vice versa. To effect 
 this purpose it became necessary to recoin a great portion of the Scottish 
 currency, which was below the English in weight and purity ; and in order 
 to distinguish the new coinage it was ordered a “ notable sign” should be 
 impressed upon it. This notable sign consisted generally in a large B ; and 
 the coins thus distinguished soon became so much sought after, that ingenious 
 forgeries were executed — many of which have recently come to light ; and 
 they are excellent specimens of the forger’s dishonest art. 
 
 In the reign of David II., also, the first gold coinage of Scotland took 
 place, when fine gold pieces were issued, evidently in imitation of the 
 nobles of Edward III., from which they differ in no respect except in 
 the substitution of the arms of Scotland for those of England on the shield, 
 and the name and titles of the Scottish king in the legend. 
 
 In the reign of ROBERT II. coins of gold were issued of a more national 
 character, having the arms of Scotland on the obverse, and St. Andrew on 
 his cross on the reverse, from which this coin was popularly termed the 
 “ St. Andrew.” (See No. 1, Plate 8.) This piece probably passed for five 
 shillings. It was, in the Acts, called a “ gold penny,” the half being called a 
 “ maille.” The smaller piece, having only the cross, and not the figure of 
 St. Andrew, on the reverse, was, however, popularly called “ the lion,” from 
 the lion on the shield of the obverse, in order to distinguish it from the 
 St. Andrew. 
 
 ROBERT III. (1390). The heads on the silver coinage of Robert III. 
 lose altogether the originality of character of those of the previous reigns, 
 and are evidently close copies of the unmeaning head common to all the 
 English silver money of the period; while on the reverses the three stars 
 in the angles of the cross were also abandoned for the three pellets of 
 the coinage of England. (See a groat of Robert III., No. 5, Plate 19.) 
 
 Robert III., JAMES I., and JAMES II. (from 1390 to 1460), issued 
 similar gold coins to those of Robert II. No. 2, Plate 8, is one of the 
 lozenge lions of James II. There were also St. Andrew’s and half St. 
 Andrew’s of each of these reigns. 
 
 In the reign of JAMES III. the demi or lozenge lions of gold of 
 
BILLON COINS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 115 
 
 James I. and II. were ordered to pass for twelve shillings each, and other 
 lions for ten shillings each, showing the great increase in the value of 
 the old gold coin. The first were afterwards raised to thirteen shillings 
 and fourpence each. 
 
 The silver coins of James I, II., and III., were, like those of the previous 
 reign, very closely copied from the English, with the exception, that two of 
 the angles of the cross are filled by a crown, a fieur-de-lis, or a single star, 
 the English pellets remaining in the opposite angles. Nos. 7 and 8, Plate 19, 
 are silver coins of these reigns : a penny and a groat. 
 
 The close resemblance of the Scottish to the English coinage in these 
 reigns attracted the attention of the English parliament, more especially as 
 the Scottish coins were issued of rapidly-decreasing weight in each successive 
 reign. In that of Robert II. the coins of the same denomination were already 
 a quarter lighter than the English, and in the reign of James II., it was 
 enacted in Scotland that the English groat should pass for eightpence 
 Scotch. 
 
 BILLON COINS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 It was about this period that the first billon coins were issued, which are 
 attributed to Robert III. The specimen engraved is that described by 
 Lyndsay : it has the usual full face of the period, and the king’s name on 
 the obverse; and on the reverse the cross and pellets of the English coinage, 
 and the legend VILLA INNERNIS, being the only coin struck at Inverness yet 
 discovered. (See Plate 19, No. 6.) These base coins were pennies, and 
 afterwards, when still baser were coined, were termed “ white pennies,” 
 to distinguish them from the baser coin, which became known as the “ black 
 penny.” The first of these base coins went eventually at the rate of 34 for 
 a silver penny. The groats and half-groats, which were coined in billon of 
 different degrees of baseness, were known as placks and half-placks — a 
 name derived from the plaques of the Continent. These last-named 
 pieces were issued in the reign of James III. No 9, Plate 19, is a plack 
 of James III. 
 
 In the reign of JAMES IY. (1488 to 1514) the types of the coinage were 
 considerably modified ; a three-quarter face, evidently a portrait, superseded 
 the unmeaning head of the previous reigns, just at the same time that a 
 similar improvement was taking place on the coinage of the cotemporary 
 reign of Henry VII. in England. 
 
 No. 10, Plate 19, is a groat of this prince, in whose reign a groat of equal 
 weight with the English was ordered to pass for fourteen pennies Scotch, so 
 greatly had the Scottish penny been debased, principally by the systematic 
 and successive issues of billon money. 
 
 Scottish gold of the unicorn type, which appears on coins of two or three 
 sizes, has been assigned to James III.; but I have selected as an illustration 
 one attributed to James IY. It is not certain what precise value the 
 unicorns represented. (See Plate 8, No. 3.) A gold coin with a new type, 
 the king, armed, on a galloping horse (see Plate 8, No. 4), was also issued by 
 
116 
 
 THE COINAGE OF SCOTLAND PREVIOUS TO THE UNION. 
 
 James IV., of two or three sizes (called riders), corresponding in value with 
 the unicorn series. 
 
 In the reign of JAMES V. (1514 to 1542), the groat of ten pennyweights 
 two grains fine, eleven to the ounce, was ordered to pass for 18 pennies 
 Scotch. No. 14, Plate 8, is the obverse of a groat of this reign, on which the 
 arms are, for the first time, placed on the silver coinage, as shown at No. 15. 
 No. 11, Plate 19, is a half-plack of the billon money of James V. 
 
 In this reign unicorns from the old dies were issued, and also new gold 
 coins having the numeral “ V” after the name, which renders their attri- 
 bution certain. Gold Crowns were also issued at this time to pass for 
 twenty shillings — and likewise gold pennies of several kinds ; but the finest 
 coin of the reign is the gold “ Bonnet piece,” so called from the cap, or beret, 
 termed in Scotland a bonnet, which the king wears in his portrait on this 
 coin, probably executed by an Italian artist. (See No. 5, Plate 8.) There 
 were pieces of two-tliirds and of one-tliird of this coin issued at the same 
 time. 
 
 MARY (1 542 to 1587). Of the first silver coinage of Mary, there are pieces 
 with the queen’s head, crowned (No. 16, Plate 8), the reverse having the 
 arms, with DA pacem domine, a.d. 1553. This piece was a testoon, and 
 probably passed for three shillings Scotch. There is also a half-testoon of 
 the same date, having the head without a crown, as on the gold piece 
 engraved in Plate 8, No. 6. The next type of the testoon of Mary had on 
 the reverse an “ M,” crowned, between two crowned thistles, instead of the 
 arms of Scotland. The testoons, during her marriage with Francis II. of 
 France, have, while he was dauphin, the arms of the dauphin and those of 
 Scotland, on a cross potent, and on the reverse the initials “ F.” and “ M.,” 
 crowned. Another type of this period, on a billon coin, is shown at No. 14, 
 Plate 19; it has a monograph, “F.M.,” crowned, with a dolphin {dauphin), 
 crowned, and an “ M,” crowned; and on the reverse, the motto, JAM NON 
 sunt duo sed UNA CARO — “ They are now, not two, but one flesh.” After he 
 became king they had the arms of France and Scotland on the same shield, 
 as in the specimen No. 17, Plate 8. Similar coins, after the death of Francis, 
 have the arms of France half effaced by those of Scotland on the reverse, 
 and the portrait of the queen on the obverse, wearing a high dress frilled to 
 the chin, and a cap similar to that still worn to denote widowhood. (See 
 Plate 19, No. 15.) 
 
 During her union with Darnley the fine large silver royal was struck (No. 
 18, Plate 8), and there was also the twenty and ten-shilling piece of this 
 coinage, of the same type. After the death of Darnley the same coins were 
 issued with the same types, with only the omission of the word “Henry” 
 from the legend of the obverse. The silver royal has the motto envrgat, &c., 
 afterwards adopted by Charles I. 
 
 There are several varieties of placks in the billon money of this reign. 
 The pennies have the queen’s head, in the style of the fifteenth century, with 
 the open crown. (See Plate 19, No. 16.) There was also the “hard-head” 
 or lion of billon, above alluded to, for its type, and called the “Non Sunt,” 
 
JAMES VI. OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 117 
 
 from the legend of the reverse, non duo, &c. It was a coin about the 
 size of the piack, struck soon after her marriage with Francis, while he was 
 yet only dauphin. (Plate 19, No. 14.) 
 
 The bawbees of Mary, as they were styled in the following reign, have the 
 arms of Scotland and France, crowned, on the obverse. (See No. 13, Plate 19.) 
 The billon placks and hard-heads of this reign were subsequently ordered to 
 pass, respectively, for twopence arid one penny each. 
 
 The gold coins issued in the reign of Mary, though not numerous, were of 
 a great variety of type. They had generally the arms on the obverse, and 
 MARIA REGINA, in a crowned monogram or cypher, on the reverse. (See 
 No. 7, Plate 8.) The royal was one of the best-wrought coins of this reign, 
 having a well-executed portrait of the queen on the obverse. (See No. 6, 
 Plate 8.) During her marriage with Francis II., no gold was struck; but 
 previous to her second marriage the gold crown was issued, having the arms 
 of France half effaced by those of Scotland on the obverse, and four crowned 
 M’s, arranged as a cross, &c., on the reverse. No gold was issued during her 
 union with Darnley. 
 
 JAMES VI. (1587 to 1625.) The first silver coins of James VI. were 
 issued by the authority of the Lord Regent. They were thirty, twenty, and 
 ten-shilling pieces, as before, with the arms of Scotland on one side, and a 
 crown on the point of a sword on the other, &c. 
 
 Various other moneys of silver were coined, among which was the two- 
 mark piece. (No. 19, Plate 8.) Up to this time the arms of Scotland, 
 crowned, &c., formed the type of the obverse of the silver coinage of this 
 reign; but in 1582, forty, thirty, twenty, and ten-shilling pieces were issued, 
 having the king’s portrait on the obverse. (See No. 13, Plate 8, which is a 
 twenty-shilling piece of this coinage.) This series of money had the arms of 
 Scotland, crowned, on the reverse. The balance-mark and half-mark, of 
 silver, were next coined, and so named from the scales on the reverse. (See 
 No. 10, Plate 8.) 
 
 In the beginning of the reign of James similar coins of billon, to those of 
 Mary, were struck, consisting of groats, placks, &c , &c., of different degrees 
 of baseness, but by various Acts made to pass for arbitrary values, all greatly 
 above their intrinsic worth. The last billon coin that was issued was of a 
 new kind, twenty being coined to the ounce, and to pass for fourpence each. 
 It has also a new device. (See No. 17, Plate 19.) 
 
 By an Act, dated May 13, 1597, it was determined that, in consequence 
 of the scarcity of small coin, there should be struck one hundred stone weight of 
 pure copper, unmixed with any other kind of metal. This was the beginning 
 of a true copper coinage. It was to consist of penny and twopenny pieces, 
 each penny piece weighing one pennyweight twelve grains, and twopenny 
 pieces weighing three penny weights ; and there were smaller coins with the 
 king’s head and title on the obverse, and the three thistles on the reverse, 
 with oppidvm edinbvrgi. This copper coinage was rated at considerably 
 above its intrinsic value. It was enacted as an antidote to the fraud, that none 
 of his Majesty’s subjects should be obliged to receive in payment more than 
 
118 
 
 THE COINAGE OF SCOTLAND PREVIOUS TO THE UNION. 
 
 twelve such pennies in the pound, and so on pro rata. These coins became 
 eventually known as the boddle and the half-boddle. 
 
 Before his accession to the English throne, two sets of the thistle-marks 
 (so named from the thistle on the reverse), and half-marks, and pieces of one- 
 fourth, one-eighth, and one-sixth, were also coined; one series having the 
 king’s head, without crown, on the obverse, and the other series having 
 simply the arms of Scotland, with the name, titles, &c. (Plate 8, No. 19.) 
 
 Of the very numerous gold coinages of James VI. previous to his accession 
 to the English throne, it would be impossible to give a detailed account in 
 this work. Plis “Lion” (No. 9, Plate 8) and his half-piece (No. 8, Plate 8) 
 being the only specimens of his gold coinage as King of Scotland that I shall 
 notice, with the exception of the fine piece of twenty pounds Scotch (Nos. 11 
 and 12, Plate 8), which is one of the finest coins in either the English or 
 Scottish series. Some, however, have considered it only a pattern. All the 
 gold coins struck for Scotland by James VI., after his accession to the English 
 throne, are scarce. 
 
 The sceptre, Scotch, is a fine large coin of the size of an English double 
 sovereign, but of the same types as No. 6, Plate 9, the disposition of the arms 
 excepted. The crown, half-crown, &c., only differed from the English in the 
 same details. In this reign the Scottish coins were declared current in 
 England, as one to twelve, and the English in Scotland in the same proportion 
 — that is, the rose royal, thirty shillings English, was to pass for eighteen 
 pounds Scotch ; the angel of ten shillings for six pounds Scotch, &c. 
 
 From henceforward the Scottish coins are classed with the English series, 
 from which they differ but very little, except in the disposition of the arms, 
 and the marks of the Edinburgh mint. The Scotch arms occupy the first 
 and fourth positions in the quarterings, on the Scottish coinage, and those 
 of England and Ireland, the second and third — while on the English 
 coinage, the Scottish arms occupy the third quarter only. Shillings and 
 sixpences, and crowns and half-crowns, were coined in Scotland, with only 
 these differences from the English coin; the smaller pieces differing in a similar 
 manner. 
 
 The Anglo-Scottish coins will in future be noticed at the end of each 
 successive reign. 
 
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 T19 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 COINS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 JAMES I. (1602 to 1625). The first silver coins issued by this king, soon 
 after his accession, were crowns, half-crowns, shillings, half-shillings, two- 
 penny pieces, pennies, and halfpennies. 
 
 On the crowns and half-crowns is a figure of the king on horseback, in a 
 similar style to those of Edward VI. ; the titles read, JACOBUS D. G. ANG. 
 SCO. FRAN. ET HIB. REX. 
 
 On the reverse are the arms, on a garnished shield, in the usual form (and 
 not oval, like those of Edward and Mary), and having the motto, EXURGAT 
 deus dissipentur inimici. The arms of Scotland, and also of Ireland, were 
 for the first time quartered with those of England and France. The Irish 
 arms, now adopted, and now for the first time quartered with the royal arms 
 on the coinage, are the more recent monetary type, the harp, and not the old 
 Irish device, the three crowns. 
 
 The shillings and sixpences had the king’s bust in profile, crowned; and 
 in armour ; the legend was the same as that on the crowns, but they had 
 “ XII.” and “ VI.” behind the head, to denote their respective value. The 
 twopenny pieces and pennies were the same, with the exception that they 
 had the motto, ROSA SINE SPINA, and the numerals “ II.” and “ I.” 
 respectively; the reverse having the arms without any motto. The half- 
 pennies were like those of Elizabeth, with a cross on one side and a portcullis 
 on the other. Shillings and sixpences, 9 ounces fine, were now coined 
 for Ireland. 
 
 Before the issue of the second coinage the term “ Great Britain ” was 
 adopted for the United Kingdom; MAG. BRIT, instead of ANG. SCO. being 
 used on that coinage. On the reverses a new and appropriate motto, allusive 
 to the union of the crowns, was used — QUE deus conjunxit nemo separet. 
 The shillings were the same as the half-crowns and crowns, with the 
 exception of having the king’s bust only, instead of the figure on horseback. 
 The twopenny pieces had a rose on one side, and a thistle on the other, 
 crowned, with I. D. G. ROSA SINE SPINA, and TUEATUR UNITA DEUS, another 
 allusion to the union. The pennies had the rose and thistle without the 
 crown, with the same legends; and the halfpennies the simple rose and 
 thistle without mottoes. These several pieces now continued to be minted 
 without alteration till the end of the reign. There are no dates on the coins 
 of this reign, except on sixpences — a caprice in their favour difficult to 
 explain ; but the succession of mint-marks is so complete that every issue is 
 easily distinguished by collectors. Up to June 20, 1605, the fleur-de-lis was 
 the mint-mark; up to July 10, 1606, another mark; till June 30, 1607, the 
 
120 
 
 COINS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 escallop shell ; and so on, through almost every remaining year of the reign, 
 a different mark, such as the bunch of grapes, the tower, the tun, the half- 
 moon, &c. 
 
 Silver was exceedingly scarce during part of the reign, and the issue of a 
 light coinage was seriously contemplated; but the scheme was happily 
 abandoned. A good deal of silver was refined from the lead mines of Wales, 
 — the coins made from this silver always bearing the Welsh feathers, to 
 denote the source from which the metal had been obtained. 
 
 On the suggestions of James, many good regulations were made to 
 prevent clipping, and other modes of debasing the coinage ; and the charges 
 of mintage were reduced, in order to tempt merchants and others to bring 
 bullion more readily to be coined. 
 
 Specimen 1, Plate 9, is one of the half-crowns of the first coinage. 
 
 Specimen 2, Plate 9, is a shilling with the new motto, qile deus, & c. 
 The reverse has the feathers, above the crown, as being coined from the 
 Welsh silver. 
 
 No. 3, Plate 9, exhibits both sides of a twopenny piece; No. 4, Plate 9, 
 the rose side of a penny ; and No. 5, both sides of a halfpenny. 
 
 The first gold coins of James I. were the sovereigns and half-sovereigns, 
 having the king, in armour, holding the orb and sceptre. The reverse was 
 the arms of England and France, with Scotland and Ireland quartered, and 
 the motto, exurgat, &c., &c. After the coining of the units — coins of 
 similar value — these pieces were sometimes called “ sceptre units ;” the late 
 sovereigns of the above type had the more appropriate motto, faciam eos in 
 gentem UN am. The double-crown of ten shillings is like the half-sovereign, 
 but has on the reverse, henricus rosas regna jacobus. The British crown 
 of five shillings was similar. The thistle-crown of four shillings had the rose 
 of England on one side and the thistle of Scotland on the other, both crowned, 
 and having the titles round the rose, with tueatur unita deus round 
 the thistle. There was also a two-shilling-and-sixpenny piece, with the 
 king’s head, and J. D. G. ROSA sine spina, and on the reverse the arms, and 
 the same motto as the last ; also a crown and half-crown of similar devices, 
 but with TUEATUR, &C. 
 
 The pieces coined in Scotland only differed in the quartering of the arms, 
 those of Scotland occupying the first place. In the pieces without arms there 
 was no distinction, except the mint-mark. In small silver pieces the thistle 
 appears without the rose. 
 
 The pound weight of gold, 23 \ carats fine and \ carat alloy, was next 
 coined into 27 rose rials at thirty shillings each, or 54 spur rials at fifteen 
 shillings each ; or it was made into 81 angels at ten shillings each. The spur 
 rial has the king standing between the fore and mizen-masts of a ship, in 
 armour, crowned, and holding a sword ; and on his left arm is a large shield, 
 with the arms, &c., &c. The reverse is the device of the old noble of Edward 
 III., with the exception of the blazing sun being substituted for part of the 
 cross, whence arose the name of the spur royal, from the resemblance 
 of the rays to the rowels of a spur. 
 
THE GOLD COINAGE OF JAMES I. 
 
 121 
 
 The rose rial of thirty shillings was similar to those of the preceding 
 reigns, except that the king was arrayed in the regular parliamentary robes, 
 and the device was executed in a more modern style of art. The motto on 
 the reverses of the rose rial and spur rial is, A. DNO. FACTUM. EST. istud. ET. TES. 
 mirabile, &c. The angels of this issue bore very nearly the device of the 
 old ones. English gold coins being found to be above the standard of those of 
 the Continent, their value was raised by proclamation — “ the sovereign, from 
 twenty to twenty-two shillings; the double-crown, from ten to eleven 
 shillings,” and so on in proportion. At the same time regulations were 
 made as to the rates at which foreign gold and silver, in coin and in the ingot, 
 should be purchased. It was next arranged that the pound weight of gold 
 of the old standard of 23j> carats fine, should be coined into £11. 
 
 It being found that the irregular sums at which the gold coins were 
 rated were extremely inconvenient, a new gold coinage was determined on. 
 These coins were to be of the highest standard, now termed angel-gold 
 First, a thirty-shilling piece, having the king in his parliament robes (still 
 called a rial), the figure finely executed in a new style, but the mottoes the 
 same. On the reverse, the type of the old rose rial was abandoned for the 
 royal arms. Secondly, a fifteen-shilling piece of new device, having a lion 
 holding a shield, with the numerals XV., and the titles; and on the 
 reverse the old device of the noble, with the “ sun ” of Edward IV., and the 
 motto, A. DNO., &c. Thirdly, a ten-shilling piece, or angel, with the 'old 
 devices of the angel and ship greatly improved, and having the royal arms 
 on the sail ; another pattern having the ship scooped out to receive a large 
 shield with the arms. Of crown gold new units were made, having the 
 king’s head laureated in the Roman style — the first time it had been adopted 
 on modern English coins, and for the reverse, the royal arms, crowned, and 
 the mottoes as on the first units. These pieces were soon called “ laurels.” 
 There was a ten-shilling and a five-shilling of the same pattern. Standard 
 or angel-gold was now coined into £11 10s., and crown gold into £11. 
 
 Specimen No. 6, Plate 9, is the obverse of the first or sceptered unit, of 
 twenty shillings. 
 
 Specimen No. 7, Plate 9, is the obverse of the rial of thirty shillings, with 
 the figure of the king in the new style — a very fine coin. 
 
 Specimen No. 8, Plate 9, is the thistle-crown of four shillings. 
 
 Specimen No. 9, Plate 9, is the obverse of the laureated unit. 
 
 Specimens Nos. 10 and 11 are the obverse and reverse of the improved 
 angel, the reverse having the side of the ship hollowed out to receive the 
 arms, and the obverse having a figure of St. George, instead of the angel. 
 
 The first gold coinage of James was of the same standard as those of the 
 last of Elizabeth — namely, the pound weight of gold of 22 carats fine and 2 
 alloy, to make thirty-three sovereigns and a-half at twenty shillings each. 
 Next, the pound weight of the same gold was coined into thirty-seven units 
 at twenty shillings each, and a thistle-crown of four shillings, because the 
 English gold coins had long been of more value than those of other nations. 
 They had, in fact, been exported for melting, in consequence of the true 
 
 i 
 
122 
 
 COINS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 proportion of the relative values of gold and silver not having been 
 accurately understood in England. 
 
 The Irish coinage received some attention from James I., and in the first 
 and second years of his reign a step was made towards restoring its intrinsic 
 value and purity. Shillings and sixpences, 9 ounces fine to 3 ounces alloy, 
 were issued, the base money of the previous reign being ordered to go at one- 
 third of its original rate — the shilling for 4d, &c. They were afterwards 
 ordered to go for one-fourth — the shilling for 3d., and other pieces in propor- 
 tion. The first Irish shillings and sixpences of James have for type the 
 portrait of the king in armour, in the style of the English shillings of this 
 reign ; and for reverse, the Irish harp, crowned : they were well executed. 
 On the first issues the legend on the obverse is, jacobus d. g. ANG. SCO. FRA. 
 et. hib. rex. ; but on the later, after the words “ Great Britain ” had been 
 substituted in all official documents for England and Scotland, MAG. brit., for 
 “ Magnse Britannise,” superseded ANG. SCO., &c., on the Irish coinage as well 
 as the English. The legend, henricus rosas regna jacobus, is adopted on 
 the reverses of the later pieces, instead of the exurgat deus, &c., of the 
 earlier ones. In this reign copper farthings were issued for Ireland, as well 
 as England, having for device of the obverse, a sword and sceptre crossed, 
 behind a crown, and the crowned harp for reverse; the legend of the obverse 
 being iaco D. G. mag. bri., and the reverse, fra. et hib. rex. (See No. 3, 
 Plate 22.) In 1617, Fynes Moryson, in his Itinerary, tells us that “the 
 Irish groat was called a dominus, from the title of the King of England ; 
 the brass pence,” he says, “ were called harpers, and the brass farthings, 
 smulkins. 
 
 CHARLES I. (1625 to 1649). A coinage was soon issued in this reign 
 of the same purity and weight as those of the last ; namely, 7f grains to the 
 silver penny, which had been eight grains in the beginning of Elizabeth, but 
 was reduced to the above weight late in her reign. It is remarkable that 
 during the gradual waste of Charles’s resources in the civil wars, no debase- 
 ment in the coinage took place; the very rudest of the coins, and even 
 his siege pieces, being of the proper purity and weight. 
 
 The first silver coins of this reign were of the same value and denomina- 
 tion as those of James: crowns, half-crowns, shillings, half-shillings, two- 
 pennies, pennies, and halfpennies. The four large pieces had CAROLUS D. G. 
 MAG. brit. FRA. ET. hib. rex. round a well-executed bust of the king, and for 
 reverse the royal arms, as in the last reign, but with the motto, CHRISTO 
 auspice regno. The pennies and halfpennies were like those of James, 
 except that they had the rose on both sides, with c. D. G. ROSA sine spina on the 
 obverse, and JUS. thronum. firmat — “Justice strengthens a throne,” on the 
 reverse. These pennies, &c., were soon followed by others having the king’s 
 bust, and by twopenny pieces of the same device, the twopennies having the 
 numerals II. and the pennies I. On the reverse they had the oval shield, 
 with JUSTITIA THRONUM firmat for legend. The oval shield, somewhat 
 ornamented, was soon after adopted for the larger pieces also, with sometimes 
 “ C. R.” on either side. The shillings and sixpences of this pattern represent 
 
FIRST COINAGES OF CHARLES I. 
 
 123 
 
 the king in the dress of the day, and three changes of fashion may be traced in 
 them. He is first seen in the stiff ruff, much like that of the reigns of Eliza- 
 beth and James; then in a limber or falling one; and, lastly, in a simple 
 falling collar, edged with lace, as we see him in most of his portraits by 
 Vandyke. On some of the pieces of his early coinages he appears in his 
 parliamentary robes ; but eventually both these styles disappeared, and he 
 was constantly represented in armour, but with the falling lace collar. The 
 crowns and half-crowns have pretty constantly the figure of the king on 
 horseback, in armour; but the whole coinage of the reign is extremely 
 irregular, both in design and execution, and an immense number of trifling 
 variations occur — far too numerous to allude to in detail within the limits of 
 this volume. 
 
 None of the pieces coined in the Tower were dated, but the mint-marks 
 afford sure indications of their dates. To January, 1625, they are marked 
 with the trefoil; to January, 1626, with the fleur-de-lis; and so on. This 
 refers especially to the London coinage; but in this reign there were 
 extensive coinages of silver in various parts of the kingdom, even before 
 the troubles. The coins of the York mint are very beautifully executed, 
 and have a lion passant guardant for mint-mark, also ebor. (eboraci). 
 It is supposed that the York mint was established when Strafford was 
 president of the north, and some money was probably coined when the king 
 was at York, during his magnificent progress to Scotland. There was also 
 a permanent mint established in his thirteenth year at Aberystwith, for 
 refining and coining the silver produced from the Welsh lead mines, the 
 coins of which may be known by the Welsh feathers. The coins of this reign, 
 which are milled at the edge, were produced by the mill and screw, under 
 the direction of Nicholas Briot, who had been chief engraver of the French 
 moneys. His coins may be known by the letter a B” upon them; but their 
 chief merit consists in the neatness of their mechanical execution, the 
 engravings of other artists of the time being more spirited. M. Le Blanc, 
 author of the “ Traite Historique des Monnoyes de France ,” says, speaking of 
 Briot’s residence in England, “ On ne manqua pas se servir de ses machines, 
 et de faire par son moyen les plus belles monnoyes du monde.” He also 
 coined money for Charles I. in Scotland, and afterwards returned to France, 
 where certain regulations were altered which had caused him to leave that 
 country in disgust. His departure probably prevented the permanent 
 establishment of the mill and screw in England at that time. During his 
 stay he prepared many patterns, which never came into circulation, and these 
 are much prized in cabinets from their rarity. 
 
 In the year 1642, when the king was at Nottingham, just about the 
 breaking out of the civil war, he received as a loan from the universities 
 nearly all their plate, which was to be repaid at so much per ounce for the 
 white silver, and so much extra for the gilt silver. Some of this was disposed 
 of in its original form, to be sold for the pay of the troops ; and so much of it 
 as was coined, says Mr. Folkes, was minted probably at York. The king 
 soon after removed to Shrewsbury, where the master of the Welsh mint, Mr. 
 
124 
 
 COINS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 Bushell, was ordered to join the king, and money was coined there, but with 
 what particular mark is unknown — probably the Welsh feathers. Little, 
 however, was done ; for Clarendon says, “ It was indeed more for reputation 
 than use, as, in the absence of sufficient workmen and instruments, they 
 could not coin a thousand pounds a-week.” 
 
 After the defeat of Edgehill, the king removed the mint of Aberystwith 
 to Oxford, to coin there, in the New Inn Hall, under the direction of Mr. 
 Bushell and Sir William Parkhurst, all the remaining plate of the colleges. 
 In this mint there appears to have been coined a large quantity of money, 
 both of gold and silver; and as it was still considered the Welsh mint, 
 although removed, the Welsh mark of the feathers was continued. The 
 money now struck at Oxford did not differ materially in design from that 
 previously coined; there are, however, several varieties of types; and the 
 execution of the dies is of various degrees of excellence ; some of very mean 
 workmanship, and others very excellent. 
 
 The silver twenty-shilling and ten-shilling pieces are peculiar to this mint 
 and to this period ; for no other such pieces occur in the annals of the English 
 coinage. The best executed of these twenty-shilling pieces is a very noble 
 coin, having the king on horseback, crowned, and in armour, the horse 
 trampling upon arms and trophies, surrounded by the usual titles; the reverse 
 has the motto, exurgat deus, &c., with relig. prot. leg. ang. liber, par., 
 dated 1644, alluding to his declaration at the breaking out of the war, that 
 he would protect “ the Protestant religion , the laws and liberties of his sub- 
 jects , and the privileges of parliament ” There is also a very beautiful crown 
 of this mint, with a view of the city, seen beneath the horse, and the word 
 oxon above it. The smaller pieces had the king’s head as previously; but 
 the reverses were like those of the great twenty-shilling piece described above. 
 Some of the half-shillings and groats have an open book as mint-mark. 
 
 This coining down of the plate of the colleges caused the barbarous 
 destruction of many rare and interesting relics of the highest antiquity; but 
 such are the inevitable consequences of civil war; for, in 1644, the Commons 
 House of Parliament, with equal recklessness, ordered all the king’s plate in 
 the Tower to be melted down and coined, notwithstanding a remonstrance 
 from the Lords, alleging that the curious workmanship of the ancient pieces 
 was worth more than the metal ; and on many occasions during the most 
 disastrous fortunes of the king, in the latter part of the civil war, when his 
 partizans were in like manner under the necessity of striking money 
 in a rude manner, by coining down their own plate for the relief of their 
 men, many magnificent family monuments perished, as national ones had 
 done by the sacrifices at Oxford and at the Tower. 
 
 No. 12, Plate 9, is one of the early half-crowns of this reign, showing the 
 horse clothed in rich heavy housings, similar to that shown on the crowns of 
 Edward IV. and James I., which were afterwards abandoned for a merely 
 decorative saddle-cloth on the later coins of Charles. The motto has the 
 king’s titles as previously stated ; the reverse has the old shield, &c., with the 
 motto, CHRISTO AUSPICE REGNO. 
 
SILVER COINAGE OF CHARLES I. 
 
 125 
 
 No. 13, Plate 9, is one of the early shillings. No. 5, Plate 10, is the 
 reverse of a sixpence, after the adoption of the oval shield. No. 6, Plate 10, 
 is a reverse of a half-crown, dated 1645, the arms enclosed in the garter, and 
 supported by the lion and unicorn, and has doubtless formed the model of 
 some of our recent half-crowns. 
 
 No. 6^, Plate 10, is a twopenny piece of this coinage, having the bust and 
 oval shield, the motto of the reverse being christo auspice regno. 
 
 No. 4, Plate 9, is the obverse of a rose halfpenny of the Welsh mint. It 
 has the feathers for the reverse. 
 
 The early twopenny pieces had the crowned roses previously mentioned. 
 
 No. 16, Plate 9, is an Oxford twenty-shilling silver piece, showing the 
 horse without the housings in which he is clothed on the earlier pieces; No- 
 17, the Oxford crown, with a view of the city; No. 4, Plate 9, the Oxford 
 shilling, showing the king in armour, and mottoes, as previously described ; 
 No. 10^, Plate 9, an Oxford penny; No. 1 1, Plate 10, a siege piece of Newark, 
 having obs. Newark, 1646, on the reverse, partly covered by a countermark, 
 the royal arms; No. 18, Plate 10, a siege piece of Pontefract, with the castle, 
 and OBS. P. c., 1648 ; and on the reverse, DUM SPIRO SPERO. 
 
 The first Scottish coinage of silver of Charles I. consisted of crowns and 
 half-crowns, which so closely resemble those of his father, except in the name 
 in the legend, that they do not require description. But the pieces coined by 
 the celebrated Briot, whom he took into Scotland for that purpose, and which 
 are much more minutely finished in execution, must not be passed without 
 notice: they consist of crowns, half-crowns, shillings, and sixpences. A 
 second series, also by Briot, issued near the same time, and exhibit little 
 difference in the types, except that the portrait extends quite to the lower 
 edge of the coin. 
 
 There were also issued some coins of more especially Scottish character. 
 These were the small silver pieces, of about the size of an English silver 
 penny, but of the value of twenty -pence Scotch, having the king’s head and 
 XX. on the obverse, and the crowned thistle on the reverse. 
 
 The two-shilling piece, Scotch, was of about the size of the twenty-penny 
 piece, but had the arms of Scotland, crowned, for reverse, instead of the 
 thistle. The noble, or half-mark, had the head and title as usual on 
 the obverse, and the arms of Scotland, &c., on the reverse, with to 
 denote the value, 6s. Sd. Scottish money. The piece is about the size 
 of the English sixpence, and was, as well as all these coins, the work of 
 Briot. 
 
 It was ordered, in this reign, that the term “Irish money” should be 
 abolished, and that hereafter all accounts should be kept in sterling or 
 English moiiey. 
 
 No silver money was issued in regular form, for Ireland, by Charles I. ; 
 but when the troubles commenced, an irregular coinage was struck in 
 Dublin, known as the “ Inchinguin money,” made from the plate subscribed 
 and sent in deference to the royal proclamation, encouraging loyal subjects 
 to send in their plate to be coined in aid of the government This was 
 
COTNS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 126 
 
 hastily coined into crowns, half-crowns, ninepences, sixpences, and groats, with 
 no type or legend, except the numerals indicating the weight. 
 
 This kind of irregular money of Charles I. has generally been classed with 
 his obsessional, or siege money; but it may be more correctly termed “money 
 of necessity,” and may be easily distinguished from that more correctly 
 termed “ siege money,” by the absence of the letters obs., for “ Obssessa” 
 (besieged), generally found on the true siege pieces. 
 
 The following specimens will be found sufficient to illustrate the character 
 of both these classes of irregular coinage : — 
 
 No. 18, Plate 9, is the reverse of a shilling siege piece of Pontefract 
 Castle. The inscription reads, obs. p. c., 1648. The obs. for “Obssessa” 
 (besieged), and P. c. for Pontefract Castle (?). 
 
 Nos. 7 and 8, Plate 10, are the obverse and reverse of silver pennies, 
 struck in Ireland during the civil war. 
 
 No. 9 is a sixpence struck at Cork in 1647. 
 
 No. 10 shows both the obverse and reverse of a three-shilling piece, 
 struck during the siege of Carlisle in 1645, as indicated by the legend obs. 
 carl. 
 
 Nos. 12 and 13 are a fourpenny and a sixpenny piece, apparently of the 
 same coinage as Nos. 7 and 8. 
 
 No. 14 is one of the shillings hastily struck in the Castle of Dublin, in 
 January, 1642, by order of the Lords of the Council, as referred to above, and 
 having only the numerals denoting the weight, as 3 dwt. 21 grs., and no 
 other device or legend. 
 
 Nos. 3 and 4, Plate 20, exhibit the obverse and reverse of a crown piece, 
 struck in the Castle of Dublin, in 1642, after the kings consent had been 
 obtained for that coinage, and consequently bearing the royal crown and 
 initials. The cross on the reverse would apparently indicate that it was 
 struck from silver furnished by the Church ; probably the Catholic Church 
 in Ireland. 
 
 No. 2, Plate 20, is a shilling marked XII., dated 1645, with OBS. CARL., 
 showing that it was one of the pieces struck for the king, by Sir Thomas 
 Glemham, at Carlisle; it is of nearly the same types as No. 10. 
 
 No. 1, Plate 20, is a crown piece, with “V. S.” for five shillings, in a small 
 circle, evidently very hastily struck, as there is no device whatever on the 
 other side. 
 
 No. 5, Plate 20, is one of the shillings struck for the king at Cork 
 in 1647. 
 
 Nos. 6 and 7, Plate 20, are the obverse and reverse of a shilling, struck 
 during the siege of Newark, but not countermarked like the one previously 
 described. 
 
 Nos. 9 and 10, Plate 20, are shillings rudely struck upon pieces of plate 
 hastily cut into squares, and stamped with a coarse representation of a castle, 
 and generally believed to be Colchester. 
 
 No. 8, Plate 20, is a piece of plate stamped with “V. S.,” to pass as five 
 shillings, and also with a representation of a castle. It is assigned to Scar- 
 
GOLD COINAGE OF CHARLES I. 
 
 127 
 
 borough. The mouldings of the piece of plate, probably a large salver, remain 
 at one side of this piece. 
 
 Nos. 11 and 12, Plate 20, are the obverse and reverse of a shilling struck 
 at Pontefract, in the royal cause, after the death of the king. The legend 
 being post mortem patris pro filio. Previous pieces struck at this place 
 had, as described, the motto DVM SPIRO SPERO. 
 
 No. 13, Plate 20, is a rude octagonal siege piece, generally attributed to 
 Colchester. The motto — CAROL! FORTUNA resurgam — indicating that it 
 was struck during some favourable turn in the affairs of the royal cause, 
 towards the end of the civil war. 
 
 In order to give the student a more complete idea of the nature of “ siege 
 pieces,” and other “ money of necessity,” a brief account of some of the most 
 remarkable continental examples of money of this description will be found 
 at the end of this chapter. 
 
 Of the irregular coins and siege pieces of this reign, above described, there is 
 a great variety, both of gold and silver ; yet some have doubted the authenticity 
 of the whole of it, on account of the silence of co temporary documents ; but 
 of the pieces of Pontefract Sir H. Ellis has recently discovered the cotem- 
 porary notice required. It is contained in a newspaper of the time — The 
 Kingdom s Faithful and Impartial Scout , February 5th, 1618 : in which 
 some of the square Pontefract shillings, found on a royalist prisoner by the 
 republicans, are described as being stamped on one side with a castle, and 
 the letters “P. 0.,” and on the other with a crown, having “C. R.” on each' side 
 of it : a perfectly correct description, with the exception of mistaking the 
 C for O, which does, in fact, in some specimens appear nearly round. Other 
 siege pieces of Charles are engraved in Plate 20, and at the end of this reign 
 will be found an account of similar siege pieces, struck in other countries. 
 
 The gold coinage of this reign is not various. The fine old sovereigns, or 
 rials, with the king enthroned, as also the nobles, were finally abandoned 
 after the beginning of the reign ; but a small coinage of angels was issued, 
 similar to those of James I , with the arms on the sail. 
 
 The principal coins in the early part of the reign were — the unit, or broad 
 piece (twenty shillings), with its half and quarter ; first with the old garnished 
 shield, and subsequently with the oval shield; some having on the reverse 
 the motto, florent concordia regna ; others, cultores sui deus protegit ; 
 the largest of these pieces had XX. behind the head, the next X., and the 
 smallest V., to indicate their respective values. 
 
 The gold pieces struck at Oxford were three pounds, pounds, and ten- 
 shilling pieces, having a head of the king very meanly executed, holding the 
 olive branch as well as the sword, and having on the reverse the motto, 
 exurgat, &c., and relig. PRO., &c. Coins of this pattern are popularly 
 called the “ exurgat money.” 
 
 T1 le large piece of three pounds had the numerals III. on the reverse, the 
 lesser pieces XX. and X. respectively, behind the head. The ten-shilling 
 pieces are without the olive branch and sword of the larger ones. Space will 
 not allow me to give specimens of the largest Oxford piece with the olive 
 
128 
 
 COINS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 branch, which is, as stated, very poor in execution; but No. 3, Plate 10, is a 
 reverse of one of the twenty-shilling pieces. 
 
 No. 1, Plate 10, is the first gold unit with the oval shield. 
 
 No. 19, Plate 9, is a quarter unit with the oval shield; and No. 2, 
 Plate 10, a quarter unit with the old shield. 
 
 The first Scottish gold coins of Charles were the fine “ sceptres” similar 
 in types and style to those of his father — being unlike any of his English gold 
 — and in fact a finer gold coin than any he ever issued in England. This 
 remark applies especially to those of the second issue, executed by Briot, 
 which have the motto, his. pr.esvm vt prosim on the reverse. This “ sceptre” 
 was coined as a £12 piece, Scotch, but probably passed, on account of its 
 weight, at £13 13s. There was an issue in Scotland of gold crowns, half- 
 crowns, &e., very similar to those of James I. : these are inferior to the series 
 executed by Briot. 
 
 In the beginning of this reign copper farthings were issued for Ireland, 
 in virtue of the patent granted to the Duchess Dowager of Richmond. The 
 types are the same as those of James I. A farthing, issued in virtue of the 
 patent granted to Henry Lord Maltravers and Sir F. Crane, differed in having 
 a rose instead of the harp on the reverse. 
 
 The copper coinage was continued in Scotland — twopenny pieces 
 becoming known as “ Turners,” from their analogy with the Gros Tournois 
 of the Continent ; and it was enacted that they should, in consequence of 
 their lightness — not being above half the weight of those struck by James 
 previous to his accession to the English throne — only pass for one penny. An 
 act was afterwards proposed, but rejected, which would have reduced them 
 to one halfpenny. They were not, in reality, worth above one farthing 
 English, the Scottish penny having, in fact, become a distinct coin from that 
 of England. An example of the Scotch twopenny piece of Charles I. is 
 engraved in Plate 19, No. 18. 
 
 New proclamations were issued in this reign against private farthing 
 tokens of copper or lead, circulating in England ; but no good remedy was 
 applied to the inconvenience which called them into existence, though the 
 privilege of making authorized farthings was granted to the Duchess of 
 Richmond and others for seventeen years: the farthings made under these 
 patents being below their intrinsic value, and causing endless discontent and 
 disturbance. A pattern for a farthing of full size was made by Briot, but not 
 issued. (See Plate 22, No. 5.) 
 
 In the reign of Charles I. pieces were coined for circulation in New 
 England by Lord Baltimore, who was privileged to strike money for circula- 
 tion in that colony ; and other pieces were afterwards issued of the same class. 
 Those with the portrait of Lord Baltimore were issued either during the 
 Commonwealth or in the reign of Charles II. 
 
 Charles, with a natural love of art, took great interest in the devices 
 of his coinage ; and when Briot returned to France, he advanced Thomas 
 Rawlins, who had been associated with the French engraver in pre- 
 paring his dies, to the office of his chief engraver. On the breaking 
 
ENGRAVERS OF THE MONEV OF CHARLES I. 
 
 129 
 
 out of the war in 1642, Rawlins followed the fortunes of the king, 
 and engraved in the camp many of the hastily executed dies for “ striking 
 the money of necessity,” and probably several of the “siege pieces.” 
 He is known to have engraved the rude Kineton medal, and also 
 several of very good workmanship, among which may be named the 
 Oxford crown of 1645. The die of the celebrated pattern for a £5 gold 
 piece was probably engraved by Rawlins, among other work executed at 
 Oxford. The king preserved the pattern piece from this die to the 
 last ; and when on the scaffold, wishing to present some small memorial as 
 a memento to Bishop Juxon, who had administered to him the last offices 
 of religion, he found that his earthly possessions had dwindled to that single 
 gold piece, and he gave it as the only gift he had left to bestow. The 
 coining of that piece had probably been one of his last acts of sovereignty, 
 and he had possibly clung to it on that account, as vividly recalling his last 
 days of power. The piece was preserved as an heirloom in the bishop’s family 
 for several generations, and at last found its way into the celebrated collec- 
 tion of Mr. Cuff. At the sale of that cabinet the possession of this interesting 
 historical monument was keenly contested, the biddings rapidly rising till 
 a nod from an agent of the British Museum brought the price up to 250 
 guineas. It was not destined, however, to go to the national collection; 
 for that sum reached the extreme limit to which the agent for the museum 
 was authorized to go. And the present possessor, bidding at once vten 
 guineas more, secured the coveted prize without further opposition, at 
 the price of 260 guineas. The account of the sale in the newspapers, 
 accompanied as it was with a graphic description of the different bidders for 
 the celebrated £5 piece, excited so much curiosity, that the entrance of the 
 quiet abode of its fortunate possessor was soon besieged with applicants anxious 
 to obtain a sight of it. Bevies of ladies, young and old, tripped from 
 their carriages, and crowding up the staircases, filled the little treasure room of 
 the new proprietor, who, while glorying in the addition to his cabinet, soon 
 became terrified at the kind of publicity into which he felt himself being 
 dragged ; and had not other and newer attractions drawn off the tide of public 
 curiosity in some other direction, he would, doubtless, in self-defence, have 
 packed off his treasure to the first numismatic sale, to get rid of the nuisance 
 which its possession seemed likely to entail. This piece has, on the obverse, 
 the portrait of the king, rather “ wiry ” in execution, but an excellent 
 likeness. On the reverse are the royal arms, on a very highly-raised oval 
 shield, with the motto, so singularly inappropriate on the coinage of Charles, 
 florent CONCORDIA REGNA. Rawlins appears still to have followed his 
 calling as an engraver after the fall of the unfortunate king, though without 
 any official appointment ; and he lived to see the expulsion of another Stuart 
 from the throne of England, as we find him engraving tokens for the Mayor 
 of Oxford as late as 1692 ; and his initial, “ R,” is found on the farthing tokens 
 of Oxford and Gloucester. 
 
COINS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 130 
 
 FOREIGN SIEGE PIECES. 
 
 As examples of foreign siege pieces of analogous character to those of the 
 civil wars of Charles I. and the parliament, I have engraved the following: — 
 
 No. 1, Plate 21, is a gold ducat struck by Charles Duke of Sundermania* 
 in 1598, during the war with Sigismund III., King of Poland. It has for 
 type a wheat-sheaf (the arms of Vasa), and the letters c. D. S., for “ Carolus 
 Dux Sundermanhe.” The reverse has the name of Jehovah, in Hebrew 
 characters, with a glory, and on the corners the numerals 1. 5.8.9., the date, 
 1589. Silver was struck at the same time, which had “ C. D. S.” under a 
 coronet, and the letters “ I. M.,” for one mark, on the obverse. 
 
 No. 2, Plate 21, was struck in the war against John Frederick, the elector, 
 by Duke Maurice of Saxony, chief of the Protestant League of Germany, in 
 1517, and an ancestor of the present royal family of England. The elector 
 having laid siege to Leipsic, the duke was compelled to strike obsidional 
 money to pay the troops during the siege, which was, however, raised on the 
 arrival of the emperor. This gold piece is very neatly executed. On the 
 obverse are the arms of Saxony, and mori-her. z. s., for “ Morizts Hertzog 
 zu Sachsen” (Maurice Duke of Saxony) ; and on the reverse the arms of 
 Leipsic, and her. hans. frid. belegert Leipzig, mense. ian an. mdxlvii, for 
 “ Hertzog Hans Friderick Belegert Leipzig, Mense Januarii, Anno mdxlvii” 
 (The Duke John Frederick, besieged Leipsic in the month of January, ] 547). 
 
 No. 9, Plate 21, is a copper piece struck by Gustavus I., of Sweden. 
 After his escape from the fortress in which he was imprisoned by Christian II. 
 King of Denmark, he succeeded in raising the Swedish spirit of independence, 
 and was eventually declared king after driving Christian from the kingdom. 
 The portrait of Gustavus, a half-figure in armour, occupies the obverse of 
 this piece, and on the reverse “ G,” the initial of his name, and three crowns, 
 the arms of Sweden, and two arrows, the arms of Dalecarlia, where he first 
 raised the standard of revolt. Some of these coins have the legend ERICSON 
 (after the Swedish manner, as Son of Eric) ; which inscription, by a blunder 
 of the engraver, reads backwards. 
 
 No. 3, Plate 21, is a siege piece, struck during the well-known siege of 
 Vienna by the Turks, in 1529. The Vaivode of Transylvania, son of Stephen 
 Tapolski, became a pretender to the throne of Hungary, to the prejudice 
 of the Archduke Ferdinand; and calling to his assistance the formidable 
 Soliman II., a numerous Turkish army laid siege to Vienna. After a general 
 assault had failed, the Duke of Bavaria, commander of the Austrian troops, 
 determined to attack the enemy’s camp, which he did so unexpectedly 
 and so successfully that 40,000 of the enemy are said to have been 
 destroyed, and the siege was raised. The coin under description was struck 
 during the siege, and has on the obverse the portrait of the Emperor 
 Ferdinand, with the date 1529 ; and on the reverse, the arms of Austria. 
 This piece is gold, but at the same time pieces, both of silver and lead, of 
 similar character, were issued, few of them, however, having the bust of the 
 
SIEGE PIECES OF OSNABURG. 
 
 131 
 
 emperor. No. 10 is a lead coin struck during the siege, with the inscription 
 tvrk belegert wien — “ The Turks besieged Vienna.” 
 
 No. 4, Plate 21, is a silver piece struck in the French fortress town of 
 Landau, during the siege of the place by the imperialists in 1702. During 
 its blockade by Prince Louis of Baden, and the King of the Romans, between 
 the 19th of June and the 9th of September, these well-known siege pieces 
 were struck. Though Landau was strongly fortified by Vauban in 1681, the 
 counterscarp was stormed on the nights of the 14th and 15th of August ; and, 
 on the 9th of September, further advantages having been obtained, the 
 governor and garrison, of 3,000 men, were compelled to surrender. This 
 irregular piece is stamped to pass for four livres and four sols, and bears 
 the name of Landau, and the date, with the arms of the governor, the Count 
 de Linange, under whose direction this siege money was struck. 
 
 No. 10, Plate 21, is a piece struck by Marshal Turrenne, from his own 
 plate, when before St. Venant, on the frontiers of Flanders, which he retook 
 from the Spaniards three days after opening the trenches. This is not an 
 obsidional or siege piece, as it was struck by the besiegers and not the 
 besieged ; it is classed, therefore, under the head of “ money of necessity.” 
 The inscription is fully descriptive of its origin and purport. It is also 
 stamped with the fleur-de-lis of France. 
 
 No. 5, Plate 21, is a siege piece struck in the town of Osnaburg, besieged 
 by the Swedes, from June to September, 1633, under the command of 
 Gustavus Gustavson. The Count of Warlemberg, Bishop of Osnaburg, quitted 
 the town in the beginning of the siege, leaving orders to coin all his plate 
 into money to pay the garrison. The place surrendered to the Swedes on 
 the 1st of September. The piece under description has, on the side engraved, 
 a figure of St. Peter, wearing a triple crown, supporting the arms -of 
 Osnaburg, of Bavaria, and of the Palatinate. This piece weighs nearly an 
 ounce. 
 
 No. 6, Plate 21 . During the war of independence in the Low Countries, 
 the Spaniards, commanded by the Marquis of Spinola, unexpectedly laid 
 siege to the strong town of Breda, the garrison of which was commanded by 
 Justin of Nassau, a natural son of the Prince of Orange. The place was 
 defended with the greatest obstinacy, and the citizens, after giving up all 
 their coin to pay the troops, afterwards gave their plate, to which was added, 
 that of all the officers of the garrison. The place, however, not being 
 relieved, was surrendered on the 5tli of July in the same year — the garrison 
 marching out with the honours of war. This copper piece was made to pass 
 for two sols, as indicated by the Roman numerals II. The small shield of 
 arms are those of the town, and the legend is simply BREDA obssessa. 
 There are large silver pieces of forty sols, having the Belgian lion on the 
 obverse, and some have the arms of Prince Maurice, as seigneur, or lord 
 of Breda. 
 
 No. 7, Plate 21, is a siege piece struck by the citizens of Campen, in 
 1578, from their family plate, to pay the Spanish garrison, in order to 
 preserve themselves and families from the insolence of the soldiery, who 
 
132 
 
 COINS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES T. 
 
 were eventually obliged to surrender the place to the Dutch general, Count 
 Nunnenberg, after a long siege. 
 
 That the inhabitants were drained of their last resource by the wants of 
 the hostile garrison they had to supply, is shown by the inscription on this 
 piece, extremum SUBSIDIUM campense — “ The last resource of Campen.” 
 The piece is silver, and the mark xj st. shows that it passed for ten styvers 
 and a-half. 
 
 No. 8, Plate 21. During the siege of Magdeburgh, in 1551, which was 
 defended by the Protestant League against the Emperor Charles V., the 
 inhabitants were compelled to coin all their silver plate for the purposes of 
 the defence, which was conducted with the greatest bravery. On the 
 night of the 15th of November they made a brilliant sortie, in which the 
 enemy’s cavalry was totally defeated, and George Duke of Mecklenburg, 
 one of the imperial commanders, taken prisoner. Nevertheless, being 
 pressed by hunger and reduced to the last extremity, they were eventually 
 compelled to surrender the place — upon apparently very hard terms — but 
 with a secret clause that they should be allowed the free exercise of their 
 religion. This siege piece, of which both sides are engraved, is of gold, and 
 has a figure of St. Maurice, the patron saint of the cathedral, on the obverse 
 and reverse, and the letters s. M., for “ Sanctus Mauritius.” 
 
 No. 11, Plate 21, is a coin struck during the memorable siege of Pavia by 
 Francis I. The French king having entered Italy with an army of 40,000 
 men, and taken Milan, laid siege to Pavia, which was defended by one of the 
 most skilful of the imperialist generals, Antonio de Leva. The garrison 
 having mutinied for want of pay, he converted his own plate into money for 
 them, and when that resource was exhausted, he obtained the silver plate and 
 ornaments of the church; but the German garrison having a third time 
 demanded pay, De Leva caused his own private jewels of gold to be coined 
 into money, and the present example was coined from that source. It bears 
 the initial letters of Antonio Leva, “A. L.,” and the date 1524. Some of the 
 silver pieces have c.e.s. p.p. ob., for “ Cessareis Papise Obsessis,” (The 
 imperialists besieged in Pavia), with the same date 1524. The famous battle 
 of Pavia was fought under the walls, in which Francis himself was taken 
 prisoner, and carried to Madrid. 
 
133 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 COINS OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND OF THE PROTECTOR CROMWELL. 
 
 The Commonwealth (1648 to 1660), with the energetic Cromwell as its 
 directing genius, proceeded at once to effect great changes in the coinage. 
 The loyal Folkes, however, makes no place in his account of the British 
 coinage for the monetary proceedings of the Commonwealth, hut includes all 
 the money of that period in his account of the coinage of Charles II. The 
 royal arms were thrown aside in the republican coinage, and the simple cross 
 of St. George, as the suitable badge of Puritanical England, was adopted. It 
 was placed within a palm and an olive branch, and had for legend, in good plain 
 English — Latin legends being objected to as unnational — the commonwealth 
 of ENGLAND. On the reverse were two joined shields, one bearing the cross 
 of St. George, the other the harp of Ireland, and the motto, also in English, 
 god with us, and the date; that of the first being 1649. Sir Robert 
 Harley, who had formerly been master of the mint for the late king, though 
 he had accepted a re-appointment from the parliament, yet refused to carry 
 into effect this innovation in the types of the coins; and Aaron Guerdain, 
 doctor of physic, was appointed in his place, under whose direction the 
 change was effected. 
 
 The issue consisted of crowns, half-crowns, shillings, and half-shillings, 
 
 7 7 o 7 o 7 
 
 and pieces of twopence, a penny, and a halfpenny. The larger pieces all 
 bore the same devices, with the exception of being marked with Roman 
 numerals to indicate their value. The smaller pieces had no mottoes, and 
 the halfpenny had simply the cross on the one side and the harp on the 
 other. 
 
 On the perfect restoration of tranquillity, and the cooling down of the 
 national mind from the turmoil and excitement of the civil war, towards 
 1651, Cromwell tried to avail himself of all the most recent improvements in 
 coining, already adopted by several continental nations. He determined 
 that in beauty of mechanical execution the coins of this nation should not 
 be behind any in the world; and Pierre Blondeau, a Frenchman, an artist 
 . who had carried to perfection the most approved modes of stamping coin by 
 the mill and screw, was invited to England. 
 
 On his arrival he produced patterns of half-crowns, shillings, and 
 half-shillings, coined by the new mill and screw, by which means, with 
 the aid of a collar, a legend was impressed for the first time upon the 
 edge. 
 
 Blondeau’s first pattern half-crown bore on the edge TRUTH and peace, 
 1651, petrus blondeus; another, in the third yeare of freedome by 
 
134 COINS OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND OF THE PROTECTOR CROMWELL. 
 
 god’s blessing restored, “ no less artfully impressed,” as Folkes 
 quaintly informs his readers. The shillings and sixpences were beauti- 
 fully grained on the edges, and the pieces were brought to their true 
 weight with the utmost exactness. It is thought that the devices of 
 these pieces were designed and executed by Simon, Blondeau only having 
 to do with the mechanical production of the coining from Simon’s 
 dies. A specimen of this pattern sold, in 1838, for £8 5s. An engage- 
 ment was immediately entered into with Blondeau to work these pieces, 
 which bore the usual device of the Commonwealth. But no issue was 
 ever made of them; they can therefore only be considered as patterns, 
 and are very rare. The established workers of the mint also sent in fresh 
 rival patterns, one designed by David Rammage had the double shield, 
 supported by winged figures, with the motto, guarded by Angeles. In 
 the end, the opposition of the existing functionaries in the mint, frustrated 
 the plans of Blondeau, who was prevented from carrying into effect his pro- 
 jected reforms; an interesting paper on which subject will be found in the 
 Transactions of the Numismatic Society. The screw process was, however, 
 adopted, though without the immediate aid of Blondeau, who appears to have 
 been ill used. 
 
 In the latter part of the protectorate, after his second solemn investiture, 
 Cromwell caused coins to be executed bearing his bust ; but it is supposed 
 that few, if any, were issued, as coins of the old type of the same date are 
 much more numerous ; they must therefore be regarded as patterns. They 
 are exceedingly well executed by the screw process, and have the laureated 
 bust of the protector, with olivar. d. g. r. p. ang. sco. et. hib. etc. pro., 
 his assumed title, “ Protector of the Republic of England, Scotland, and 
 Ireland,” substituting ETC. for France. The bust is the work of the 
 celebrated Simon, and most beautifully executed, in a manner far superior in 
 point of art to anything that had ever before been seen upon an English coin. 
 The crowns and half-crowns are indeed most remarkable medals, as regards 
 both the engraver’s and the coiner’s art; and extravagant prices are given 
 by collectors for good specimens of them. The reverses have a crowned 
 shield, on which are quartered the republican arms of England (the cross), 
 with the cross of Scotland and the harp of Ireland, and in the centre, his 
 own paternal arms on an escutcheon, the legend being pax QLUERITUR bello. 
 These crowns and half-crowns have, beautifully impressed on the edge, the 
 legend has. nisi, peritvrvs. mihi. adimat. nemo. The shillings and six- 
 pences of the same types are very neatly grained. They also were the 
 best executed coins of their class that had ever issued from the English, 
 or perhaps any foreign mint. 
 
 There were a few ninepenny pieces struck, as patterns, which have 
 become so rare that, in 1838, a specimen was sold for £4 16s. 
 
 The silver standard adopted by the Commonwealth was 11 oz. 2 dwts. 
 line, and 18 dwts. alloy. Specimen No. 15, Plate 10, is the first half-crown 
 of the Commonwealth. No. 21, Plate 10, is the half-crown with the bust of 
 the protector. No. 20, Plate 10, is the reverse of the pattern for a half- 
 
THE RIVAL ENGRAVERS, BLONDEAU AND RAMMAGE. 
 
 135 
 
 crown, prepared for the ordinary workers of the mint in rivalry with 
 Blondeau, by David Rammage. 
 
 The gold coins bore the same devices and mottoes as the silver ones, and 
 were simply twenty-shilling, ten, and five-shilling pieces ; the twenty - 
 shilling pieces contained 3 dwts. 20 grs., of 22 carats gold. No. 17, Plate 10, 
 is the reverse of one of the first twenty-shilling pieces. No. 22, Plate 10, is a 
 later one, with the bust of the protector, which is not near so good a likeness 
 or so well executed as those on the silver pieces. On the gold coin the bust 
 is represented without drapery — a distinction subsequently adopted in suc- 
 ceeding coinages up to George III., with the exception of those of Queen 
 Anne, who somewhat fastidiously objected on the score of delicacy. Some 
 few of her gold coins nevertheless exist without the drapery ; but they are 
 probably only suppressed patterns. The twenty-shilling piece of the pro- 
 tector appears smaller than previous ones, in consequence of being much 
 thicker, the milled pieces becoming generally smaller and thicker than the 
 previous hammered ones, or broad pieces, as they were termed, after the issue 
 of the thicker money coined by the mill and screw process. 
 
 The trials of copper farthings were again repeated during the Common- 
 wealth, but it is supposed were never issued, though many patterns were 
 made. No. 18, Plate 10, is one of the patterns, and the following specimen 
 (No. 19) another of the reverses, which appeared on different patterns; the 
 legend round the head was, like most other Commonwealth coins, in English, 
 and reads, OLIVER PRO. ENG. SCO. AND. ire. Some of the reverses had con- 
 venient . CHANGE; others, a ship, symbolizing “the State,” with the motto, 
 god direct our course. No. 19 had three columns, being respectively 
 symbolical of England, Scotland, and Ireland, united by a, twisted band, with 
 the motto, thus united invincible; another had charity and change. 
 The only mint during the Commonwealth and Protectorate was that of the 
 Tower of London. These farthings were intended to supersede the great 
 numbers of private tokens in circulation, which, during the civil wars, had 
 increased to an enormous extent, to be noticed in the reign of Charles II 
 
 No coins appear to have been struck in Scotland during the Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 In Ireland, during the troubled part of the reign of Charles I., and also 
 during the Commonwealth, great numbers of town tokens were struck, as in 
 England. These pieces resembled the English in their general style. It 
 would appear that an attempt had been made to supersede them, as in Eng- 
 land, by the issue of a copper coin by the government; specimens being 
 known of a copper farthing, thought to have been struck at that time, 
 having on the obverse the arms of the Commonwealth, and on the reverse, 
 A CORKE FARTHING. (No. 20, Plate 18.) 
 
 The pattern farthings of the Protectorate are much sought after by collec- 
 tors, and some of the most rare fetch high prices whenever they are brought 
 to the hammer. A pattern, with England’s farthing for necessary 
 change, was sold in 1838 for £2 9s.; and one, with the head of Cromwell 
 on the obverse, and CHARITIE AND CHANGE on the reverse, for £8 12s. 
 
136 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 CHARLES II. (1660 to 1684). On his accession in the year 1660, there 
 were issued silver coins, from half crowns downwards, with the exception of 
 groats and quarter-shillings, which were soon after added. They were, with 
 a view perhaps of restoring the ancient monarchical feeling, much like the 
 earliest of his fathers coins, with the old shield traversed by the cross-fleurie, 
 and the same mottoes, the new improvements of the mill and screw being 
 also abandoned, and the coins again produced by the old process of the 
 hammer. Pepys says, in his interesting diary (1660), in reference to this 
 coinage, “ Saw Mr. Slingsby, who did show me the stamps of the king’s new 
 coin ; which is strange to see how good they are in the stamp and bad in 
 the money for the lack of skill to make them ; but he says Blondeau will 
 soon come over, and then we shall have it better, and the best in the 
 world.” 
 
 The first issue of shillings, &c., was without numerals indicating the 
 value, and without the inner circle ; a second issue had the numerals, but 
 still no inner circle was added; but in 1661 the respective values were 
 ordered to be stamped on each, and these new coins had also the inner circle 
 or line within the legend, absent in the first. These first silver coins of 
 Charles II. may be said to be the last of our series which represent the 
 sovereign in the costume of the day. Some have the lace collar over armour, 
 and others over an ermine robe, all being crowned, also for the last time ; no 
 subsequent English coin having borne a “ crowned head,” in a literal sense, 
 till the issue of the florins of Victoria. 
 
 In 1662 the previously-mentioned Peter Blondeau was again engaged to 
 direct the mintage upon the new principle of the mill and screw ; and a 
 competition for engraving the dies was entered into between the celebrated 
 Simon, who had engraved the dies for the protector’s last coins, and John 
 Roettier of Antwerp, which was unfairly decided in favour of Rosttier. 
 Simon afterwards produced a pattern crown, most exquisitely engraved, 
 which, is considered one of the finest examples of the numismatic art of 
 that Or any period. It was certainly very superior to any cotemporary 
 work if the class, if we except his own previous works, the busts of Crom- 
 well on the crowns and half-crowns, which, in some respects, equal, if they 
 do not surpass that of Charles on the celebrated petition crown. - A 
 
 On the edge of this famous coin is inscribed Simon’s petition to the king 
 against the previous unjust decision ; which was of course unheeded. The 
 petition runs, “ Thomas Simon most humbly prays your Majesty to compare 
 
■MBMm 
 
 Day & Son Iitli xs To thei Queen. 
 

 
 
 
IMPROVED COINAGE OF CHARLES IT. 
 
 1ST 
 
 this his tryal piece with the Dutch, and if more truly drawn and 
 embossed, more gracefully ordered, and more accurately engraven, to 
 relieve him.” * 
 
 In 1663 the first issue of the improved coinage took place, con- 
 sisting of crowns, half-crowns, and half-shillings, very well executed, 
 though inferior to Simon’s pattern. They display the king’s head 
 laureated, and the shoulders mantled in the conventional Roman style, 
 with CAROLUS II. DEI GRATIA. The head is turned to the left, the contrary 
 direction to that of the head of Cromwell, on his coins. This is the first 
 example of the since generally adopted custom of placing the king’s head on 
 his coin in a direction contrary to that of his predecessor. It was perhaps 
 suggested in the present instance, by a feeling of aversion to the memory of 
 Cromwell, on whose effigy the king probably wished that his own should 
 turn its back. The reverses of the silver coinage of 1663 consist 6f four 
 shields, forming a cross, having the arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 
 with the linked C’s in the angles, the Star of the Garter in the centre, 
 and around, the king’s titles and the date. The crowns and half-crowns 
 have decus ET tutamen on the edge, which, like the patterns of notching or 
 graining, was considered a preventive to the practice of “ clipping.” This 
 motto, Evelyn says, was suggested by himself to the mint-master, to 
 intimate that it was at once an ornament and a protection to the coin.t 
 The shillings and sixpences were simply finished at the edge, first by an 
 upright notching, and afterwards by an oblique one. Some of the larger 
 coins have on the edges the year of the reign in numerals, as anno regni 
 XVIII. ; or sometimes written, as tricessimo SEXTO (36) ; by which numbers it 
 will be seen that the reign was calculated from the death of Charles I., leaving 
 out the Commonwealth. The portrait, attired in the costume of the day, as 
 above alluded to, was now finally abandoned, the first and second issue of 
 Charles being the latest examples of that style. The feeling of the new 
 device was doubtless taken from the designs of Simon, who had previously 
 adopted it in the busts of the protector. 
 
 In reference to Blondeau’s first coinage, Pepys says, “ There dined with 
 us to-day (at the Lord Mayor’s) Mr. Slingsby of the mint, who showed us all 
 the new pieces, both of gold and silver — examples of them all that were made 
 for the king by Blondeau’s way ; and compared them with those made for 
 Oliver. The pictures of the latter made by Symons, and of the king by one 
 Rotyer, a German, I think, that dined with us also. He (Slingsby) extols 
 those of Rotyer above the others ; and, indeed, I think they are the better, 
 because the sweeter, of the two. But, upon my word, those of the protector 
 are more like, in my mind, than the king’s; but both very well worth 
 seeing. The crowns of Cromwell are now sold, it seems, for 2 5s. or 306*. 
 a-piece.” Pepys, when expressing his astonishment that they should be 
 
 * Simon had been several years one of the chief engravers of the mint, and had prepared 
 some of the first money; but it is conjectured that he was finally discharged after this trial; 
 perhaps as having permanently desecrated his talents by having used them in the service 
 of the protector. 
 
 f Hawkins. 
 
 K 
 
138 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 worth 25s. to 30s. each, little thought they would eventually become worth 
 more than twice as many pounds. Although the great improvement in the 
 fabrication of the coin appears to have been more generally appreciated than 
 novelties generally are, yet there were plenty of cavillers; for with some, 
 innovations, even when obvious improvements, do not cease, on that account, 
 to be abominations ; and so it appears to have been with Pepys’s friend, 
 Alderman Blackwell, who, while acknowledging that the great perfection of 
 the fabrication rendered counterfeiting almost impossible, yet pronounced it 
 “ deadly inconvenient for telling,” on account of being “ so thick,” and 
 having the edges made “ to turn up.” 
 
 The conventional Roman style in the portraiture of the coinage was 
 introduced in France about the reign of Louis XIII., and in matters of taste 
 France began at that time to influence very sensibly that of England. The 
 disposition of the four shields in the form of a cross — that extremely pleasing 
 device which continued to the reign of George III. — was also, I have no 
 doubt, an idea of Simon’s, judging from early patterns of his, in which it is 
 imperfectly shadowed out, as completed in his pattern crown. 
 
 The smaller coins of this issue were allowed to retain the old types. 
 Soon after, however, the small coins were assimilated in style, the groat 
 being distinguished by four linked C’s, the three-penny piece by three, the 
 two-penny piece by two, and the penny by a single C, silver halfpennies 
 being no longer coined. 
 
 The coins below sixpence, after this introduction of the screw process, were, 
 however, only struck for maundy money; and in order to conform to the 
 old custom of distributing the royal bounty on Holy, or Maundy Thursday, 
 when a white bag was given to a certain number of poor persons, containing 
 as many coins as the age of the king numbered in years. 
 
 No. 1, Plate II, is a sixpence of the second issue, the portrait-bust of the 
 old style being still adhered to, with a line inside the legend, and the numerals 
 to denote the value. No. 4, Plate 11, is the halfpenny of that or the first 
 coinage, — perhaps one of the last silver halfpence that were coined, as they 
 disappear after this reign No. 2, Plate 11, is a sixpence of the new 
 coinage by mill and screw, when the Roman head was adopted for all the 
 coins; the four shields forming a cross for the reverse of all the larger 
 ones ; the smaller, from fourpence down to a penny, having four, three, two, 
 and one crowned C’s, to indicate their respective values, as shown in 
 Specimens 5 and 6, Plate 11. They were, however, no longer coined for 
 circulation, as stated, but merely as maundy money. The dies for all, or 
 nearly all, the coins issued after the introduction of the mill and screw 
 were executed by Roettier, and some of them closely approached in excellence 
 the workmanship of Simon himself. 
 
 No. 3, Plate 11, is the fine pattern crown of Simon, which has the 
 petition on the edge, and the name of the engraver, SIMON, under the 
 bust. 
 
 As this piece is considered one of the chief features of a complete cabinet 
 of English coins, it may be interesting to many of my readers to know 
 
simon’s petition crown — Charles ii. 
 
 139 
 
 something of the number of impressions that were struck, with such other 
 particulars concerning them as may enable a young collector to judge of the 
 value of any specimen of the petition crown that may fall in his way. 
 It appears from the careful investigations of recent numismatists, and 
 especially from those of Mr. Bergne, that several variations of the patterns 
 were made in different trials, but that the whole of the impressions, includ- 
 ing the varieties, were very limited in number, as will be seen by the 
 following summary of all that is known concerning them. 
 
 The varieties are four in number; their difference consisting only in 
 the inscription on the edge of them : that with the petition, which was the 
 original on the edge, is the most highly valued. Of this variety fourteen or 
 fifteen are known, all of them being of silver, and none of lead or pewter, as is 
 the case with some of the other varieties. In the memoirs of Thomas Hollis, 
 the actual petition crown presented to Charles II. by Simon, is said to 'have 
 been given by the king to the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, whose son gave 
 it to the Earl of Oxford, at whose death, in 1712, it was purchased by the 
 well known numismatist, Martin Folkes, for the sum of £20. But this 
 price given by the enthusiastic Folkes could not be maintained, and it was 
 sold to Thomas Hollis in 1756 for the reduced sum of £12. Its reputation, 
 however, as an important and most beautiful national monument, rapidly 
 increased after that time, and Dr. Disney, Hollis’s executor, sold it to Barre 
 Roberts for the sum of £105. The cabinet of that collector was purchased 
 for the British Museum, and the original petition crown formed one of its 
 most brilliant features. There was, unfortunately, another impression of 
 the petition crown in the cabinet of the British Museum, which had come to 
 that institution with the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, and in selecting a 
 number of duplicates for sale in the year 1811, the original petition crown 
 was unluckily included in the number. It was purchased by Marmaduke 
 Trattle, at whose sale, in 1832, it fell into the possession of Colonel Durrant, 
 who, after a keen competition, secured the prize for the sum of £225 ; this 
 was the highest price it ever realized; for at Colonel Durrant’s sale, in 1847, 
 it was sold for £155 to Mr. C. S. Bale. The piece is in most perfect 
 preservation — a fleur -de-coin, as the collectors have it — that is, as it came 
 from the die ; and is still in the case, which, from its style of appearance and 
 manufacture, is evidently of the same date as the coin itself, and in all 
 probability the very one in which it was placed by Simon for presentation 
 to the king. 
 
 A second well-known specimen of the petition crown was bought at Sir 
 Mark Sykes’s sale, in 1824, for £210, which, in 1842, sold for £170, showing 
 a decrease in the intensity of dilletanteism precisely corresponding with that 
 which marked the last sales of the original piece. Another impression from 
 the same die was purchased by Miss Banks, in 1802, for £90, and bequeathed 
 by her to the Mint. These three are all first-class impressions, the first two 
 being the best. The one in the Museum, which was received with the 
 Sloane collection, is very fine. But the finest of all is said to be the one in 
 the collection of the celebrated Dr. Hunter, which, with his entire cabinet. 
 
.140 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 was bequeathed by him to the city of Glasgow. This fine impression 
 was procured by Dr. Hunter from Dr. Sadleir, but nothing is known of its 
 previous possessors, nor of the prices paid either by Dr. Sadleir or Dr. 
 Hunter. There are inferior and worn impressions of this piece, which may 
 be procured at much lower prices. The best of this class of impressions 
 may be procured for £40 or £50. One of slightly inferior character wa? 
 purchased, in 1848, by Mr. Browne, for £33 10s. 
 
 The second variety of this celebrated piece, is that with reddite QU^E 
 CiESARis CiESARi, on the edge, instead of the petition, from which it is known 
 as the “ Reddite” crown, to distinguish it from the “ petition” crown. After 
 the reddite, &c., there is another sentence expressed by the word post, 
 followed by a device representing the sun rising from behind clouds, the 
 whole intended to express post, nvbila. phoebvs., in allusion to the restor- 
 ation. Twelve specimens are known of this variety of Simon’s crown, two of 
 them being of pewter. The finest of the “ Reddite” crowns is traced to the 
 President West, as the earliest known possessor. At his sale, in 1773, it was 
 sold for £32. In 1844 it brought £160, which is the highest price it ever 
 realized. The Reddite crown which the British Museum received with the 
 Sloane collection, was inadvertently sold as a duplicate in 1811. It was not 
 so fine an impression as the first described, but in 1857 it realized the high 
 price of £90. A pattern of the Reddite crown in pewter, in good condition, 
 was sold in 1844 for £9 10s. A poor one, at the same time, realized no 
 more than £2 9s. 
 
 The variety with the Reddite motto in English, as render unto 
 CiESAR, &c., is only known in pewter. A fine impression was sold in 1802 
 for £11 11s. 6d . ; a less perfect one sold only for £5 7s. 6d. 
 
 The only known impression with the edge plain, and in pewter, sold in 
 1844 for £13. It is in very fine condition. The die engraved by Simon for 
 this piece is still preserved among the collection of dies in the Mint, where I 
 saw it, while the present edition of this work was passing through the 
 press. Much of the work is quite perfect, but a portion of it appears to have 
 been partially destroyed by some corrosive acid, whether accidentally, or to 
 prevent the taking of fresh impressions, which might decrease the value of 
 existing specimens, I was unable to learn. 
 
 In Scotland, the crown, half-crown, shilling, and sixpence, of the 
 English coinage, were represented by coins of very similar appearance, 
 and of nearly the same types. There were the four-mark piece, of the 
 size of the English crown, the two-mark, one-mark, and half-mark. They 
 had in the centre of the reverse between the shields the numerals X5 | VI ., 
 ™., and g 1 ., to denote their value in Scottish money. These pieces were 
 succeeded by the dollar, and its one-half, one-quarter, and one-eighth, 
 passing respectively for twenty-eight, fourteen, seven, and three shillings- 
 and-sixpence Scotch. The half-quarter has a saltire cross on the reverse, 
 with a thistle, a rose, a fleur-de-lis, and a harp, in the angles. 
 
 In Ireland no silver money was issued in this reign, unless it be the 
 crowns and half-crowns, irregularly formed pieces, which rather come under 
 
GOLD COINAGE OF CHARLES II. 
 
 141 
 
 the head of money of necessity than regular coinage, like the gun money of 
 James II. These crowns and half-crowns, supposed to have been struck in 
 Ireland between the death of his father and his own restoration, have a 
 large crown on the obverse, like some of his father’s siege money, and “ V” 
 and “ II. VI.” on the reverse respectively. The titles, &c., are CAR II D G. 
 MAG. BRIT, on the obverse, and FRA. ET. HYB. RE. F. D., &c., on the reverse. 
 
 The gold coins were not various; the first had the head, laureated in 
 the Roman style, and on the reverse the old shield ; the next had the head 
 similar, but the oval shield on the reverse. The reverses of both had the 
 motto, florent concordia regna. There were pieces of twenty, ten, and 
 five shillings. In 1664 a gold coinage by the new process was issued, having 
 on the obverse the bust undraped, as in the Cromwell gold pieces, and on the 
 reverse, four crowned shields, bearing the arms of England, &c., with sceptres 
 in the angles: this coinage consisted of five-pound pieces, forty-shilling 
 pieces, and twenty-shilling pieces, which last, were, for the first time, balled 
 “ guineas,” from being made of the gold brought from Guinea by the African 
 Company; there were also half-guineas. The coins made of the gold 
 imported by the African Company had a small elephant under the bust of 
 the king; this was done as an encouragement to the importation of gold. 
 The term “ guinea,” for a twenty-shilling piece, afterwards continued to the 
 reign of George III., without reference to the source of the gold. 
 
 It was determined at the beginning of this reign, the English gold coins 
 being still above the value of those of other nations, to increase their nominal 
 value, and the old unit of 20 shillings was now raised to 22 shillings, and 
 other coins in proportion, the new coinage being made to correspond ; that is 
 to say, the pound weight of gold was coined into as many more pieces of 20 
 shillings, and 10 shillings respectively, as would make them of the same 
 relative value as the raised units, &c. In 1670 the weight of the gold coins 
 was again reduced, the pound of gold (22 carats fine) being coined into 
 £44 10s. At the end of this reign an Act was passed, with the view of 
 encouraging the bringing of bullion to the Mint, by removing all charges upon 
 coinage for private individuals, the state undertaking to be at the whole 
 expense ; and the full weight of bullion was to be returned in coin without 
 any deduction. But to defray the expenses incurred, a duty on foreign 
 wines, vinegar, &c., was levied. 
 
 The dies for the gold coinage of Charles II. exhibit the finest work 
 of Roettier, with the exception of his crown of 1663. Some of the patterns 
 closely approached the style of Simon, especially the five-guinea piece of 
 1670, in the British Museum. There are five-guinea pieces dated from 
 1668 to 1684. Some have an elephant under the bust, and some not. 
 Others have the elephant and castle, and the date of the reign on the edge. 
 After the year 1678 the motto, decus ET tutamen, disappears from the 
 edges of the gold coins. The two-guineas were of the same design as the 
 five-guineas, excepting at the edge, which was only notched. They bear the 
 date of every year between 1664 and 1684. The guineas of 1663 were also 
 of the same types, and are found with the date of every year between 
 
142 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 1663 and 1684, except 1669, 1671, and 1673. The half-guineas of the 
 same types as the five-guineas of 1660 are found with the dates 1669, 
 1670, and 1671. Those of the types of the five-guinea piece of 1678 are 
 found with the date of each subsequent year up to 1684. 
 
 No. 7, Plate 11, is a forty-shilling piece of 1664, being the double of the 
 guinea, or twenty-shilling piece, which was issued as 20 shillings, and not 
 as 21 shillings, its increased value occurring from the subsequent scarcity 
 of gold. 
 
 No gold appears to have been issued in Scotland in this reign. 
 
 The money of our colonies and dependencies now became interesting. 
 
 It is said that Charles II. was much displeased with the colonists in 
 Massachusetts on account of their coining money, which he considered 
 a breach of his prerogative, and threatened, to Sir Thomas Temple, that 
 they should be punished. Upon which Sir Thomas took some of the 
 pieces from his pocket to show to the king, on the reverse of which 
 was a pine tree, one of that species of pine, common in the colony, that 
 grows flat and bushy at the top, like the Italian pine. The king asked 
 what tree it was : upon which Sir Thomas Temple told him that of course it 
 was the Royal Oak which had preserved his majesty’s life ; upon which the 
 king said no more of punishment, but, laughing, called the colonists “ honest 
 dogs.” 
 
 THE ANGLO-INDIAN COINAGE. 
 
 The first colonial money coined by England was that of Elizabeth, by 
 whom the East India Company was first incorporated. It being found that, 
 in the countries where the Spaniards and Portuguese had preceded us, the 
 Spanish dollar was the only European money in repute, the merchants 
 petitioned the queen to allow the export of a certain quantity of these pieces 
 yearly. But she determined rather to supply the want by a coinage of her 
 own, and caused pieces of the value of the Spanish dollar to be struck, with 
 British types and legends. These pieces have the arms of England, crowned, 
 on the obverse, and the portcullis of Westminster, crowned, on the reverse, 
 from which this issue became known as the “ Portcullis money.” There are 
 the crown, half-crown, shilling, and sixpence, as they are called, of this 
 money ; but they were in reality “ Pieces of eight,” and their subdivisions ; 
 that is to say, pieces of eight Spanish rials, and of four, of two, and of one 
 rial. They were worth, respectively, 4s. 6d., 2s. 3d., Is. 1 \d., and 6 j d,. each. 
 
 In the reign of James the merchants bought off the restriction against 
 the export of Spanish dollars, so that no money of the English types again 
 circulated in India till the reign of Charles II. On the marriage of that 
 king with Katherine of Portugal, in 1662, the island and port of Bombay 
 were ceded to him as part of her dower; after which time rupees were 
 coined by the Company for the new colony.* (Nos. 7 and 8, Plate 23.) The 
 legend on the obverse of these coins is HON(orati) soc(ietas) ANG(licana) 
 
 * A clause in the charter, granted in 1677, empowers the company to stamp money, &c., 
 at Bombay. The rupees referred to, were coined between 1662 and 1684. 
 
EAST INDIAN COINAGE OF CHARLES II. 
 
 143 
 
 lND(i0e) ORi(entalis) — “ Of the Honourable East India Company;” and on the 
 reverse, A. deo pax. et incrementvm — “ Peace and prosperity from God.” 
 There was also an Indian copper coinage, that of the pice, consisting of five 
 rees, eighty of which go to the rupee ; that is, about one-third of an English 
 penny in value. The pice was of very similar type to the rupee. No. 9, 
 Plate 23, is a pagoda of the Madras Presidency, which followed the example 
 I of that of Bombay. 
 
 The names of the native Indian coins which circulated at the time 
 of our first colonization, recall the character and names belonging to the 
 origin of the art of coinage, as first introduced by the Greeks, as referred 
 to in my introductory chapter to this work. It is there stated, that 
 the act of “ sealing” was understood to be a solemn compact, and that the 
 placing of the stamp or seal upon a piece of metal was considered a guarantee 
 by the state of its weight and purity. We find this fact illustrated by the 
 name of the principal gold coin of India, which was called mohur, the term 
 mohur meaning a seal or stamp. In like manner, just as the generic term 
 for money among the Greeks was “ silver,” so the chief silver coin of India, 
 the rupee, received its name from rupiya, silver. The mohur or ashrafee, as 
 it was sometimes called, was, at the time of the first English occupation of 
 Bombay, coined for the convenience of individuals, and its value fluctuated 
 like that of other commodities. There were also some other coins, evidently 
 direct remains of the Greek and Homan systems of coinage, the first of which 
 had reached India through the Macedonian conquest of Western and Central 
 Asia, and the latter during the existence of the Roman empire of the East, 
 with Constantinople for its capital. Belonging to the Greek system there 
 was the derhem (silver drachma), and of the Roman system the gold dinar 
 (the denarius auri), and also the copper faloos, the follis of the lower empire. 
 
 The English company at Bombay, in order to regulate the value of the 
 native mohurs, which were called “ pagodas,” on account of a Hindoo pagoda 
 forming the type of many of them, determined eventually to coin such 
 pieces themselves. (No. 9, Plate 23.) The King of Golconda was applied to 
 by the Company to ratify this coinage ; but this permission being refused, 
 the Company sought and obtained authority from the English court. 
 
 “The English pagodas had frequently,” says'Snelling, “an Arabic inscrip- 
 tion on both sides, without the idol forming the type of the Indian ones ; 
 but these were more properly gold rupees.” The silver fanam of Bombay 
 is also a well-known coin of the reign of Charles II. ; it is about the size of 
 an English silver penny of the time, but thicker, and has on the obverse an 
 Indian divinity, and on the reverse two linked C’s, with no legend. 
 
 Other Indian coins, from about 1690 to 1700, were termed doudoos, and 
 cash, the doudoos being ten cash, eight doudoos going to one fanam. The 
 doudoos have on one side a cross, in the form of St. Andrew’s, with “ E. I. C.” 
 in the angles, and a dart in the upperone, with the date on the reverse ; or 
 sometimes an Arabic inscription. The smaller piece was slightly different in 
 its devices. 
 
146 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 “ token,” by which these pieces are so well known, is but rarely found upon 
 any of them. 
 
 In the reign of Charles II. many pattern farthings were suggested before 
 the real copper coinage was issued. The two types numbered 10, one being 
 the coin referred to by Lord Lucan, are sufficient for examples. Some of 
 these pattern farthings were tin, with a circle of copper in the centre, similar 
 to the plugged halfpence of subsequent reigns. Pepys informs us, incidentally, 
 that the project of an issue of farthings was, at that time, always connected 
 with some disreputable means of raising money. In speaking of a discussion 
 respecting the relative advantages of a “lottery” and “issue of farthings” for 
 such purposes, he says, — “ Many good things were discoursed of concerning 
 the making of farthings, which was proposed as a way of raising money for 
 this business, and then that of lotteries ; but with great confusion. But I 
 hope we shall get all into greater order.” Greater order did not come, how- 
 ever, during the regime of the Stuarts, notwithstanding the hopes of Pepys. 
 
 The first copper halfpennies and farthings, equal in their nominal and in- 
 trinsic values, were issued in 1672; but still the royal prejudice would not 
 allow them to be coined in the national mints. They were manufactured in 
 virtue of a patent granted to some individual unknown, and the head of 
 the king, apparently to denote the inferiority of the copper coinage, was 
 turned in the opposite direction to that on the gold and silver coin. In the 
 motto the new coin was styled nummorum famulus, the “Servant of money.” 
 This money, however, was of the finest Swedish copper, and of full weight. 
 
 The favour with which this coinage was received appears to have removed 
 the royal prejudice against a currency of the inferior metals, and a large 
 amount of these farthings was soon afterwards issued from the royal 
 mint. 
 
 In 1665 it is said copper halfpence were issued in small quantities, but 
 some consider the pieces which have come down to us were only patterns ; 
 they have the king’s head, and carolus A carolo; the reverse Britannia, 
 with QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO, as on the first pattern farthings, alluding to 
 the empire of the sea, so often claimed by our sovereigns. The figure of 
 Britannia is very graceful, and beautifully executed. It is said to be a por- 
 trait of the beautiful Frances Stuart, and to have been executed by Philip 
 Boettier, the brother of the engraver of the gold and silver money, in the 
 engraving of the dies of which he had also assisted. The general character 
 of the device was, of course, suggested by the figure of Britannia found on 
 some of the Homan coins relating to Britain ; but it has a character of its own, 
 and all the details of face, figure, and drapery, are quite original ; the drapery 
 falling off the shoulder is very graceful, and the whole is executed in an elegant 
 feeling. The farthing is not quite so successful, and the design of the drapery 
 is changed, leaving one leg bare. The specimen No. 7J, Plate 11, is the half- 
 penny, showing the obverse only. Lord Lucan’s farthings were so called from 
 the circumstance of his making a speech against the state of the currency in 
 the presence of the king ; first alluding to the total disappearance of the 
 Commonwealth coins, which, from the form of the two joining shields, were 
 
SCOTTISH COINS OF CHARLES II. 
 
 147 
 
 called “Breeches:” “a fit name,” said Lord Lucan, “for the coins of the 
 Rump.” He then proceeded to state, that he saw no probability of their 
 being replaced, “unless by copper farthings, and this is the metal (said he), 
 according to the inscription on it, which is to vindicate the dominion of the 
 four seas .” (See No. 10, Plate 22.) The halfpence and farthings issued in 
 bulk for circulation in 1672, the first real copper coinage, were the same as 
 the patterns above alluded to, with the exception of having the simple motto 
 BRITANNIA on the reverse, instead of the one ridiculed by Lord Lucan; and 
 these coins, being of the intrinsic value that they were issued for, at length 
 nearly superseded the private tokens, which no law had been able to put 
 down. But still, so great was the convenience of the private tokens, and 
 the profit upon their issue, that they continued to circulate for some time 
 longer, notwithstanding many stringent enactments against them. The tin 
 farthings, issued at the end of this reign, with a stud of copper,' to render 
 their imitation difficult, have on the edge, like the earlier patterns, NUM- 
 MORUM FAMULUS. 
 
 In Scotland, in this reign, “Boddles” or “Turners” were still struck, some 
 having the numeral II. under a crown, with a small “c. R.” on each side, and 
 others with simply “c. R.” crowned, on the obverse — and on the reverse, a 
 thistle, with the national motto, NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT. Towards the 
 end of Charles’s reign, a coin of a new description was issued, to which, how- 
 ever, the old name “bawbee” was given, though unlike the “bawbee” of the 
 reign of Mary, which it was enacted (in the reign of J ames VI.) should pass 
 for threepence. The present “ bawbee” was to pass for sixpence Scotch, and 
 the “boddle” for twopence. The “bawbee” is engraved in Plate 19, Nos. 19 
 and 20, and the “boddle,” No. 21, in the same plate. 
 
 In Ireland a few copper farthings were issued by Charles II., similar to 
 those of his father. (See No. 22, Plate 18.) When these farthings were issued 
 the tokens were forbidden. In 1679 the coin known as the “Dublin Half- 
 penny” was struck; it has on the obverse a shield bearing the arms of Dublin, 
 three castles, and the date 1679, the legend being the Dublin halfpenny; 
 the reverse has the Irish harp, crowned, with the motto, LONG live the king. 
 On May 16, 1680, a patent was granted to Sir Thomas Armstrong and Colonel 
 Legge, to make copper halfpence for the use of Ireland, for twenty-one years 
 — these halfpence have the King’s bust and titles on the obverse, as on the 
 English coinage, and the harp on the reverse. 
 
 THE COINS OF OUR AMERICAN AND OTHER WESTERN COLONIES, DURING THE 
 
 REIGN OF CHARLES II. 
 
 The earliest coins of our American colonies are of a date prior to the 
 present reign ; but they may be most conveniently alluded to in this place. 
 The first is the copper piece of the Sommer Islands, named after Sir George 
 Sommers, who was shipwrecked there in 1609. A colony was formed in 1612, 
 
146 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 “ token,” by which these pieces are so well known, is but rarely found upon 
 any of them. 
 
 In the reign of Charles II. many pattern farthings were suggested before 
 the real copper coinage was issued. The two types numbered 10, one being 
 the coin referred to by Lord Lucan, are sufficient for examples. Some of 
 these pattern farthings were tin, with a circle of copper in the centre, similar 
 to the plugged halfpence of subsequent reigns. Pepys informs us, incidentally, 
 that the project of an issue of farthings was, at that time, always connected 
 with some disreputable means of raising money. In speaking of a discussion 
 respecting the relative advantages of a “lottery” and “issue of farthings” for 
 such purposes, he says, — “ Many good things were discoursed of concerning 
 the making of farthings, which was proposed as a way of raising money for 
 this business, and then that of lotteries ; but with great confusion. But I 
 hope we shall get all into greater order.” Greater order did not come, how- 
 ever, during the regime of the Stuarts, notwithstanding the hopes of Pepys. 
 
 The first copper halfpennies and farthings, equal in their nominal and in- 
 trinsic values, were issued in 1672; but still the royal prejudice would not 
 allow them to be coined in the national mints. They were manufactured in 
 virtue of a patent granted to some individual unknown, and the head of 
 the king, apparently to denote the inferiority of the copper coinage, was 
 turned in the opposite direction to that on the gold and silver coin. In the 
 motto the new coin was styled nummorum famulus, the “Servant of money.” 
 This money, however, was of the finest Swedish copper, and of full weight. 
 
 The favour with which this coinage was received appears to have removed 
 the royal prejudice against a currency of the inferior metals, and a large 
 amount of these farthings was soon afterwards issued from the royal 
 mint. 
 
 In 1665 it is said copper halfpence were issued in small quantities, but 
 some consider the pieces which have come down to us were only patterns ; 
 they have the king’s head, and CAROLUS A CAROLO ; the reverse Britannia, 
 with QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO, as on the first pattern farthings, alluding to 
 the empire of the sea, so often claimed by our sovereigns. The figure of 
 Britannia is very graceful, and beautifully executed. It is said to be a por- 
 trait of the beautiful Frances Stuart, and to have been executed by Philip 
 Boettier, the brother of the engraver of the gold and silver money, in the 
 engraving of the dies of which he had also assisted. The general character 
 of the device was, of course, suggested by the figure of Britannia found on 
 some of the Homan coins relating to Britain ; but it has a character of its own, 
 and all the details of face, figure, and drapery, are quite original ; the drapery 
 falling off the shoulder is very graceful, and the whole is executed in an elegant 
 feeling. The farthing is not quite so successful, and the design of the drapery 
 is changed, leaving one leg bare. The specimen No. 7J, Plate 11, is the half- 
 penny, showing the obverse only. Lord Lucan’s farthings were so called from 
 the circumstance of his making a speech against the state of the currency in 
 the presence of the king ; first alluding to the total disappearance of the 
 Commonwealth coins, which, from the form of the two joining shields, were 
 
SCOTTISH COINS OF CHARLES II. 
 
 147 
 
 called “ Breeches “a fit name,” said Lord Lucan, “for the coins of the 
 Rump.” He then proceeded to state, that he saw no probability of their 
 being replaced, “unless by copper farthings, and this is the metal (said he), 
 according to the inscription on it, which is to vindicate the dominion of the 
 four seas .” (See No. 10, Plate 22.) The halfpence and farthings issued in 
 bulk for circulation in 1672, the first real copper coinage, were the same as 
 the patterns above alluded to, with the exception of having the simple motto 
 BRITANNIA on the reverse, instead of the one ridiculed by Lord Lucan ; and 
 these coins, being of the intrinsic value that they were issued for, at length 
 nearly superseded the private tokens, which no law had been able to put 
 down. But still, so great was the convenience of the private tokens, and 
 the profit upon their issue, that they continued to circulate for some time 
 longer, notwithstanding many stringent enactments against them. The tin 
 farthings, issued at the end of this reign, with a stud of copper, to render 
 their imitation difficult, have on the edge, like the earlier patterns, NUM- 
 MORUM FAMULUS. 
 
 In Scotland, in this reign, “Boddles” or “Turners” were still struck, some 
 having the numeral II. under a crown, with a small “C. R.” on each side, and 
 others with simply “c. R.” crowned, on the obverse — and on the reverse, a 
 thistle, with the national motto, NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT. Towards the 
 end of Charles’s reign, a coin of a new description was issued, to which, how- 
 ever, the old name “bawbee” was given, though unlike the “bawbee” of the 
 reign of Mary, which it was enacted (in the reign of James YI.) should pass 
 for threepence. The present “ bawbee” was to pass for sixpence Scotch, and 
 the “boddle” for twopence. The “bawbee” is engraved in Plate 19, Nos. 19 
 and 20, and the “boddle,” No. 21, in the same plate. 
 
 In Ireland a few copper farthings were issued by Charles II., similar to 
 those of his father. (See No. 22, Plate 18.) When these farthings were issued 
 the tokens were forbidden. In 1679 the coin known as the “Dublin Half- 
 penny” was struck; it has on the obverse a shield bearing the arms of Dublin, 
 three castles, and the date 1679, the legend being the Dublin halfpenny; 
 the reverse has the Irish harp, crowned, with the motto, LONG live the king. 
 On May 16, 1680, a patent was granted to Sir Thomas Armstrong and Colonel 
 Legge, to make copper halfpence for the use of Ireland, for twenty-one years 
 — these halfpence have the King’s bust and titles on the obverse, as on the 
 English coinage, and the harp on the reverse. 
 
 THE COINS OF OUR AMERICAN AND OTHER WESTERN COLONIES, DURING THE 
 
 REIGN OF CHARLES II. 
 
 The earliest coins of our American colonies are of a date prior to the 
 present reign ; but they may be most conveniently alluded to in this place. 
 The first is the copper piece of the Sommer Islands, named after Sir George 
 Sommers, who was shipwrecked there in 1609. A colony was- formed in 1612, 
 
148 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 and soon afterwards a copper currency was established, having on one side a 
 hog, with the legend sommer island, and the numeral XII., the signification 
 of which is not known, — on the reverse is a ship without legend. (See No. 1, 
 Plate 23.) 
 
 The first Governmental coinage of silver in America was commenced during 
 the Commonwealth, in consequence of the great quantity of silver taken from 
 the Spaniards about this time by the buccaneers — a mint being established at 
 Boston to coin it into money. The coins there struck have much the aspect 
 of siege pieces, being merely tolerably circular pieces of silver plate, stamped 
 near the edge with the letters “N. E.” on one side, and the numerals XII. and VI. 
 on the shillings and sixpences respectively, on the other side. (See Plate 23, 
 No. 2, a sixpence.) It was afterwards ordered, in 1651, that this coinage 
 should be improved; and shillings, sixpences, fourpences, twopences, and 
 pennies, were issued. Nos. 5 and 6, Plate 23, are the obverse and reverse 
 of a threepenny piece. There were also shillings of another pattern issued 
 in the same year, having the good Samaritan for principal type, instead of the 
 tree. The date 1652 was continued for thirty years afterwards. These 
 coinages took place in the time of Cromwell, who did not interfere with 
 them, but they were suppressed after the restoration, as not by royal 
 authority. 
 
 Lord Baltimore, who, as before stated, obtained froiQ Charles I., in 1632, 
 a patent grant as “proprietor” of Maryland, sent out a colony of 200 persons; 
 and either at that time, or when his grant was renewed in 1661 by Charles 
 II., coined money bearing his portrait, with the inscription CAECILIVS DNS 
 TERRiE MARIAS, &c., and on the reverse his arms, crowned with an imperial 
 crown, and the motto, crescite et multiplicamini, between the respec- 
 tive values of the coins, XII. on the shilling, and YI. and 1Y. on the sixpences 
 and groats, which were of fine silver, and nearly equal to the English coinage 
 in weight. There was also a small copper coin, with the legend denarium 
 terras marias on the reverse. 
 
 JAMES II. (1684 to 1688). The head of the king on the money of this 
 reign is turned to the left, the reverse of that of his predecessor — a custom 
 that we shall now find constantly adhered to. The devices of the coins were 
 in other respects similar to the last of Charles II., having the bust and name 
 on one side, and the arms and titles on the other, with no other motto. The 
 arms were arranged on four shields as a cross, but without linked initials in 
 the angles: the inscriptions on the edges are, anno regni secundo, &c. The 
 edges of the shillings and sixpences have oblique lines. The lesser pieces, or 
 maundy money, are marked IIII. to I., with a crown above. The five-shilling 
 pieces of this king, in fine condition, are rare; that of 1688, very perfect, 
 sold at Edmond’s sale for £1 11s. 6d. 
 
 No. 8, Plate 11, is a half-crown, which was not quite equal in execution 
 to the crown; and No. 9, Plate 11, is a twopenny piece: the other pieces of 
 the maundy money of this reign being of the same types. 
 
 James II. again altered the values of the principal Scottish silver coins, 
 issuing a ten-shilling piece, Scotch, about the size of the English shillings of 
 
GENERAL COINAGE OF JAMES II. 
 
 149 
 
 Charles I., and a forty-shilling piece about the size of the English crown, both 
 of nearly the same type as the English coin. 
 
 The gold coinage of this reign differs only from that of the last in having 
 the head turned the other way. The specimen No. 10, Plate 11, is a five- 
 pound piece. The types of the two-pound piece, and also of the guineas and 
 half-guineas — names now established for all twenty and ten-shilling pieces 
 — were the same as on the larger pieces. There are five-guinea pieces of 
 1687 and 1688; two guineas, with the edge only lined, of 1685, 1686, 1687, 
 and 1688; half-guineas of 1686, 1687, and 1688. 
 
 No Scottish gold was issued in this reign. 
 
 Of copper money very little appeared in the reign of James II., the half- 
 pennies and farthings being of tin, with a copper plug. The reverses are the 
 same as those of his predecessor, but they are not quite so well N executed ; 
 both halfpennies and farthings have nummorum famulus on the edge. 
 The specimen No. 10 Plate 11, shows the obverse of a tin halfpenny, 
 with jacobus secundus for legend, and a copper plug. 
 
 No Scottish copper was issued. 
 
 Some colonial money for Bombay was issued of the same type as that 
 of the preceding reign, and the authority to strike money, which had been 
 refused by the King of Golconda, was granted, when rupees and pice were 
 struck, also similar to those of the previous reign. (See No. 18, Plate 23.) 
 
 In Ireland the patent for making halfpence was continued to the assignee 
 of Sir J. Armstrong. 
 
 The most remarkable events of the Irish coinage of this reign are those 
 connected with the “gun money.” After the revolution of 1688 a pro- 
 clamation was issued by James, in Ireland, for making shillings and six- 
 pences of mixed metal. They were made from old pieces of ordnance, &c., 
 and are known as the “ gun money.” They are similar on the obverse to 
 the halfpence, but have on the reverse, two sceptres in saltire through a 
 crown, between “I. R.” in decorative italic cypher, with the date 1689, and 
 the values Nil. and VI. Half-crowns were soon after issued of the same 
 type as the shillings, but with the numerals XXX. over the crown, and aug. 
 for August (No. 15, Plate 22), — all this money having the month in which 
 it was struck under the crown. In March, 1690, pennies and halfpence of 
 white metal were struck, with the king’s bust on the obverse, and a crowned 
 harp on the reverse (Plate 22, No. 16), some having the king on horseback 
 on the obverse. (Plate 22, No. 13.) In April, crowns of white metal were 
 struck. They have the king on horseback on the obverse, and on the reverse 
 the four shields, like the English coin. On the edge they have melioris 
 TESSERA fati. (a “token” of better fortune), anno regno sexto. There are 
 also half-crowns of this type. (See Plate 22, No. 14.) In June of the same 
 year the half-crowns were called in and re -stamped to pass as crowns, and 
 some shillings and sixpences were called in in order to be coined smaller. A 
 large crown was subsequently struck in white metal, with two plugs of brass 
 in the king’s horse on the obverse, and a large crown of brass in the centre 
 of the reverse. 
 
1 50 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 After James had quitted Ireland copper money was issued in liis name 
 by his adherents, in Limerick. The pieces were halfpennies, now known as 
 “ Hibernias,” from the figure of Hibernia on the reverse, holding the harp, 
 and resembling the Britannia on the English copper money. (Plate 22, 
 No. 18.) 
 
 In the reign of James II. a tin piece was issued for the American 
 plantations, where the Spanish dollar chiefly circulated, with its parts, reals 
 and half-reals. The English coin was intended to pass as twenty-four to the 
 real, and is marked on the reverse, val. 24 part real, hispan, round four 
 shields, disposed as a cross, bearing the arms of England, Scotland, Ireland, 
 and France; on the obverse is the king on horseback, with his name and 
 titles. 
 
 WILLIAM and MARY, and WILLIAM III. (1688 to 1702). The same 
 style of coinage in its general appearance, fineness, and weight, was continued 
 at the commencement of these reigns. The profiles of the king and queen 
 are placed one over the other on the obverse of all the coins, surrounded 
 with gulielmus et maria, DEI gratia, and are well executed: most of 
 them have four shields arranged as a cross on the reverse, with the arms of 
 Nassau in the centre, and “ W. & M.” interlaced in the angles; but some 
 have a simple crowned shield, with the arms of Nassau on an escutcheon of 
 pretence. The maundy money has the profiles of the king and queen, with 
 short hair, without drapery, and with numerals on the reverses, as pre- 
 viously. The small coins, after 1 692, are not so well executed, and it is 
 supposed that the Roettiers, who still worked for the Mint, engraved the 
 first, but not the later specimens. 
 
 Notwithstanding these issues, the general coinage had fallen into a bad 
 state, and much old hammered money (still in circulation) had become thin, 
 and was counterfeited. These circumstances called down the attack of 
 Fleetwood, Bishop of Ely, as a similar state of things in the reign of Edward 
 YI. had excited the indignation of Latimer. Fleetwood exclaimed, in a 
 sermon preached before the Lord Mayor at Guildhall — “ The cry will be like 
 that of Egypt, loud and universal ; for every family will be a loser ; but it 
 will fall severest upon the poor, who from a little can spare none:” and 
 another preacher, seeking a simile between the debased coinage and the 
 laxity of religion, said — “ Our divisions have been to our religion what 
 the shears have been to our money,” &c., &c. Lord Macaulay mentions 
 incidentally in his history of this reign, that the booksellers gave the 
 widow of Archbishop Tillotson £2,500 for his sermons — “ a sum equal 
 in the wretched state of the coinage to £3,600.” 
 
 After the death of the queen in 1695, the king, who continued to reign 
 by the title of William III., determined on taking into consideration the bad 
 state of the coinage (partly owing, as has been stated, to much of the old 
 hammered money being still in circulation, which, being worn and clipped, 
 was now below half its value), and restore its general character. A tax was 
 therefore laid upon dwelling-houses, to raise the sum of £1,200,000, to 
 supply the deficiency of the clipped money ; and in order that there might 
 
GREAT NEW COINAGE OF WILLIAM III. 
 
 151 
 
 be as little delay as possible in carrying a complete new coinage into effect, 
 mints were established at York, Bristol, Norwich, Exeter, and Chester, the 
 coins of each mint being respectively marked with the initial letter of the 
 name of the place. 
 
 By means of the assistance of these country mints the new coinage was 
 completed in two years. The high feeling of the king upon this subject, and 
 his determination to obtain the best opinions and guidance in the matter, are 
 strongly exemplified by the fact of his appointment of the illustrious Newton 
 to the post of master of the mint, which, however, did not take place 
 till 1697. Nearly £7,000,000 of silver money were coined during the years 
 1696 and 1697, by far the greatest portion of which was minted at the 
 Tower. Besides the letters indicating the places of mintage, some of 
 the coins had marks, such as the rose, showing that the silver 'came from 
 the west of England; the plumes, for Welsh silver; and the elephant 
 and castle , indicating metal from the African Company. These marks 
 were generally placed in the angles between the shields. 
 
 But the silver coinage was still insufficient, and continued so for 
 twenty years afterwards; for in 1717, in the reign of George I., Sir 
 Isaac Newton, who was still in office, said in his report, “ If silver 
 money become a little scarcer, people will, in a little time, refuse to 
 make payments in silver without a premium.” 
 
 On the new coinage the king’s bust appears alone, surrounded by 
 gulielmus ill. DEI. GRATIA: the reverse has the four shields as before, 
 but without “W.” or “M.” in the angles, and all the pieces are alike, with 
 the exception of mint-marks. The maundy money was as before, with 
 the obvious exception of the king’s bust being alone. 
 
 The few rare varieties that occur in collections, it is supposed, were 
 only patterns. The shillings and sixpences varied slightly towards the 
 close of the reign, in having the features of the bust a little more strongly 
 marked, and the hair more upright on the forehead. The year of the reign 
 was marked on the edges of the larger pieces. 
 
 In Scotland, in the reign of William and Mary, sixty, forty, twenty, 
 ten, and five-shilling pieces were coined, the largest being about the size 
 of the English crown. On the reverse the arms were on one shield; the 
 smallest piece has on the reverse only a large cipher “W. & M.,” interlaced 
 and crowned. 
 
 William III. issued the same pieces, the smallest having a three-branched 
 thistle, crowned, instead of a cipher, with the old Scottish motto, nemo 
 ME IMPUNE LACESSIT. 
 
 The specimen No. 11, Plate 11, is an English half-crown of William and 
 Mary; No. 12, a shilling of William and Mary; and Nos. 16 and 20 are a 
 fourpenny and a twopenny piece. The obverse of the small pieces of 
 William and Mary have portraits like the larger ones. 
 
 Specimen 14, Plate 11, is a half-crown of William III., coined at Chester 
 (with the C.) ; and the reverse of a half-crown of William III, coined from 
 the Welsh silver, with the feathers between the shield. 
 
152 COINS OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM III. 
 
 The gold coins of William and Mary, and William III, consisted of five- 
 pound pieces, two -pound pieces, guineas, and half-guineas. 
 
 The specimen without a number is a five-pound piece of William III. 
 
 The specimen 13, Plate 11, is a two-pound piece of William and Mary, 
 with the simple shield on the reverse ; the guineas and half-guineas were of 
 the same pattern. There are five-guinea pieces of every year from 1691 to 
 1694; and two-guineas of 1693 and 1694. The guineas have the shield 
 less garnished. They are of every date from 1689 to 1694. There are 
 half-guineas of the same type of 1691, 1692, and 1694. 
 
 The two-pound pieces of William III. had on the reverse four shields, as 
 a cross, with sceptres in the angles, as on those of Charles II, and that device 
 continued through the next two reigns. The five-pound pieces, guineas, and 
 half-guineas, were of the same pattern. There are five-pound pieces of each 
 date from 1699 to 1701, those of 1701 being of bolder execution. There are 
 two-guineas of 1701, but of no other date. There are guineas of each year 
 from 1695 to 1698. There are others of 1699, 1700, and 1701, the last being 
 similar to the five-guinea piece of that date. There are half-guineas of 1698, 
 similar to the guineas of the same date. 
 
 The last Scottish gold was issued during the reign of William III. It 
 consisted of a small issue of pistoles and half-pistoles, coined from the gold 
 sent over by the Scottish African Company, from the colony of Darien. 
 These pieces are of about the size of the English guinea and half-guinea, and 
 resemble them in their types, except in having the arms on an entire shield, 
 and on the larger pieces “ a rising sun ” under the bust of the king, in compli- 
 ment to the fine ship of that name in which the gold was brought home. 
 
 Notwithstanding the eminent talents called to preside over monetary 
 affairs in this reign, the most absurd enactments were passed with a view to 
 remedy the scarcity of the precious metals — no gold, for instance, was to be 
 worn as ornaments during the war, &c. In the reign of Charles II. it had 
 been enacted that no gold should be used in gilding carriages. 
 
 The guineas at one time rose in this reign to the value of 30s., though 
 pieces of equal weight and fineness could be purchased in Holland for 22s. ; 
 but an enactment reduced their value to 26s., and afterwards to 22s. These 
 were arbitrary enactments causing the greatest confusion, and it being event- 
 ually found that, on the Continent, gold bore a value as fifteen to one of 
 that of silver, it followed that, to preserve something like that proportion, 
 21s. 6d., was sufficient for the guinea, and it afterwards passed at that price. 
 This measure in some degree prevented the great export of silver for the 
 purchase of gold. 
 
 The copper or tin coinage of these reigns did not vary much in character 
 from those of Charles and James ; but the halfpence of William III, 1699, 
 have the Britannia with the right leg crossed, like that on the farthings of 
 Charles I. ; but on this coinage the leg is draped, instead of bare. The tin 
 halfpennies and farthings have a plug of copper in them. In 1593 Andrew 
 Corbet obtained a patent for making copper halfpence and farthings, for 
 payment of £1,000 per annum, upon which it appears the patentee would 
 
SCOTTISH COINAGE OF WILLIAM III. 
 
 153 
 
 have had a profit of £18,000 in the nine years of his patent, but the patent 
 was taken from him in the following year. 
 
 No Scottish copper was issued in the reign of James II. ; but in that of 
 William and Mary there are bawbees with the portraits of the king and 
 queen on the obverse, as on the English coinage; and on the reverse, a 
 thistle like that of Charles II. : the boddles were of the same types as those 
 of Charles. 
 
 Of William III. there is the bawbee with the portrait of the king only, 
 but the same reverse as during the life of the queen. 
 
 There was no Scottish copper issued after this reign. 
 
 In Ireland the only money issued during the reign of William and Mary, 
 consisted of farthings of copper and brass. The heads occupied the obverse, 
 as on English coins, and the crowned harp the reverse, similar to v that of 
 Charles II. (No. 17, Plate 22.) 
 
 The specimen No. 17, Plate 11, is a tin farthing of William and Mary, 
 with a copper plug. 
 
 The specimen No. 18, Plate 11, is a copper halfpenny of William III. 
 
 On some of the patterns preserved, which were essays for the copper of 
 these reigns, we find the queen’s head on one side with MARIA II. DEI GRATIA ; 
 and on the other the king’s head, with gulielmus III., &c. ; others have the 
 queen’s head, and MARIA DEI GRA., on the obverse, and on the reverse, a rose 
 with EX CANDOR DECUS. Of William III. there is a pattern farthing, half 
 brass, with a sun on the reverse, and NON DEVIO. These half-brass patterns 
 look like the half of a sovereign and the half of a farthing stuck together, 
 showing half the face red and half yellow. 
 
 L 
 
154 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE L, II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 ANNE (1702 to 1714). The coins of this reign are of the same fineness, 
 weight, and denomination as those of the last. The devices, with the 
 exception of the portrait, are also the same, with trifling variations. The 
 bust of the queen, on the obverse, is turned to the right ; the hair is simply 
 bound by a fillet, and the shoulders clothed in a light drapery, fastened in 
 front with a stud or rosette ; the legend is, ANNA dei gratia : the reverse has 
 the four shields arranged as a cross, with the Star of the Garter in the centre, 
 instead of the arms of Nassau of the last reign, and the date and titles are 
 abbreviated as MAG. bri. fr. et. hib. reg. 
 
 The slight variations above alluded to are the marks denoting the sources 
 from which the silver was derived, some having the plumes for the silver of the 
 Welsh mines, and some the roses for West of England silver ; some having 
 both marks, denoting that the silver was mixed. Others have the word VIGO 
 under the queens head, in commemoration of the capture of Vigo and the 
 Spanish galleons, from the treasure of which the silver of those coins was 
 derived. In some the fillet in the hair is rather differently arranged. This 
 trifling change took place in the coins issued after the legislative union with 
 Scotland, from which time the coinage of the two countries was assimilated 
 in every respect, and the separate Scottish coinage, with distinct national 
 emblems, which had continued from James I. to this time, was abolished. 
 The only distinction now of the Scottish coins was the letter “E.,” for the 
 Edinburgh mint, under the queen’s head. Those coins with the “E.” were 
 the last coins produced away from the Tower. The arms of the reverses 
 were slightly changed at this time, and those of England and Scotland, 
 instead of being on separate shields, were impaled together on the first and 
 third shields, those of France and Ireland occupying the second and fourth. 
 The larger pieces have the year of the reign on the edge, as anno regni 
 quinto, or SEXTO, or as the year might be. 
 
 The last separate coins for Scotland, of different denomination to the 
 English, previous to the legislative union, were two pieces of ten and five 
 shillings, Scotch, issued in this reign. The numerals for ten and five appear 
 on the obverse of the respective coins, under the 'bust ; the reverses were like 
 the two smallest pieces of William III. 
 
 After this reign the English coins circulated in Scotland as in England, 
 and no difference even of type was made in coins intended for Scotland. 
 But the copper money coined for Ireland continued to be distinguished by 
 the crowned harp. . .. , 
 
HISTORICAL DEVICES PROPOSED FOR THE COINS OF ANNE. 
 
 155 
 
 Specimen 1, Plate 12, is the obverse of a Vigo half-crown; No. 3, Plate 12, 
 is the reverse of a shilling coined from the Welsh silver, with the feathers in 
 the angles ; No. 3^ is the obverse of a shilling of the Edinburgh mint, dis- 
 tinguished by the letter “E.” The maundy money had the bust like the larger 
 pieces, but only crowned numerals on the reverses. 
 
 Of the coins of the short but prosperous reign of Anne, it may be said that 
 they mark another epoch in the improvement of English money. Charles I., 
 by his natural taste for art, had done much for the design and execution of the 
 coin. The spirited conduct of the Commonwealth and Cromwell had imported 
 foreign skill, and with its aid carried the coinage of the country, in perfection 
 of execution, even beyond that of neighbouring nations. In the reign of 
 Queen Anne great attention was again paid to the execution of the coins, and 
 public interest seemed to be roused to the importance of those national monu- 
 ments, as will be seen from the following suggestion to the government of the 
 time by Dean Swift. He proposed that the halfpence and farthings, after the 
 union with Scotland and the perfect assimilating of the two countries, should 
 be entirely recoined ; and that, “ls£, They should bear devices and inscrip- 
 tions alluding to the most remarkable events of her Majesty’s reign. 2 d, 
 That there be a society established for finding out proper subjects, inscrip- 
 tions, and devices,” with other excellent suggestions and remarks.* “By this 
 means,” he said, “ medals that are at present only a dead treasure, or mere 
 curiosities, will perpetuate the glories of her Majesty’s reign, and keep alive a 
 gratitude for great public services, and excite the emulation of posterity.” 
 To these generous purposes nothing can contribute in so lasting a manner as 
 medals of this kind ; for they are of undoubted authority, not perishable by 
 time, nor confined, like other monuments, to a certain place. The combination 
 of these properties is certainly not to be found in books, statues, pictures, 
 buildings, or any other records of illustrious actions. The great interest of 
 such records on coins is fully shown by the coins of the Homans, who so fully 
 appreciated this mode of commemorating great events. Nothing, however, 
 was done upon these useful and patriotic suggestions, though they were 
 warmly entertained for a time, and some patterns actually struck. “ But if,” 
 observes Ruding, “ the Dean’s project had been carried out, it would have 
 ennobled our coinage, and have elevated it far above the rank of a mere 
 medium of commerce.” 
 
 The principal engraver in the mint, in the reign of Anne, was a German of 
 the name of Crocker. He afterwards Anglicized his name as Croker. This 
 artist had been appointed an assistant engraver in 1697. He is known to 
 have engraved the Queen Anne farthings, the rarity of which has been so 
 much overrated by young collectors. Besides the dies for the money, he also 
 engraved some of the best of the national medals struck in this reign. Several 
 of the original designs of Crocker are preserved in a volume in the British 
 Museum — some of them being signed as approved by Sir Isaac Newton. 
 
 * But after all, the interference of Swift was rather factious than sincere ; for afterwards, 
 in the affair of Wood’s copper coinage, he prevented a beneficial improvement which had 
 received the sanction of Sir Isaac Newton. 
 
156 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., AVILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 The gold coins of Anne were five-pounds, two-pounds, guineas, and half- 
 guineas; the devices are the same as those on the silver coins, with the 
 exception of the sceptres in the angles of the cross. 
 
 Specimen No. 2, Plate 12, is a two-pound piece. 
 
 The queen’s fastidious modesty in insisting upon the drapery about the 
 bust, caused her gold coins so closely to resemble the silver, that shillings 
 and sixpences were gilt, and passed for guineas and half-guineas ; the only 
 difference being that the guineas had a lock of hair proceeding from the nape 
 of the neck, and lying over the right shoulder on the right breast. Another 
 mark by which these false guineas might be detected was, of course, the 
 sceptres on the reverse. 
 
 There are five-guinea pieces of 1705 and 1706, before the Union; and 
 after the Union, of 1709, 1711, 1713, and 1714. Those of the three last 
 dates being of lower relief than the preceding. There are two-guinea pieces 
 of similar character, of the same dates. The guinea of 1702, with crowned 
 shields and “ JR” in the centre, and plain edge, is extremely rare ; it was, 
 perhaps, only a pattern. There is a variety, equally rare, with a rose in the 
 centre instead of “At.” Those with the bare neck, which the queen objected 
 to, are much sought by collectors, and are very rare. There are guineas of 
 every date, from 1702 to 1714, except 1704. Those of 1702 have generally 
 VIGO. Some of 1708 and 1709 have the elephant and castle; the half- 
 guineas were similar to the five-guineas of 1702. They bear the dates 1702 
 3_5_7_8-9-10-l 1-12-13-14. Those of 1709 have vigo. 
 
 Of copper, none at all was issued during the reign ; and the Queen Anne 
 farthings, of which so much has been said, were only patterns, and never 
 issued: they are, however, not excessively rare, the one with sunk letters 
 being the most scarce. 
 
 The specimen of these patterns, No. 4, Plate 12, is one with raised letters ; 
 the other specimen, No. 12, Plate 5, is a pattern halfpenny, probably executed 
 to celebrate the legal union with Scotland, having on the reverse a rose and 
 thistle on the same stem, crowned with a single crown ; and there is another 
 pattern which has on the reverse a small Britannia, holding a sprig of rose 
 and thistle on the same stem, and above the figure a large crown. 
 
 Among the patterns of farthings prepared in the reign of Anne, is a fine 
 one of 1713, with the bust well executed, and anna Augusta for the obverse, 
 and on the reverse Victory in a war chariot, with the motto, PAX Miss A PER 
 orbem, a motto taken from the Roman coinage. It was probably struck, in i 
 1713, with a view to commemorate the general peace. Another has the figure j 
 of Britannia, like that on the farthings of Charles II., but placed in a deco- 
 rated niche, from which it is called the “ canopy pattern.” Some of these 
 patterns were struck in gold. 
 
 No Irish or Scotch copper were issued in the reign of Anne. 
 
 GEORGE I. (1714 to 1727). The coinage of this reign remained the , 
 same in weight and value as in the preceding; the bust of the king was 
 executed in the conventional style of the time, with the Roman mantle and 
 armour, and is turned to the left. The legend on the obverse contains the 
 
 J 
 
CROCKER THE ENGRAVER OF THE DIES FOR THE COINAGE OF GEORGE I. 157 
 
 titles as well as the name, with (for the first time, as a permanent addition) 
 FIDE! defensor — “ Defender of the faith,” abbreviated like the rest, as 
 GEORGIUS D. G. M. br. fr. et HIB. rex. F. D. On the reverse his German 
 titles appear, as “ Brunsvicensis et Lunenbergensis Dux, Sacra Komani Im- 
 perii Archithesaurius et Elector,” abbreviated as brun. et l. dux. s. r. i. a. 
 th. et el. His own arms are not placed in the centre like those of William 
 III., but occupy the fourth shield. The marks indicating the derivation of 
 the silver are continued as in the preceding reign; some having also “S. S. C.” 
 for that received from the South Sea Company, and some a plume and linked 
 “C’s” for a Welsh copper company. The large pieces have on the edge their 
 date, and that of the year of the reign; those of 1718 having QUINTO, &c. 
 
 The maundy money has the bust, with GEORGIUS DEI GRA., and on the 
 reverse a crowned numeral, with the king’s English titles only. It is a fact 
 rather disgraceful to English skill, that in this reign the coins issued in the 
 petty state of Brunswick, for circulation in the king’s foreign dominions, are 
 far better in execution than the English ones. Many of their devices are of 
 a very different character to those of the English coinage. 
 
 Crocker was still fhe chief engraver of the mint; but towards the close of 
 the reign assistants were appointed. These were Ocks (a Swiss), Tamer, and 
 Holies, who possibly assisted in some of the later dies, which exhibit slight 
 variations from the usual character. 
 
 Of the scarcity of silver in this reign much has been said. It was cer- 
 tainly insufficient for the circulation required. Many distinguished men were 
 consulted on this and other matters connected with the coinage; and in 1717 
 Sir Isaac Newton, still master of the mint,* in his report previously alluded 
 to, stated that “ if silver money should become a little scarcer, people would 
 refuse to make payments in silver.” 
 
 Specimen No. 6, Plate 12, is a crown. The crowns, shillings, and six- 
 pences have the same devices. The guinea, minted in the Tower as twenty 
 shillings, was reduced from its current rate of twenty-two shillings to twenty- 
 one shillings. The gold coins of the realm were five-pound pieces, two- 
 pound pieces, guineas, half-guineas, and for the first time (by that name) 
 quarter-guineas. They had the same devices as those of the silver coins, 
 with the exception of the omission of drapery on the bust, and the addition 
 of the sceptres in the angles of the cross on the reverse. 
 
 Specimen 7, Plate 12, is a two-pound piece; and guineas, halves, and 
 quarter-guineas, or five-shilling pieces, were issued of the same device. 
 
 There are five-pound pieces of 1716, 1717, 1720, and 1726. In those of 
 1717, the “D.” in Decus on the edge is engraved backwards, as CL The two- 
 guineas are of the pattern of the fi ve-pound pieces of 1716, and are of the 
 dates 1717, 1720, and 1726. There are guineas of every year, from 1714 to 
 1727. There is a variety of the date of 1714, with the date at the side of 
 the shield of England. Those of the dates 1721 and 1726, have the small 
 elephant and castle. From 1723 to 1727 the heads are in higher relief, but 
 
 * “ He was appointed Master of the Mint in 1697, in the reign of William III.” — Snelling. 
 
158 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 the dies are supposed to have still been executed by Crocker. There is, how- 
 ever, a variety with the date of 1727 in which the portrait has the neck longer, 
 and the device of the reverse executed in a poorer manner, which is supposed to 
 be the work of Ocks. The half-guineas are of the type of the guineas of 1716. 
 The ribbon of the laurel shows two ends. There are half-guineas of the dates 
 1717-18-19-22-25-26-27. Quarter-guineas were first issued with that name 
 in this reign. They were intended to remedy, to some extent, the scarcity of 
 silver; but only £37,180 worth of them were struck, and of these a great 
 many were kept as pocket-pieces, and never got into circulation. 
 
 The copper coinage was much extended in this reign; above £46,000 
 worth having been issued in 1717, when the pound avoirdupois was coined 
 into twenty-eight pence. Specimen No. 10, Plate 12, is a farthing. 
 
 The Britannia on the halfpenny now became more like that of the Homan 
 coin from which it was originally taken. 
 
 In Ireland a patent was granted to William Wood, Esq., to coin copper 
 halfpence and farthings for Ireland; they were issued in 1722 and 1723; 
 they have Hibernia on the reverse, leaning on a harp — one variety being a 
 front figure beneath a rock. (No. 18, Plate 22.) They became known as 
 “ Hibernias.” In 1722 the same Mr. William Wood obtained a patent for 
 coining small money in America; and to profit by this speculation he coined 
 thirteen shillings out of a pound of brass. His money was, however, refused, 
 and never formed a currency. The types of these coins were, the king’s 
 head (George I.) on the obverse, with his name and titles; and a rose, or 
 rose and crown, on the reverse, with the legend, ROSA Americana, utile 
 ET DULCE. 
 
 Of Indian money it may be remarked that Tutanaque pice belong to this 
 reign ; they are of tin, and very light. The types resemble those of former 
 pice, being a large crown on the obverse, like the crown on the siege pieces 
 of Charles I., above which are the letters G. R., and below bomb. ; the legend, 
 Auspicio regis ET senatus Anglle, occupies the whole reverse, with the 
 date 1718. 
 
 The sovereigns of England, after the accession of George, issued a 
 distinct class of money in their German dominions, till the separation of 
 Hanover by the accession of the female fine to the English throne. The 
 largest Hanoverian silver of George I. was the rix dollar, the head on 
 the obverse of which is finely executed. The next piece was the gulden or 
 florin, two-thirds of a dollar: obverse, the arms as on the English coins; 
 and reverse, a wild man holding a tree. The one-third dollar had a well- 
 executed figure of St. Andrew on the reverse ; and the one-quarter dollar, 
 the Hanoverian galloping horse — a very pretty type, and well executed. 
 There was also the twelfth of a dollar, with a horse for the type of the 
 obverse, and the value, in German, on the reverse. The piece of four marien- 
 groshen had the arms, crowned, on the obverse, and the value on the reverse ; 
 the half of that piece had the crowned cypher, “G. R,” on the obverse. 
 
 The farthing of George I., engraved in Plate 12, No. 10, is one of the 
 year 1717; but there is another of 1723, with the head in much better relief. 
 
THE GOLD AND SILVER COINAGES OF GEORGE II. 
 
 159 
 
 GEORGE II. (1729 to 1760). No change took place in the weight, 
 value, &c., of the coinage during this reign. The king’s head was again 
 reversed, as had now become customary, and his bust Consequently turns 
 to the right. The titles were georgius ii. dei gratia, as in the reign 
 of his father. On the reverse a change took place in the arrangement of 
 the full title, which stands thus: M. B. F. et h. rex f. d. b. et l. d. s. 
 R. I. A. t. et e., being a new abbreviation of the English titles, followed 
 by a still more close abbreviation of the German ones, as will be perceived 
 on referring to the version of them given at page 157. Some alteration was 
 made in this reign in the pattern, lined or notched at the edges of the 
 shillings, sixpences, &c. ; for although the ornamented edge had put a stop to 
 the old clipping system, filing was now resorted to for robbing the coin; 
 by which means, after a portion of the edge had been removed, the 
 upright or diagonal lines might be restored by the file. To remedy this 
 evil, a serpentine line, very difficult to imitate by the file, was adopted 
 about 1710. In addition to the previous marks indicating the different 
 sources of the metal, the word LIMA occurs on those coins minted from 
 the silver captured either by Lord Anson, in the great Acapulco galleon, 
 or, as some think, by the “Prince Frederic,” and “The Duke” privateers. 
 Others have an elephant, for the silver imported by the African Company. 
 The Roman armour of the bust differs from that of George I. in having 
 a lion’s head for ornament at the shoulder. The dies in the beginning of 
 the reign were still engraved by Crocker, that is, up to 1739, and these 
 are called the young head. After that date, those with the old head were 
 engraved by Tamer. 
 
 Specimen No. 8, Plate 12, is a half-crown coined in the year of the 
 invasion of the Pretender, 1715. The reverse has the roses, indicating 
 West of England silver. No. 8J is the obverse of a half-crown, with LIMA 
 beneath the portrait. The maundy money appeared as usual. The large 
 silver pieces have their date and the year of the reign on the edge. 
 
 Of the gold coins the quarter-guinea was omitted in this reign. Up 
 to this time a number of the old hammered coins of James I., Charles 
 I., and Charles II., were still in circulation as broad pieces — an appropriate 
 name for the old thin rials and angels. Their circulation was now forbidden 
 by enactment. 
 
 The principal gold coins minted were guineas and half-guineas, only 
 a few five-pound and two-pound pieces being struck. The guinea was, 
 by proclamation, in 1737, raised to 22s. 9 d., and foreign gold coins passing 
 in this country, principally Portuguese, settled at proportionate rates. 
 The designs of the reverses of the gold coins were changed in this reign, 
 and the old garnished shield, somewhat varied, again adopted in place 
 of the four shields disposed as a cross. The disposition of the arms which 
 was thus abandoned on the gold was, however, continued on the silver coins. 
 
 The five-pound pieces with plain edge are very rare. In 1739 the 
 king’s monetary portrait was altered, by the new engraver, Tamer, to 
 make it accord with his increased age; but none being ready for the 
 
160 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 five-guineas, the young head was still used in 1704. In 1741 the dies 
 with the old head were ready for the five-guinea pieces. Those of that year 
 (1741) have lima. There are others of the same type of 1748 and 1753 : there 
 was no peculiarity in the gold coinage of the smaller pieces, and quarter- 
 guineas were no longer coined. The four shields were still used for the 
 reverses of the silver coinage; but the gold quarterings were arranged on 
 one large shield. 
 
 Specimen No. 9, Plate 12, is a two-pound piece. 
 
 The first coinage of copper halfpence and farthings in this reign was 
 under warrant of Queen Caroline (in 1738), for the time guardian of the 
 realm. There were forty-six halfpence coined out of the pound avoirdupois. 
 Though the false coining of gold or silver had been made high treason, 
 the coining of copper money was only deemed a misdemeanour, and the 
 increased penalty of this reign only made the punishment two years’ 
 imprisonment ; which slight punishment, in comparison to that for 
 forging gold and silver coins, was perhaps one cause of the great quantity 
 of false copper money now put into circulation. Birmingham was the 
 chief seat of these illegal mints, though destined afterwards to become 
 the legitimate centre of the whole copper coinage of the country, in the 
 great works at Soho. Up to this time, however, the copper coinage 
 appears to have been still considered a temporary expedient only. No 
 moneys were worked in this reign but at the Tower, and in the king’s 
 German dominions. 
 
 The copper coinage of George II. presents no remarkable feature. 
 The specimen No. Plate 12, is a halfpenny of 1742 (given in Ruding) ; 
 
 the reverse, Britannia, very like that of the Roman coins, but stiff, and 
 poor in style. 
 
 For Ireland, copper pence and halfpence were issued in this reign, only 
 differing from the English in the crowned harp of the reverse. 
 
 For America a small issue of brass pennies was made. The king’s head 
 on the obverse, and on the reverse a rose, crowned, with the legend, ROSA 
 AMERICANA, UTILE ET DULCE. 
 
 The German money of George II. was of similar types to those of George 
 I. (see page 159), but very little was issued. 
 
 GEORGE III. (1760 to 1820). This prince, on succeeding to the 
 throne of his grandfather, did not attempt to issue a silver coinage, 
 although the currency was scanty in amount, and of decreased value from 
 excessive wear and filing, which all the precautions of the last reign had 
 not been able effectually to prevent. In 1762 and 1763 a small amount 
 of coin (£5,791) Weis issued, but of what denomination is not stated. 
 In this coinage, and till 1787, one pound of silver of 11 oz. 2 dwts. 
 fine, to 18 dwts. alloy, was coined into sixty-two shillings. But 
 Mr. Hawkins supposes it was not from dies of George III., as no 
 coinage (except the maundy money) is known with His portrait* 
 
 * Yery poorly done on the maundy money, till the issue (or patterns) of 1798 , called the 
 wire-money, on which the head is very beautifully executed in low relief. 
 
GEORGE III.— THE WRETCHED STATE OF THE COINAGE. 
 
 161 
 
 before 1763, when shillings to the amount of £100 (!) were struck for 
 distribution to the populace of Dublin, when the Earl of Northumberland 
 became Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. A coinage, however, was in con- 
 templation, as evinced by the pattern shilling of 1764. In 1780 a 
 proposal was made, but without success, to take the coinage out of the 
 hands of the sovereign, abolishing the mint establishment, and vesting 
 the power of coining in the Bank of England. After such a proposition 
 it seems almost incredible that still no serious issue of silver money took 
 place until 1787, twenty-seven years after the accession of the king, and 
 more than the average length of a long reign. Yet, in 1772, the bad state 
 of the coinage offered such temptations to forgery, that £1,136 was 
 granted, over and above the £600 per annum allowed in the reign of 
 George II., for prosecuting forgers. The year 1787 was marked by an 
 issue of £55,459 in shillings and sixpences. The shillings had the king’s 
 bust, much in the same modern Roman style as that of his predecessor, 
 but stiff and less bold in execution, though an improvement on the shilling 
 of 1763. On the reverse these shillings resembled, both in type and 
 legend, those of George II., except that in the last mentioned the crowns 
 are between the shields instead of over them. As the silver pieces in 
 circulation in this country at the time were all light, and, in many 
 instances, worn quite smooth, the new shillings soon found their way to 
 the melting pot, being worth considerably more than the old ones. The 
 sixpences issued were exactly like the shillings, and shared their fate. 
 These small batches of new coins soon disappearing, the currency became 
 more and more scanty and depreciated, and no great effort was made, on 
 the part of the government, to remedy the evil, with the exception of 
 the copper money struck by Messrs. Boulton & Watt, of Soho, Birmingham, 
 in 1797. 
 
 Some time afterwards, however, the bad state of the silver coinage was 
 somewhat alleviated by the sanction of the Bank tokens of five-shillings, 
 &c., which were well executed coins. They had on the obverse the king’s 
 head, much in the style of that which appeared on the great new coinage 
 of 1817, and on the reverse the words bank token, in a wreath of oak and 
 bay, with the value. The tokens of the Bank of Ireland were of a similar 
 class, and equally well executed: they consisted chiefly of three-shilling 
 pieces, and of the well-known tenpennies, silver pieces resembling an 
 English shilling. 
 
 This wretched state of the national coinage, inconceivable as it may 
 appear, was allowed to go on, getting gradually worse and worse, till the 
 year 1803, when it was attempted to patch up the grievance by stamping 
 Spanish dollars,* for circulation, with a mark like that used at Goldsmiths’ 
 Hall for stamping silver plate. In the following year this stamp was 
 changed for a small octagon containing the king’s head; and about the 
 same time an arrangement was made with Mr. Boulton, of Soho, near 
 
 * The ancient Greeks also stamped the coins of another town or state with a countermark, 
 when they accepted them for public circulation. 
 
162 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., HI., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 Birmingham, to stamp the entire face of the dollar with a device, by 
 means of machinery, the result of the great inventions in the application 
 of steam-power, recently rendered practicable by Watt. 
 
 In 1798 Messrs. Dorrien and Company had endeavoured to remedy the 
 scarcity of silver money to some extent, by sending bullion to the Tower 
 to be coined on their own account, according to the Act of Charles II., upon 
 payment of certain dues. But after it was coined, the government of this 
 unfortunate period, destined ever to be obstructive, caused it all to be melted 
 down, on the plea that a coinage could not be lawful without a proclamation ; 
 so that this attempt on the part of the public to right the grievance them- 
 selves was rendered unavailing by the government. These coins, of which a 
 very few specimens escaped the crucible, were, with the exception of the date, 
 exactly like those of 1787. 
 
 A small issue of shillings, sixpences, and maundy money, took place in 
 1797 and 1798, the heads on which are very much more beautifully executed 
 than those of any other coins of the reign. Some consider them to have been 
 only patterns : they are known among collectors as the wire money, from the 
 very slender numerals on the maundy pieces. (No. 14, Plate 12.) The dies 
 of these pieces are said to have been executed by Ocks, who had been attached 
 to the mint ever since the close of the reign of George I. 
 
 It was not till 1816, during the regency of the Prince of Wales, that it 
 was determined to meet the difficulties of a new coinage. This event was, 
 perhaps, more owing to the activity and energy of Messrs. Boulton and Watt, 
 than to any initiative feeling on the part of the government. Those gentlemen 
 had, in the copper coinage confided to them in 1797, proved the efficacy of 
 their vast machinery, and had scientifically considered all the principles upon 
 which the coinage of a great nation ought to be conducted, especially as 
 regards its protection from the clipper and filer, and from the effects of 
 legitimate wear and tear. The first safeguard was obtained by such further 
 improvements in ornamenting the edges as rendered manual imitation 
 almost impossible ; and the second, the protection of the impress, by pre- 
 venting it from rubbing against other coins, was to a great extent effected 
 by a rim round the extreme edge, raised somewhat higher than the relief of 
 the device. Many beautiful and successful specimens were produced ; and at 
 length, by these facilities, and the arrival of the grievance at an insupportable 
 height, the government was stimulated to meet the difficulty. Messrs. Boulton 
 and Watt erected machinery in the Boyal Mint similar to their own at Soho, 
 and a new coinage began in earnest. 
 
 The French Revolution had worked great changes, not only in politics, 
 but in art, throughout Europe ; and the new coinage was consequently in 
 a totally different style of design to all previous ones. The Parisian school 
 of painting, founded by David, had thrown off the flattering pomposity of 
 the pseudo-Roman style of the earlier portions of the eighteenth century, 
 and aimed at copying nature through the artistic medium of the statuesque 
 simplicity of Greek models. However full of exaggeration the new style may 
 be said to have been, it led the way to a much better and more natural school 
 
THE GEEAT NEW COINAGE OF GEOEGE III. 
 
 163 
 
 of art than that which had sprung up about the period of Louis XIII., and 
 had been growing gradually worse till the revolution of 1781; even more 
 characterless in England than on the Continent. The dies for the new coinage 
 were executed by Wyon; and, influenced by the general new feeling in art, 
 he abandoned the conventional Roman armour and mantle, and produced 
 a simple laureated bust, founded upon the best antique models — those of 
 Greece now furnishing the style rather than those of Rome, which, in the 
 previous phase of art, had been filtered down to the most insipid conventional 
 mannerism ; whilst the new school, with all its defects, set forward with fresh 
 and more invigorating influences. The design adopted was a laureated head, 
 with the bust undraped ; too familiar to require description. The reverse also 
 was changed, and the old disposition of the four shields as a cross entirely 
 abandoned. In February, 1817, the issue of the new half-crowns, shillings, 
 and sixpences, took place, and all who recollect that event bear witness to 
 the agreeable impression produced, and the extraordinary beauty the coins 
 appeared to possess, after the flat, bent, and battered bits of silver, so far 
 below their nominal value, that had been long made to pass current as the 
 coin of the realm. The old shillings were about one-quarter, and the six- 
 pences one-third, less than their proper value. 
 
 The new pieces were indeed, in mechanical execution, the finest that had 
 ever been issued in Europe, and the artistic merit of the devices was very 
 considerable. One of the principal defects was a coarse or, perhaps, brutal 
 expression in the face of the king’s portrait, which, at the time, led to its 
 being vulgarly termed the “ Whitechapel butcher.” 
 
 Crown-pieces were soon afterwards issued, having on the reverse the 
 national device of St. George and the Dragon, founded upon that which had 
 appeared on the George noble of Henry VIII., but in the new school of art, 
 the knight in armour being superseded by a classical naked figure, wearing 
 only a Greek helmet. This attempt to exhibit on the coinage a work of art 
 of a class superior to the trivialities of heraldic blazonry, was made by Pis- 
 trucci, whose work did not, however, give the satisfaction it deserved, and 
 was over-severely criticized. This group of St. George and the Dragon is, it 
 is said, nearly an absolute copy of a figure in a battle-piece on one of the 
 famous antique gems of the Orleans collection ; but several Greek coins which 
 I could point out might equally well have furnished the model. It is on the 
 whole a spirited performance ; but the improvement it might have effected 
 in the style of the art displayed on our coinage was completely swamped by 
 the petty jealousies and bickerings caused by the introduction of Pistrucci 
 to the mint, on the ground of his being a foreigner, though nearly all the 
 die engravers had been foreigners since the introduction of the Roettiers, in 
 the reign of Charles II. He had previously engraved a similar figure upon 
 the twenty-shilling gold coin of the new issue, again termed a “sovereign” 
 after a lapse of three centuries. The silver crown of George III. is now 
 getting scarce; and the handsome reverse becoming better appreciated, 
 collectors give from twenty to thirty shillings, and even more, for well- 
 preserved specimens. 
 
1 6 4 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 On the half-crowns, which were engraved by Wyon, there was no artistic 
 device on the reverse, the usual armorial bearings being displayed on a 
 simple shield, with the arms of Hanover on an escutcheon of pretence ; the 
 legend was, britanniarum rex, fid. DEF. : in the garniture of the shield are 
 the letters w. w. P., for William Wellesley Pole, master of the mint ; and w. 
 for Wyon, the engraver: the edge is ornamented with a peculiar notching, 
 and not lettered like the half-crowns of the preceding reigns. 
 
 The shillings were engraved by Wyon, from a bust cut in jasper by 
 Pistrucci. 
 
 The maundy money had the new bust on the obverse, but the reverse had 
 only the crowned numerals as before. 
 
 On the issue of this new money, individuals received, in exchange for old 
 coins, new ones equal in amount to the nominal value of the old, the loss 
 falling upon the general revenue. Twenty stations were established in 
 different parts of London for effecting the exchange, which, with the assist- 
 ance of the bankers, was carried through in an incredibly short space of 
 time. 
 
 Of this great re-coinage of 1817, when the style of the coins was totally 
 changed, as described, I do not think it necessary to give examples, as all the 
 coins then struck are still in circulation ; and very numerous specimens are, 
 I hope, in the pockets and cash-boxes of all my readers. 
 
 The latest illustrations in this work are, therefore, with the exception of 
 the crown and florin and bronze coinage of Victoria, the earlier coins of this 
 reign, before the change of style. Nos. 11 and 12, Plate 12, are the first 
 shilling issued in 1763. No. 13, Plate 12, is the obverse of a shilling of 
 the issue of 1787. The first maundy money was like that of the previous 
 reign. No. 14, Plate 12, is a threepenny piece of the wire-money , as it was 
 termed, on account of the slender Arabic numerals. 
 
 The gold coinage of George III. was not quite so long neglected as that 
 of silver. But, nevertheless, the issues were scanty and insufficient. In the 
 year of the king’s accession a gold coinage took place, and there are guineas 
 of that date, and likewise of almost every year between 1761 and 1774. 
 These issues were of guineas and half-guineas, the larger pieces being merely 
 struck as medals. In the following year quarter-guineas were again struck 
 as in the reign of George I. ; and a subsequent gold coinage took place 
 in 1770, when forty-four guineas and a-half were coined out of every 
 pound weight of gold, 22 carats fine to 2 carats of alloy (crown gold). 
 Seven-shilling pieces were issued in addition to the quarter-guineas in this 
 coinage.* 
 
 In 1774 the head on the guinea was changed for one resembling, though 
 in poor relief, a beautiful pattern to be afterwards referred to. 
 
 In 1787 a new gold coinage took place, and the guineas, known as “spade 
 guineas,” appeared : they were so called from the shield on the reverse, which 
 
 * In 1 793 the gold coinage had become so deteriorated that it was found necessary to 
 obtain a grant of £230,000, to cover the cost of calling in the light gold; which, however, 
 was a step in the right direction. 
 
THE GUINEAS OF GEORGE. III. 
 
 165 
 
 was quite simple, and of the form of a pointed spade. The latest date I have 
 seen on guineas of this pattern is 1799. 
 
 Then comes the last guinea, that of 1813. It has the head in a more 
 modern style, and the reverse is also of a totally new character, having the 
 arms in a small circle , enclosed in a “ garter.” The half-guineas followed 
 nearly the same course, the improved head appearing about 1774, and the 
 spade pattern about 1787; but half-guineas with the arms enclosed in a 
 garter appeared as early as 1801, and I have seen specimens with the date of 
 each year up to 1813. Guineas of this type were probably prepared at the 
 same time, but I have only seen them of the date of 1813.* 
 
 The seven-shilling pieces have on the reverse a crown, but without a 
 lion, as on the pattern to be referred to. The head on the early ones is very 
 bad, but in 1804 it was changed for one similar to that on the half-guineas. 
 Next came the twenty-shilling piece of 1817, once more termed a sovereign ; 
 the term “ guinea,” which first came into use in the reign of Charles II., 
 finally disappearing. 
 
 The wretched state of the coinage throughout the greater part of this 
 reign, though it did -not, till the eleventh hour, stimulate the government to 
 any effectual remedy, yet produced a certain extent of activity in the 
 preparation of patterns,! and other such preliminary steps. The most 
 remarkable gold patterns prepared are as follow: — 
 
 First , a finely-executed piece, dated 1772, the head of which is superior 
 to that on any gold coin really issued up to 1817. It was poorly imitated on 
 the guineas from 1774 to 1787. 
 
 Secondly , a curious pattern, called Mahon’s, or Lord Stanhope’s pattern : 
 the head is very poor, and executed in a wretched wiry manner, which it is 
 said his lordship considered a style likely to “ wear well.” This pattern has 
 a curious border or edging, by which it is easily distinguished. 
 
 In 1798 a pattern guinea was proposed by Messrs. Boulton and Watt, 
 of the same design as the large penny they coined for the government 
 in 1797, with the raised rim and sunk letters. This style looks very well 
 in gold. 
 
 There is a pattern seven-shilling piece of 1775, with the rose, shamrock, 
 and thistle, crowned, for the reverse. 
 
 There is also a pattern half-guinea, having, with a view to durability, 
 the portrait sunk instead of raised — an approach to the incavo-relievo style 
 of the Egyptians, recommended for the new coinage of Victoria by Mr. 
 Bonomi. 
 
 THE COPPER COINAGE OF GEORGE III. 
 
 The copper coinage received no more attention in the early part of this 
 reign than the silver. The following are the only remarkable events 
 
 * I should state that these notes on the guineas of George III. are made from the 
 collection in the British Museum, which I have since been informed is far from complete. 
 
 f Patterns , as previously explained, are such pieces as were not executed in quantity, and 
 were never issued. 
 
166 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 connected with it. In 1770 the sovereignty of the Isle of Man was 
 purchased of the Duke and Duchess of Athole for £70,000, when copper 
 was struck for circulation in the island, having for its device the three 
 joined legs, the armorial device of the island.* 
 
 The general copper currency was in such a state about 1784 that private 
 tokens were again tolerated. These tradesmen’s tokens began with the 
 Anglesea penny, and continued to spread in great variety, forming in 
 themselves an interesting collection of medals, till superseded by the 
 national copper coinage of 1797; in the July of which year a contract was 
 entered into with Mr. Boulton, of Soho, near Birmingham, for coining 500 
 tons of copper, in pennies only. 
 
 The result of this contract was the production of the large, boldly- 
 executed pennies still current, which have the inscription sunk in the 
 raised rim, with a view to its longer preservation. The whole pattern 
 was thought so striking, that a pattern guinea was made from the same 
 design. The die for this penny was executed by a German artist, in the 
 employ of Messrs. Boulton, and a “K” exists on some of the coins — the 
 initial of his name (. Kughler ). There were twopenny pieces of this type, 
 which are very handsome, and they are much sought by collectors, if in 
 good condition. 
 
 The penny pieces of this issue were popularly known as the cart-wheel 
 pattern, from the flat raised rim above referred to. These pieces originally 
 weighed exactly one ounce avoirdupois, being intended, in addition to 
 its use as a coin, to serve as a standard of weight, which might become 
 a check upon the dishonesty of small retail dealers, as the purchaser could, 
 at any time, put his penny piece into the scale instead of the ounce 
 weight of the dealer, whenever reasons for suspicion of its full weight arose. 
 Two years later, however, it was found necessary to decrease the weight of 
 these handsome pence ; for manufacturers requiring copper, found it cheaper 
 to melt them down than to purchase new copper. In the next issue 
 eighteen pennies instead of sixteen were coined out of the pound of 
 copper, and the fanciful notion of making the copper penny an example 
 of the standard ounce avoirdupois was abandoned. In 1805 a still further 
 reduction in the size of the pence was found necessary, in consequence 
 of a further rise in the value of copper, and twenty-four pence were coined 
 out of the pound. This issue was not of the cart-wheel pattern, but of 
 the much commoner type of the copper of George III., much of which is 
 still in circulation. 
 
 Arago* in his popular biographies of great men, says, incidentally, “ It 
 was Boulton who re-coined for the English government the whole copper 
 specie of the United Kingdom. The economy and excellence with which 
 this great work was accomplished rendered counterfeits nearly impossible.”! 
 
 * See next section, “ Coinage of the Channel Islands.” 
 
 t Previous to that time, when the whole of the copper in circulation was so much worn 
 that scarcely any device was visible, and worn out coins of all nations were in circulation in 
 the country as genuine national coins, forgeries were carried on to an enormous extent. 
 
GEORGE III. — THE COPPER COINAGE AT THE SOHO WORKS. 16*7 
 
 “The executions” (for the crime of false coining), which, in Birming- 
 ham and London, were till then, unhappily, of frequent occurrence, alto- 
 gether ceased. It was on occasion of this result that Dr. Darwin exclaimed, 
 in one of the notes to his Botanic Garden , “ If a civic crown was given 
 in Rome for preserving the life of one citizen, Mr. Boulton should be 
 covered with garlands of oak!” The celebrated Soho Mint, at which 
 this unparalleled rapidity and excellence in the art of coinage was so 
 suddenly achieved, through the medium of Watt’s wonderful improve- 
 ments in the application of steam-power, was established in the year 
 1788; and between that time and the year 1808, no less than 3,531 
 tons of copper were coined there. Such was the acknowledged 
 success of the system adopted, and such the evident superiority to 
 the government method then in use, that Mr. Boulton was employed 
 to construct similar machinery for the new Royal Mint erected on 
 Tower Hill. The machinery then erected in that building, not only 
 performed all that was proposed, but was so perfect in all its leadino* 
 features, that at the present day, after fifty years’ constant employment, 
 it continues to work with as great perfection as at the time it was 
 set up; and notwithstanding the great improvements that have taken 
 place in the structure of steam machinery in general, only a few very 
 minor alterations have been thought advisable in the principles then 
 adopted, and which at present appears scarcely to admit of ameliorations. 
 The fame of the machinery constructed by Boulton for the British mint 
 soon reached other countries, and he was called upon to furnish similar 
 plants of machinery for the Royal Mints of St. Petersburg and Copenhagen. 
 
 So much better was this undertaking conducted at Soho, that though 
 Mr. Boulton included many things not mentioned in mint estimates he 
 coined more cheaply, and yet gained a profit. Indeed, so convinced was 
 the government of his more business-like views in the management of the 
 undertaking, that they were glad to allow him to find his own copper for a 
 subsequent coinage. 
 
 The annexed engraving, No, 15, Plate 12, is the reverse of a halfpenny 
 of one of the coinages of 1799. 
 
 Specimen No. 19, Plate 22, is the penny coined in 1805 for Ireland, with 
 the crowned harp on the reverse. 
 
 COINAGE OF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES. 
 
 Ancient coins are frequently found in the Isle of Man, supposed to be of 
 the early sovereigns of the island, Godred, Fingal, Lagman, Olave, &c., &c., 
 some of them bearing the names of these princes, whose authority seems to 
 have extended from about 1050 to near the end of the twelfth century. 
 In the year 1406 Henry IV. granted this island, with all its regalities, to 
 Sir Thomas Stanley, afterwards Earl of Derby. 
 
 The earliest money coined by this family is dated 1723; it has the arms 
 of Man, the three legs, on the obverse, with quocunque jeceris stabit, and 
 
168 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 I. D. for “James Earl of Derby,” or rather “Jacobus Darbiensis,” and below 
 1, for one halfpenny. The reverse is the crest of the Derby family, and 
 the motto sans changer. Their last coins have on the reverse a cipher, 
 formed of the initials “A. D.,” beneath an imperial crown, and date, 1758. 
 
 After 1770 copper money was coined for the use of the Isle of Man, with 
 the local device of the three legs, but omitting all reference to the Derby 
 family. Some copper pieces were struck for Man, in the style of the heavy 
 penny of George III., with the old mottoes sunk round the edge 
 
 For Guernsey and Jersey copper money was also coined in this reign, with 
 the local types or arms. The money of the states of Jersey has generally 
 their arms, the shield with three leopards, with the legend, states of jersey, 
 and the date ; on the reverse, the value, within a wreath of oak. The coins 
 of Guernsey have a shield with three lions, and guernsey ; and on the 
 reverse the value (as four doubles ), and the date. 
 
 One of the British coins struck for America in this reign was a half- 
 penny, for Virginia, having the bust of the king on the obverse, and on 
 the reverse the royal arms, crowned, and Virginia, 1773. This was the last 
 coin struck for America, the United States having soon after detached them- 
 selves permanently from the parent countiy. 
 
 In addition to these issues, notwithstanding the great neglect of the 
 home currency, the great increase of our colonial empire caused a remarkable 
 variety of colonial coin to be struck, of which the following selection will 
 convey a sufficient general idea. 
 
 For Fort Marlboro’ (Bencoolee) half-dollars were issued as early as 1783 ; 
 they were made in the style of the native money, having Persian legends on 
 the obverse ; but on the reverse, fort marlboro’, in English, with the date. 
 
 In 1791 a copper piece was issued by the Sierra Leone Company, having 
 a lion on the obverse, with AFRICA in the exergue, and SIERRA LEONE COM- 
 PANY for the legend. The reverse had two clasped hands, and the legend 
 1 penny, with the date. 
 
 In 1793 copper was coined for the use of Bermuda, having the usual bust, 
 &c., on the obverse, and a ship, with BERMUDA, 1793, on the reverse. 
 
 In 1788 copper coin was issued for Barbadoes, having on the obverse a 
 negro’s head, wearing the Prince of Wales feathers, and having the motto, 
 i serve. The reverse was a pine apple, with barbadoes penny, and the 
 date. Another Barbadoes coin of 1792 has on the reverse the king, in a 
 marine car, holding a trident. 
 
 In 1802 and 1809 copper and silver coinages were issued for Ceylon, the 
 silver rude and rough, but the copper piece well executed. It is a stiver, the 
 Dutch coinage having been current there. Another large copper coin, of the 
 size of a penny, the principal type being an elephant, was issued for Ceylon. 
 
 In 1806 copper was coined for the use of Bahama, the reverse being a 
 ship, with BAHAMA, and in the exergue, repulsis piratis restituta com- 
 mercia — suggested, no doubt, by the well-known Roman coin of Pompey the 
 Great, struck to commemorate his destruction of the pirates of the Mediter- 
 ranean, who had ravaged the Roman coasts at that time. 
 
GEORGE III. 
 
 169 
 
 In 1809 handsome silver tokens of three shillings were issued for Esse- 
 quibo and Demerara, having on the reverse a large Arabic 8, crowned, be- 
 tween oak branches, with the name of the colonies and the date; and a 
 similar issue, rather thicker and smaller, appeared in 1811. 
 
 In 1813 a copper coin, of the same type and size, called a stiver, was 
 issued, of the value of about a penny. 
 
 To dispose of all the money of this class issued by George III., I may 
 also mention in this place that in 1819 copper money was struck for the use 
 of the Ionian Islands, having a figure of Britannia on the obverse, and on 
 the reverse a winged lion, &c., and the legend, in Greek characters IONIKON 
 kpatos, — “The government of Ionia.” (See No. 3, Plate 23.) 
 
 The German money issued by George III. was very various. The two- 
 third dollar had a well-executed portrait on the obverse, and on the re- 
 verse § in large Arabic ciphers, similar to those of his English wire -money. 
 The one-third dollar had the arms on the reverse, with ] 3 in small numerals 
 below ; and the one-sixth, a similar type, had the arms within the garter. 
 
 The twelfth of a thaler (1815) had the type of the galloping horse of 
 Hanover for the obverse, and the value on the reverse. 
 
 The marien-gros and four pfennings had an interlaced cipher, “ G. B.,” 
 crowned, and on the reverse the values, in German, with the date. The gold 
 issue consisted of the ten-thaler piece (1811) and the pistole (1803), both 
 having on the obverse the galloping horse, with the king’s titles for the legend ; 
 on the reverse, the values, &c. The ducat (date 1815) had the same types; 
 but on the reverse is the legend, EX AURO harcinre, denoting that it was 
 made of gold from the mines of the Hartz forests. 
 
 The brass or copper of the German dominions was always considered 
 insignificant, in consequence of the abundance of small base silver, the 
 marien-groshen, &c. ; but in 1814 a piece of one pfenning sclieide muntz was 
 issued, having the royal cipher, crowned, on the obverse, and the value on 
 the reverse. It is about the size of a farthing. 
 
 The German money continued similar till the separation of Hanover, 
 which took place on the accession of the female line to the English throne, 
 in the person of Victoria I. 
 
 GEORGE IV. (1820 to 1830). During this reign the silver coinage con- 
 tinued of the same values and denominations as the recent coinage of the 
 previous reign. Most of the pieces have the initials of Pistrucci, “ B. P.,” who 
 engraved all the first dies. The George and Dragon was slightly altered 'for 
 the crowns, the design being somewhat larger. In 1824 the king disapproved 
 of the likeness on the coins, and the bust of Chantrey being just completed, 
 Pistrucci was directed to copy it in a series of new dies ; but he declined 
 imitating the work of another artist, and the dies after Chantrey’s bust were 
 consequently executed by Wyon; after which time Pistrucci enjoyed a sine- 
 cure in his appointment in the mint. In the bust after Chantrey, which 
 is a highly -flattered likeness, the king is represented without the laurel, 
 which, as an emblem of victory, was considered inappropriate, no war having 
 taken place in his reign. These pieces, the reverses of which were engraved 
 
 M 
 
170 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 by Merlin, are very beautiful. As a somewhat obsolete symbol, the laurel 
 was thought unlikely ever to be renewed; but since the Crimean war it 
 has been adopted on the coinage of Victoria. A great improvement on the 
 immediately preceding coins was effected in the armorial bearings, by leaving 
 out the lines indicative of the colour of the respective fields, which had 
 rather confused the effect of the design of the coins of 1817 and succeeding 
 years. 
 
 A new reverse for the shillings was adopted in 1 825, consisting of a sprig 
 of rose, thistle, and shamrock, united under a crown. It had been proposed 
 for gold seven-shilling pieces in 1775, when patterns only were struck. 
 
 The maundy money has the bust like the early coins of this reign, the 
 new bust never being adopted for these small coins ; the reverses have the 
 numerals, crowned, between oak branches, and the date. F urtlier particulars 
 respecting the slight differences of each separate issue are superfluous in this 
 place, as most of the coins are still in circulation. 
 
 The gold underwent similar reforms as to the head of the king, the flat 
 laureated head by Pistrucci giving place to the Chantrey head by Wyon ; 
 and there are double-sovereigns, sovereigns, and half-sovereigns, of this type. 
 The double-sovereigns are most beautiful coin, the head in bold relief, and 
 very simple and grand in effect. Five-pound pieces were also struck, but 
 not for general circulation. 
 
 The copper coins underwent similar alterations, the old Britannia becom- 
 ing a more Minerva-like figure, with a Greek helmet; and the Chantrey 
 bust, without the laurel, being adopted on the later pennies, halfpennies, and 
 farthings. 
 
 The copper coined for Ireland was still distinguished by the crowned harp 
 on the reverse. 
 
 I shall not again refer to the colonial money till the end of this volume, 
 when it will be necessary to devote a final paragraph to the British money 
 coined in India. I must, however, note in this place that a project appears to 
 have been entertained in this reign for issuing a general colonial coinage to 
 circulate in the British dependencies in all parts of the world, with suitable 
 types and legends. In 1823 a pattern for this projected coinage was 
 prepared, having the kings head and titles on the obverse, the value, as T ^ 5 
 dollar, with a wreath, on the reverse, and the date 1823; or, with the royal 
 arms on the obverse, the titles in the legend, and a crowned anchor on the 
 reverse, with an abbreviated Latin legend: C0L0NlA.(rum) BRITT AN. (nige) 
 monet. (a), and the date, 1823. 
 
 The German money issued in this reign was of small bulk, and mostly of 
 the old types and legends, for which see previous reigns. 
 
 In this reign some colonial money for Demerara was issued; a fine three- 
 shilling piece, similar to those of former reigns, and a guilder, similar in 
 size and types to the English shilling. 
 
 WILLIAM IV. (1830 to 1837). The Duke of Clarence ascended the throne 
 on the death of his brother, and arrangements were made for a new coinage, 
 exactly on the same principles as those of the last coins of the preceding reign. 
 
WILLIAM IV. 
 
 m 
 
 Pattern crowns, issued only in small number for the cabinets of collectors, 
 had the arms on the reverse, in a plain shield, displayed on a mantle of ermine. 
 The half-crowns, of the same pattern, with slight exceptions, were issued for 
 currency. 
 
 The shillings were issued with no armorial device, but with simply one 
 shilling on the reverse, between a branch of oak and one of laurel: a device 
 affording perhaps still less scope for the talent of the artist than even the 
 armorial bearings. But as long as the office of master of the mint was conferred 
 upon some political adherent, without regard to his fitness for its duties, little 
 reform in the style of art adapted to the coinage could be expected.* The 
 maundy money of this reign has the numerals, between similar branches of 
 oak and laurel to those of the shillings. 
 
 The groat, or fourpenny piece, was again issued for currency in this reign, 
 and proved a very useful coin. The reverse is similar to that on the recent 
 copper coins, Britannia helmeted, with a trident, and the legend FOUR 
 PENCE. 
 
 The gold coins for circulation were like the last pieces of George IV., 
 having the head without a laurel wreath, and very beautifully executed by 
 Wyon; indeed, a perfectly new impression of one of the sovereigns of this 
 reign forms a very beautiful example of the art of the period. There were 
 only sovereigns and half-sovereigns ; the five-pounds and double-sovereigns 
 being only coined in small numbers, and principally issued among collectors. 
 
 The copper coins were pennies, halfpennies, and farthings; the devices 
 were modelled after the gold and silver pieces ; the head, like that of George 
 IV., without the laurel, the reverses having the figure of Britannia, like 
 those of the last reign. The pennies of this reign have become very scarce, 
 in consequence of the discovery that the copper of which they were made 
 contained gold, each penny being intrinsically worth three halfpence. This 
 discovery soon consigned the whole issue to the melting pot. 
 
 The last Anglo-German money was issued in this reign, the types being 
 as before. (See George I., II., and III.) 
 
 VICTORIA. The death of the late king in 1837 brought the Princess 
 Victoria, daughter of his brother, the Duke of Kent, to the throne. In this 
 reign no crowns have as yet been issued. The half-crowns have a very 
 pleasing portrait-bust of the Queen, engraved by Wyon, from a wax model 
 taken by himself from the life. The reverse has the shield, crowned, between 
 two branches of laurel. The colours are again expressed, in the arms, by lines 
 in different directions, in the usual heraldic manner — which is certainly nor 
 an improvement. These half-crowns were not issued for two years, many 
 causes of delay occurring. The shilling resembles that of the preceding reign, 
 the reverse having one shilling between oak and laurel branches. The 
 sixpences have the same types as the shillings. 
 
 The maundy money has the portrait like the groat (or fourpenny piece), 
 
 * Mr. Hawkins, in his excellent work, refers to these misappointments in a spirited and 
 eloquent manner. 
 
172 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., IT., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., ANT) VICTORIA. 
 
 but the reverses have the crowned numerals as previously. The groat is 
 still coined for circulation, having the figure of Britannia on the reverse, 
 as in the last reign, and also a threepenny piece, which is distinguishable 
 from the fourpenny even to the touch, by not being notched at the edge. 
 The gold coins are only sovereigns and half-sovereigns, with the portrait by 
 Wyon on the obverse. The larger pieces were only struck as medals, 
 which may be procured by the curious on application at the mint. A 
 pattern has, however, been issued of a five-pound piece, which was originally 
 intended for circulation. (No. 17, Plate 12.) It has a fine head of the 
 queen on the obverse, and the reverse exhibits a step towards a greater 
 display of art. It is said to be a symbolic figure of Una and the Lion, which, 
 though picturesque, appears somewhat far-fetched, and little appropriate. 
 Taken, however, as an idealized female sovereign, holding in one hand the 
 orb and cross, and with the other guiding a lion, as a symbol of the British 
 nation, the device appears more directly appropriate. 
 
 A copper coinage was issued upon the same principles as in the two 
 preceding reigns, with the exception of the addition of the half-farthing, 
 suggested by the late Sir Robert Peel — a very pretty little coin, but not 
 struck in sufficient numbers to prove of that convenience to the poor in the 
 purchase of small portions of cheap articles of food, &c., which an abundant 
 issue might have caused them to become, as shown in the case of cents , and 
 other small copper money of neighbouring nations. 
 
 The copper coins of various reigns, estimated to be in circulation in 1860, 
 in twopenny pieces, pennies, halfpennies, and farthings, in Great Britain and 
 her dependencies, was of the value of £1,203,300 sterling, weighing 5,371 
 tons, and consisting of nearly 500,000,000 of pieces. It should be stated, 
 however, that the twopenny pieces, all coined between 1788 and 1800, to 
 the number of about 722,000, have disappeared from circulation, and are 
 supposed to have been hoarded as pocket pieces, &c., while the half-farthings 
 are reported to have found their way to Ceylon, where their convenience 
 seems to be fully appreciated. 
 
 To replace this vast mass of coin, it is now (1860) proposed to prepare 
 an issue of bronze, which, as being of greater value, will be much more 
 convenient, as being less in bulk and weight. In order to produce the 
 number of the new pieces required to replace the present amount of copper 
 coin within a reasonable time, it will be found necessary to resort again 
 to contractors, as in the case of the mint established at Soho in 1788. This 
 may be easily conceived when it is considered that the Royal Mint cannot 
 strike more than 200,000 pieces (of any metal) per day; so that it would 
 require nearly eight years, supposing even that the coinage of gold and 
 silver could be allowed to stand still for that time. It will, however, be 
 required to do the work within a year, or little more, which renders it 
 evidently impossible to avoid resorting to extraneous assistance. 
 
 Specimens are already prepared, the dies of which have been executed 
 by Mr. L. C. Wyon. The figures No. 25 and 26, Plate 23, represent the 
 devices of the obverse and reverse of the penny of the intended bronze 
 
VICTORIA. 
 
 1 
 
 I/O 
 
 coinage, those of halfpennies and farthings being the same on a relatively 
 smaller scale. The designs appear altogether unsuccessful, the portrait being 
 as unlike as it is unflattering to the queen, and the Britannia being of 
 poorer design than any previous type of the same devices. 
 
 The decrease of weight and size, as compared with the present copper 
 coinage, may be readily understood by recollecting, as stated above, that 
 twenty-four pennies are struck out of the pound weight of copper, while 
 a pound weight of bronze will furnish forty pennies. The bronze is 
 composed of ninety-five parts of copper, four parts of tin, and one part 
 zinc. It will have a yellower colour than copper, more approaching, when 
 new, the tone of gold, and will be free from the unpleasant odour which is 
 one of the objections often made to existing copper coinage. With these 
 manifest advantages, it is much to be regretted that better devices were 
 not secured, which, by means of a public competition, with a suitable 
 prize of fitting amount, must easily have been obtained. 
 
 It should be stated here, that objections have been made to the issue of 
 this bronze coinage on account of its not being of the intrinsic value which 
 it represents. 
 
 A pattern five-shilling piece was prepared in 1 847, having the head of 
 the queen, crowned , the last example of that mode of representation being 
 the first issue of the reign of Charles II. — rather an unfortunate precedent. 
 On the reverse was revived the pretty device of the four shields arranged as 
 a cross, the angles filled with well-designed branches of rose, shamrock, and 
 thistle. The inscriptions are beautifully executed in old English character 
 and have a striking effect. (No. 1 7, Plate 12.) On the whole, notwithstanding 
 many defects, this was a beautiful coin ; but it was never worked, on account 
 of petty abuses in the administration of the mint, the reform of which, it 
 was found, would be more troublesome than the abandonment of the new 
 crown, which was therefore set aside till a thorough reform in the constitu- 
 tion of the mint should have taken place. 
 
 The present sketch of the coinage during the three last reigns is but a mere 
 outline, as all the circumstances connected with the coins of a period so recent 
 must be too familiar to require further detail, with the exception, perhaps, of 
 the florin, to be referred to in the paragraph on the decimal coinage. 
 
 THE ANGLO-INDIAN COINAGE, FROM GEORGE II. TO VICTORIA. 
 
 Early in the reign of George II. small copper coins were struck in 
 India, with the dates 1732 and 1734, in large Arabic numerals on one side, 
 and on the other the monogram of the East India Company, H. I. E. c., 
 within a heart, No. 18, Plate 23, is one of 1734. Other coins of similar 
 character were struck at this period. After the capture of Calcutta, the 
 right to establish a mint there was one of the stipulations of the treaty with 
 Suraj ad Doula, dated 7th February, 1757. 
 
 It being found that money of the native legends, or types, circulated 
 more freely than with English ones, exact imitations of the native rupees 
 
174 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 were issued, even to the defects in the mode of coinage. Thus, the native 
 dies being always made much larger than the piece of metal to be coined, 
 the latter only received a portion of the legends, except when presentation 
 pieces were struck, as on the accession of a new monarch, &c. No. 11, Plate 
 23, is one of the English rupees of this description, with the Persian legend. 
 It was not, however, till the commencement of the succeeding reign that any 
 great degree of activity took place in the mints of the “ Company.” 
 
 In the reign of George III. many Anglo-Indian coins of different values 
 and denominations were issued. Prior to 1773 the gicld, or thick rupee, was 
 coined, which greatly resembled, in general character, the one represented at 
 No. 11, Plate 23, but was smaller and thicker. About the same time, or 
 soon afterwards, imitations of the “Nurshed Abad” rupees of “the 19th 
 sun” were struck at Calcutta. In 1774 or 1775 copper pieces were issued 
 at Bombay, with the name of the coin, the place of mintage, and date 
 (which is imperfect on my specimen) on the obverse, and the monogram of 
 the Company on the reverse. In 1787 a copper piece was issued, with the 
 monogram of the Company and date on one side, and a Persian inscription, 
 similar to that of the rupees, on the other. In 1787 a rupee with the 
 Company’s monogram on one side, and a Persian inscription on the other, 
 very similar in general appearance to the copper pieces last described. 
 In 1790 machinery was forwarded from England for the Calcutta mint, and 
 rupees were at last issued, showing the entire legend on the face of the coin. 
 They were also properly edged, like European coins, and this improve- 
 ment was shortly afterwards adopted in the mints of Bombay and Madras. 
 No. 13, Plate 23, is a twenty-cash piece of Bombay, of 1791. Subsequently 
 steam-power was adopted in the Calcutta mint, with the aid of which 
 
 300.000 pieces might be coined in a single working day of seven hours, and 
 
 303.000 pieces have actually been executed within that time. 
 
 In 1794 a well executed copper coin was issued, bearing on the obverse 
 the arms of the Company,* surrounded by the motto, AUSPICES REGIS ET 
 SENATUS ANGLiiE, in sunken letters, and the words, 48 TO ONE RUPEE. On 
 the reverse was the old monogram of the Company, with the legend, united 
 east INDIA company, 1794. Bound the rim were also the words, ENGLISH 
 UNITED EAST INDIA company. This piece resembles, in general character, the 
 large heavy penny executed by Messrs. Boulton and Watt, and the dies were 
 probably prepared by them. In 1795 “ pice” of copper were issued, slightly 
 altered from the early Anglo-Indian types of Charles II. and James II. 
 They had legends in the native language and character, adopted from a well- 
 known type of the native money. On the obverse the inscription reads, 
 IN THE 37th YEAR OF the reign OF SHAH ALEM; and the reverse in Bengalee, 
 Nagari, and Persian letters, ONE PAI SICCA, The term “ sicca,” in reference 
 both to rupees and “ pice ” is an allusion to a standard monetary weight of 
 that name. This pie, or rather pai, is engraved in Plate 23, No. 12. It was 
 
 *' It was not till 1835 that it was determined that the Anglo-Indian coinage of the East 
 India Company should thenceforward bear the name of the British sovereign, with English 
 legends, the name of the coin, rupee, being repeated in Persian. 
 
VICTORIA. 
 
 17 5 
 
 afterwards made thicker and smaller, and the legend differently disposed. 
 The Nagari copper was also struck about 1795. Very rudely executed 
 “cash” appeared in 1803, having the monogram of the Company on the 
 obverse, and the date partly off the coin on the reverse. Soon afterwards, 
 however, in the same year, very neatly executed “ cash’s” were issued, having 
 a lion rampant, with the date on the obverse, and the name and value of the 
 coin in Hindustani and in English on the reverse. (Plate 23, No. 10.) The 
 issue of a coin so perfect, and at the same period one so rude, shows the great 
 want of system existing at that time in the management of the affairs of 
 the mint. A very neatly executed coin appeared in 1804, having the arms 
 of the Company, with supporters, on the obverse, and the scales of justice, 
 with the name of the coin in Persian, on the reverse. A “ quarter-pagoda,” in 
 silver, was issued at Madras in 1808. This coin bore the same types as the 
 gold pagoda (see 14, Plate 23), having the name quarter pagoda round the 
 pagoda device; and on the reverse the native pagod Vishnu, with the 
 name of the coin in Hindustani. The coin is about the size of a florin. 
 Half-pagodas of the same type were issued at the same time, which are 
 about the size of a five-shilling piece. These coins were superseded by the 
 rupee with the native legends. 
 
 A very pretty coinage of silver fanams was issued at Madras in 1808, 
 when machinery similar to that at Calcutta had been introduced. There 
 were fanams, double-fanams, and five-fanam pieces, having similar types to 
 those of the half and quarter-pagodas last described. No. 20, Plate 23, is a 
 five-fanam piece. In 1808, also, ten-cash pieces were issued of very neat 
 execution with the name of the coin in native characters, and beneath, in the 
 exergue, x cash. (See a twenty-cash piece, No. 21, Plate 23.) In 1816 
 pice were issued, having the capitals “ G. R” interlaced and crowned on the 
 obverse, and on the reverse IV. KAS., 1816. 
 
 Star pagodas of gold were again issued in 1817, and about that time another 
 pagoda, known as the “ Porta nova Pagoda.” The native gold coins which 
 at first circulated at Madras were known as varahas or hoons, and fanams. 
 The former (No. 9, Plate 23) was, by the English colonists, termed a pagoda, 
 as before stated, the appellation being derived from the Indian pagod of the 
 obverse ; the reverse is a representation of the Hindoo deity Vishnu. The 
 English name suggested the type of the subsequent coinage of pagodas, which 
 took place, as stated, in 1817. (See No. 14, Plate 23.) A gold rupee was 
 afterwards substituted in the English mints, having native inscriptions 
 similar to those of the silver rupees. The principal gold coin afterwards 
 received another modification, when the lion rampant, holding a crown, 
 became the type of the obverse, and on the reverse the name of the coin, 
 &c., in native character, — ashrafee of the honourable English company. 
 
 The Madras mint had also issued pieces termed dubs or cash-pieces, 
 being twenty, ten, five, and one-cash piece, some struck at Madras, and some 
 by Messrs. Boulton and Watt. (See Plate 23, No. 21, a twenty-cash piece.) 
 The twenty-cash piece has the Company’s arms, and forty-eight to one 
 RUPEE, &c., on the obverse, and their value in Persic on the reverse; the 
 
176 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., IT., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 smaller jfiece has only a lion on the obverse, and the value in Persic on the 
 reverse, &c. At Bombay silver and gold rupees with native legends were 
 coined, as at Calcutta and Madras. 
 
 The Bombay mint, when supplied with steam-power, issued the same coin 
 as that of Calcutta. The early copper coins of Bombay, as I have previously 
 stated, were struck in England, before the adoption of the Company’s arms 
 for the type of the obverse. The currencies of the Company’s possessions to 
 the east of the Bay of Bengal have been principally confined to copper, 
 generally coined in England. They have on the obverse the Company’s 
 arms, and on the reverse the native name of the coin, keping, &c. 
 
 The gold rupee was afterwards substituted for these gold pagodas. The 
 gold rupee of the English mints had native inscriptions similar to those of 
 the silver rupees. Up to 1819 there were two other Anglo-English mints in 
 addition to those of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta — namely, those of 
 Benares and Furrukabad; but after that period no money was issued from 
 those places. The Benares and Furrukabad rupees were similar in character 
 to that figured at No. 11, Plate 20. 
 
 The gold rupee afterwards received another modification, when the lion 
 rampant, holding a crown, became the type of the obverse, and on the 
 reverse, in native characters, it had the legend, the ashrafee of the 
 HONOURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 A copper coinage was issued in 1825, and a new star pagoda soon 
 afterwards, and the Nagari copper in 1831. 
 
 In 1830 rupees in the style of the English coinage, with the portrait of 
 the sovereign on the obverse, were introduced in the Indian mints. The 
 rupee of William IV., issued in 1833, is engraved in Plate 23, at Nos. 15 and 
 16. In 1835 it was equally determined that the native mohur, the principal 
 gold coin, should be superseded by an English one with English types ; the 
 obverse was like the rupee (No. 15, Plate 23), and the reverse consisted of a 
 lion and a palm tree, after a design by Flaxman. (No. 17, Plate 23.) 
 
 The rupees and mohurs of Victoria are of the same types; yet, notwith- 
 standing the introduction of these fine coins, as late as 1855, cash as rude as 
 those of the early period were still issued, showing the irregular and 
 incomplete system prevailing in the mints of the Company. 
 
 The great military rebellion of 1857, in the British possessions in India, 
 led to the final suppression of the great Company as the governing power of 
 those vast provinces, which now form an integral part of the British empire. 
 A new coinage is therefore in preparation to be struck under the direct 
 auspices of the Imperial Government, of which, if the dies should be 
 completed in time, I hope to give specimens in this volume. 
 
 Through the kindness of the Master of the Mint, I have seen the designs for 
 this new Indian coinage, and several of them are very striking. The portraits 
 will resemble those on the florin and pattern crown of Victoria, as in both 
 cases the device extends below the clothed shoulders ; and it appears that the 
 native Indians have a strong prejudice against a portrait head cut off at the 
 neck, as suggesting sudden but not unfrequent episodes in Indian regal life, 
 
VICTORIA. 
 
 177 
 
 which are not pleasant to dwell upon. The portrait is enclosed in an 
 elegant quatre-foil compartment of delicate tracery, which appears likely to 
 produce a good effect. 
 
 In 1845 copper quarter-cents, half-cents, and cents, were coined for the use 
 of the Straits, and other settlements, hut not current in the interior of India. 
 Cash were also coined for the islands of Sumatra, and for the Malay districts. 
 
 Ceylon, after it came into our possession, was always supplied with coins 
 struck in England. The elephant formed the principal type till the head of 
 the British sovereign was finally adopted. The silver and copper coinage of 
 Ceylon now consists of very handsome and finely-executed coins, their 
 values being founded on that introduced by the Dutch, of stivers and rix 
 dollars. 
 
 A copper coinage has also been struck in England for St. Helena, with 
 the arms of the East India Company on the obverse ; and ST. HELENA HALF- 
 PENNY, and the date, with a wreath of laurel, on the reverse. 
 
 COLONIAL COINS OF THE REIGN OF VICTORIA. 
 
 The island of Mauritius was supplied with British coin in 1822 from the 
 mint of Calcutta, where pieces of fifty and twenty-five sols, of a low 
 standard, were made expressly. The values of the coinage were founded on 
 those of France, and the legends are in French, GOUVERNMENT de MAURICE, 
 &c., abbreviated, on the obverse; and on the reverse cinquante sous, &c. 
 
 This is an outline of the present state of the Anglo-Indian and general 
 colonial coinage ; but if the decimal system should be completely established 
 in England, no doubt great modifications will take place both in the 
 Canadian and in the Indian systems, even if they should not be made to 
 assimilate in every respect with the home currency. 
 
 THE NEW CANADIAN COINAGE. 
 
 In 1858 it was determined to issue, from the Boyal Mint in the Tower of 
 London, a coinage for Canada, of silver and copper, which should correspond 
 to some extent with the value of the American gold dollar and its subdivisions, 
 so as to facilitate commercial transactions between the two states. The pieces 
 consist of twenty-cent, ten-cent, and five-cent pieces of silver, and a one -cent 
 piece of copper, or rather bronze, as it consists of ninety-five parts of copper, 
 four of tin, and one of zinc. It is, in weight, one hundredth part of a pound. 
 The silver pieces are relatively of the proximate value of 10 d., 5d., and 2 \d. 
 English money; and appear (being rather thinner) of about the size of a 
 shilling, sixpence, and silver threepence. The type of the silver is, on the 
 obverse, the portrait of the queen, laureated, with victoria, dei. gratia. 
 REGINA., and beneath the head, CANADA. On the reverse, in the centre of the 
 field, is the value and date, as 20 (10 and 5) cents, 1858. At the top is a crown, 
 and round the inscription are two branches of the sugar-maple, which, as an 
 emblem, is to Canada what the British oak is to England. (Plate 23, No. 
 
178 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 24.) The copper piece has the same portrait and legend as those of the 
 silver coins, but the letters of the legend are larger, and the inscription is 
 separated from the central field of the coin by a circle of beading. On the 
 reverse, too, there is a circular bordering of sugar-maple leaves, instead of the 
 two branches, within which is the inscription, ONE cent, 1858. (Nos. 22 
 and 28, Plate 23.) 
 
 DECIMAL COINAGE. 
 
 The great monetary event of the present reign is the issue of the silver 
 florin, or two-shilling piece, of similar types to those of the pattern crown. 
 (No. 17, Plate 12.) As the tenth of a pound, this piece was intended to 
 mark the first step towards a coinage entirely based upon the decimal 
 principle. The proposed methods of effecting this desirable end remain 
 unsettled, and the merits of the different- proposed modes have been rather 
 angrily discussed by their respective supporters. 
 
 Something, however, like the following was probably the kind of system 
 most generally approved by those discussing the question : — 
 
 The florin to be the principal coin, divisible into twenty-pence, either 
 giving the pence a new name or leaving them the old one ; each penny of this 
 increased size to be divided into five smaller pieces, of which one hundred 
 would go to the florin, and one thousand to the pound sterling, which would 
 still remain the unit of all our monetary calculations. It is proposed that 
 the smallest coin, one thousand to the pound, shall be called a mil. Accounts 
 might then be kept in three columns as now, the great advantages being, 
 the getting rid of the fourth denomination, halfpence or farthings, and the 
 great comparative ease with which additions can be made. Thus, the sum 
 we should now note as £5 1 2s. 8 d., would stand £5 6fis. 4:0mils., keeping 
 the slight difference in the penny out of the question. Or, as some would 
 have it, making the florin the unit, and only using two columns — 56fls. 
 40 mils. The last is certainly the shortest method, and, as it is by no means 
 unusual to reckon in shillings, up to fifty, and to speak of fifty, or even 
 seventy shillings, rather than two pounds ten, or three pounds ten, the 
 transition to a calculation in florins would not be so difficult as it at first 
 appears. 
 
 At best, however, this would be but a kind of patchwork, or half measure ; 
 and a far better method, as it appears to me, would be one much more directly 
 founded upon the French system, which was matured after much more serious 
 and scientific consideration than the desultory discussions respecting the ques- 
 tion have yet led to in England. 
 
 This view would make the shilling the unit, leaving pounds out of the 
 question, and then the transition from a calculation in pounds and shillings, 
 to one in shillings only, would be very simple. The shilling of the present 
 value might then be divided into ten pence instead of twelve, the subdivisions 
 of the penny being five instead of four, each fifth being nearly the value of 
 the present farthing. But this might be for a time disadvantageous to the 
 poorer classes who would probably have to pay the tenth of their hard-earned 
 
VICTORIA. 
 
 179 
 
 shilling for all articles charged one penny, instead of only the twelf th under the 
 old system. I would therefore suggest, for that, and for other more cogent 
 reasons, that a still greater change be made, and that these new shillings 
 be coined of the value of ten of our present pennies (slightly reduced to make 
 them accord with the French piece of two sous). These pennies should be 
 theoretically divided, for purposes of calculation and account, into 10 millets 
 or half mils ; and in actual coin they should be divided into 5 mils. This 
 would give, in actual coins, 5 mils to the penny, 50 to the shilling, and 1,000 
 to the new pound, which should be called a Victoria. With this arrangement, 
 only two columns of figures would be necessary, one for shillings and one for 
 millets (100 to the shilling). Thus a sum, for instance, making 5 Victorias, 12 
 shillings, 5 mils, 0 millets, might be briefly stated as 112 shillings, 10 mils. In 
 this system the old pound sterling, represented by 25 shillings new currency 
 (the new shilling being equal to a French franctum, 25 of which at par are equal 
 to £1), would remain untouched; and all old engagements made in pounds 
 would remain undisturbed, as 25 shillings new currency would represent the 
 old pound ; and all sums new currency might be at once converted to old cur- 
 rency, so long as such a fiction should be desirable, by the simple addition of 
 25 per cent, new currency to an amount calculated in the new currency. 
 Thus, the sum of 5 Victorias new currency would require the addition of 1 
 Victoria 5 shillings to convert it into 5 pounds old currency. On the other 
 hand, a tenant holding a house on lease at £100 per annum old currency, 
 would have to pay the equivalent amount of 125 Victorias. By thus leaving 
 the old pound sterling as money of account, represented by 25 shillings new 
 currency, all outstanding engagements would remain undisturbed. Or, if 
 thought advisable, in order to meet certain unavoidable prejudices, the pre- 
 sent “ sovereign” might still be coined, with the inscription, one povnd 
 STERLING, or 2,500 MILS. 
 
 This arrangement would render unnecessary all the useless attempts to 
 make the present pound an integral part and basis of a decimal system for 
 which it is not calculated. And the necessity for the florin, a piece of 
 inconvenient amount as the silver unit, would be done away with, which 
 would be a great relief. The new shilling, half-shilling, and quarter-shilling, 
 would be of very nearly the size and dimensions of the Canadian 20, 10, 
 and 5 cent pieces. The Canadian pieces might, with very little disturbance, 
 be made exactly of the same value. The French system would accord with 
 it in every respect ; and I would issue a great bulk of five-shilling pieces, to 
 render the accordance with the French system more palpable, leaving entirely 
 out of sight the troublesome incumbrance as to whether our currency is 
 founded upon a gold or a silver standard. 
 
 This system would then be applied in Europe, both in France and England, 
 and United Italy would soon follow. In the new world, with Canada going 
 more than half-way to meet the American system, the United States would 
 come the other half to meet us. In India the inconvenience of the “ great 
 Company” being removed, the system would be used by 150,000,000 of people, 
 to say nothing of Australia, New Zealand, &c. Thus a great stride would be 
 
180 COINS OF ANNE, GEORGE I., II., III., IV., WILLIAM IV., AND VICTORIA. 
 
 made towards an universal decimal currency all over the world ; for the other 
 European States would soon feel themselves compelled to come into it. The 
 coming mediatization of the petty sovereignties of Germany will necessarily 
 lead to a revision of the obsolete systems which exist in those small States, to 
 the great inconvenience of the people, and the infinite disgust of travellers ; and 
 the outlying secondary powers would necessarily fall into a system so nearly 
 universal. Turkey and Egypt are sufficiently cursed with their present systems 
 to be ready to adopt any European system ; and even retrogressive Spain may 
 be brought to see her interest in adopting the change, and so facilitating her 
 commercial transactions with other nations, and greatly increasing her com- 
 merce. Russia, China, and the South American States, may be more difficult 
 to deal with ; but self-interest would eventually cause them to allow their 
 monetary arrangements to blend with a system becoming rapidly universal. 
 But the Chinese, with their immense population, might be brought in, as they 
 already possess a decimal system, which they might be induced to bring into 
 accordance with ours. 
 
 I have arrived at my present convictions on this interesting subject, after 
 the careful study of nearly all the works of importance that have been written 
 on the matter ; all the infinite details of those works only tending to lead me 
 to the simple and condensed view stated above. I refer to the instructive 
 views of Mr. Rathbone, Mr. Bennoch, Dr. Bowring, Dr. Farr,* of the General 
 Register Office, Mr. Hankey, M.P., Mr. W. Miller, Mr. Jefferson’s emphatic 
 statement to the American Congress in 1786, and Professor De Morgan’s 
 work. 
 
 Of the ingenious arguments lately used, to make the worse appear the 
 better reason, in endeavouring to show that the duodecimal is, after all, more 
 convenient than the decimal, it is not needful to say anything ; their plausi- 
 bility is too easily refuted to make it worth the trouble of argument. 
 
 A decimal equalization of weights and measures would necessarily follow 
 such an adjustment of an universal currency; and the bringing about of both 
 these desirable reforms, against all prejudiced opposition, is a task well worthy 
 the talents and courage of the present Chancellor of the Exchequer. Without 
 it the great treaty with France is but half complete; equalization, at all 
 events, of the currencies of the two countries, and of the weights and 
 measures, must follow as soon after as possible. 
 
 * Dr. Farr has already applied the decimal system of notation in calculations of life 
 assurance relating to money. 
 
181 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 Before attempting a brief description of the process of coining as at present 
 pursued in the Royal Mint, it will not be useless to glance at the mint regu- 
 lations which appear to have been adopted among the nations who first 
 made use of coined money. 
 
 The weight and purity of the earliest coins appear to have been con- 
 sidered sufficiently guaranteed by the impress of the royal signet, if issued 
 in a monarchy, or by the seal of the state if in a republic. Forgeries, however, 
 commenced at a very early period in the history of money, as we find by 
 clauses in the laws of Solon, referring to the punishment of falsifiers of the 
 national coin. We have also evidence that princes themselves early learned 
 
182 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 to issue false coin, as the Spartans found to their cost, when, after having 
 received a certain number of gold pieces from Polycrates, it was subsequently 
 discovered that they were merely plated with gold. Some extremely ancient 
 examples of forgeries of that kind, belonging to the very earliest monetary 
 period, have come down to us, forming very curious additions to our numis- 
 matic cabinets. To put a check upon the falsification of the coin, either by 
 a prince or by a state, the custom was early adopted among the Greeks, of 
 causing the officer charged with the direction of the coinage to place his name 
 upon the coin as an additional guarantee, by which arrangement a responsible 
 person, open to punishment in case of fraud, was secured. The names of 
 these monetary officials which are found on Greek coins of a certain epoch 
 (often abbreviated), gave rise to many erroneous conjectures among modern 
 numismatists before their true import was understood. 
 
 The Romans, towards the close of the republic, adopted a similar system, 
 in which three officers were appointed to superintend the coinage. These 
 officers were known as triumvirs of the mint, whose names appeared on the 
 coinage, with their titles, abbreviated in various ways, the most frequent 
 being perhaps, ill. vir. A.A.A.F.F., for “ Triumvir argento aerefiando feriundo ” 
 — that is to say, superintendents, respectively, of the gold, silver, and copper 
 coinages. 
 
 In the Grecian world, where almost every city of moderately large popu- 
 lation formed the nucleus of an independent state, each city had its separate 
 mint ; and even after these independent cities became absorbed in neighbour- 
 ing monarchies or more powerful states, they still, in most cases, preserved 
 the right of coining their own money. At the same time it would appear 
 that, in monarchies — that of Macedonia, for instance — the sovereign not only 
 issued a coinage, which was most probably made current by law in cities 
 which nevertheless coined their own money, but also established mints for 
 striking regal money within the precincts of those cities. The money so 
 struck, as may be illustrated by the coinages of Alexander the Great, bore 
 the royal types or devices, but with the addition, in miniature, of the types 
 of the city where they were struck. On the gold staters struck by Alexander 
 at Ephesus, for instance, the head of Athena, the usual type of his gold 
 coin, appears, accompanied by a minute representation of the ancient Ephesian 
 type, a “bee.” It may be mentioned in this place, that on coins when, by 
 the agreement of two allied cities or states, it was determined that the coin 
 of one or both should circulate in both, the coin intended for such circula- 
 tion was stamped either with the type in small, or a monogram, of the state 
 or city in which the extended circulation was to take place. 
 
 The wealthy Grecian cities, even after the subjugation of all the Grecian 
 provinces to Rome, were allowed to retain the right of coining their own 
 money ; and the Greek coinages issued under the Roman empire forms a very 
 interesting series, distinguished by collectors as “imperial Greek.” After the 
 time of Galerius, however, these privileges appear to have been abandoned, 
 or to have been withdrawn, and the Roman mints thenceforward supplied 
 the circulating medium to all the provinces of the vast empire. 
 
ESTABLISHMENT OF MINTS AMONG THE FRANCS, GOTHS, ECT. 
 
 183 
 
 In the reign of Aurelian, the number of workmen employed in the im- 
 perial mint of Rome appears to have amounted to several thousands, as we 
 learn that, during a mutiny of these workmen, the origin of which is not 
 accurately known (but it is supposed that they had been detected in certain 
 frauds, to escape the punishment of which they rose in open insurrection), 
 in an engagement with the force brought against them, seven thousand 
 soldiers perished during the contest, which took place on the Coelian hill. 
 
 At a later period the central imperial mint appears to have been found 
 insufficient to supply some of the remote provinces ; or the transmission of a 
 great bulk of coin being found unadvisable, when roads were few and the 
 general means of transit insufficient, it was found advisable to establish local 
 mints' in such regions; such, for instance, as the north of the Germanic pro- 
 vinces, the north-western portion of Gaul, and probably Britain. 
 
 At the fall of the empire, the Francs, Goths, Saxons, &c., who seized upon 
 the Roman provinces, established their native mints in the localities of the 
 Roman ones, where they began to coin money of their own national denomi- 
 nations and values, and bearing their own national types. In addition to 
 these ancient Roman mints, others were established, and separate and distinct 
 privileges of mintage were assumed by partially independent chieftains. 
 To these, in due time, were added independent mints, established by digni- 
 taries of the Church. Thus far a kind of decadence and confusion had been 
 gradually assuming the place of order and unity of purpose ; but the abuses 
 which soon arose were probably the main cause of the re-adoption of some of 
 those securities against fraud which had marked earlier epochs of mintage. 
 The chief of them was the appearance, on the coin, of the name of the 
 moneyer, or person in immediate charge of the stamping of the money — a 
 custom which was continued till the consolidation of the modern monarchies 
 rendered such a precaution no longer necessary. 
 
 In England this course had taken place on the collapse of the Roman 
 power, and numerous Saxon mints were established in various parts of the 
 island. On the coins of the prelates the name of the sovereign prince did 
 not appear, that of the bishop and his moneyer occupying either side of the 
 coin. This state of things was followed by a transition period, in which there 
 are examples of the names of both the king and bishop appearing on episcopal 
 coins, denoting a joint jurisdiction in the mint between the prince and the 
 bishop. Examples of this transition period may be found in the coinage of 
 Canterbury of the period alluded to, in which the name of a king of Kent 
 appears conjointly with that of the archbishop. It should be stated here 
 en passant, that when the names of the moneyers were discontinued, mint- 
 marks were adopted, as previously described. An additional security, called 
 technically “ pyxing,” was also adopted at an early period, the date of which 
 is unknown, and is still in use. Pyxing consisted in taking from every 
 journey- weight of gold and silver — that is, the weight of each coined in a day 
 (from the French journee), a pound, in tale, promiscuously, which is accur- 
 ately weighed, and the plus or minus declared, this determining whether the 
 money has been made with the degree of accuracy of weight, or remedy, as 
 
184 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 it is called, which is allowed by the laws of the mint. From the same pound 
 two pieces are then taken, the one for the master of the mint, the other to 
 be assayed in order to test the fineness of the whole coin, the other for sub- 
 sequent examination at the general trial of the pyx. The coins taken from 
 each journey or bag are sealed up, and put into a chest called the pyx box, 
 and locked up under the separate keys of the master and comptroller, there 
 to remain until the general trial of the pyx. This general trial of the pyx 
 takes place at irregular periods, before a jury selected by the Lord Chan- 
 cellor, when the verdict delivered by the foreman of the jury to the 
 Chancellor relieves the master of the mint from all responsibility as regards 
 the coinages thus tested. 
 
 Athelstan was the first English monarch who took effectual measures 
 for restoring a unity of character to the coinage; and we find him not 
 only limiting the number of mints, as referred to in describing the coinages 
 of his reign, but at the same time enacting that unity of type should 
 be observed in all the mints, and that the name or portrait of the prince 
 alone should appear, accompanied on the reverse by that of the moneyer, 
 and also the name of the place of mintage; it being enacted also that no 
 money should be struck except within a town, under severe penalties, loss of 
 limb, &c., as in the earlier Saxon periods. 
 
 It was also determined that, for the future, all the dies for the local 
 mints should be issued from the central mint in the Tower. For the use of 
 these dies the provincial moneyers paid a rent, and also a fee on the 
 renewal. The rent and fees of the London mint for the use of dies amounted, 
 according to the Doomsday Book, to £75, but for what precise peiiod or 
 number of dies is not specified. 
 
 The accession of the Norman line did not lead immediately to any great 
 innovations in the existing regulations of the mint ; but a few remarks on 
 the general effects resulting from the more immediate jurisdiction of the 
 sovereign over the issue of the public money will be necessary in this 
 place. 
 
 At the period when Alfred in England, and Charlemagne in France, had 
 succeeded in consolidating the governing power of the state in the person of 
 a single ruler, the pound, as a monetary term, meant actually a pound-weight 
 of silver. This pound, or libra, was divided into twenty silver solidi, and each 
 solidus into twenty denarii. These were the French livre, sol, and denier, 
 the names of which we still preserve in our denomination of pounds, shillings, 
 and pence, by £ s. d. The rapid manner in which subsequent French princes 
 reduced the livre (which was issued by them as of full weight), appears almost 
 incredible. It was, however, effected in pretty regular gradations till the 
 close of the eighteenth century (1789). Above 78 livres of the money of that 
 day would have been required to represent the true livre, or pound-weight 
 of silver, of the reign of Charlemagne. In order to check this systematic 
 plunder by their princes, the people consented — more especially in the 
 Duchy of Normandy — to the imposition of a tax called monetagium, in return 
 for which the sovereign agreed not to debase or lighten the coin. This tax 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE MINTS, THEIR OFFICERS, ETC. 
 
 185 
 
 was imported to England along with our Norman princes, and continued in 
 force till the time of Henry I. 
 
 In England the standard became less debased in its weight than in any 
 other country; yet we may estimate its great eventual reduction by the 
 fact that, while the pound of silver represented originally 20 shillings (which 
 corresponded to the 20 so]s of the Carlo vingian solidus), yet in the reign 
 of Elizabeth the pound of silver was coined into 62 shillings. 
 
 In addition to the monetagium just alluded to, the prince had also his 
 seignorage — that is, his more or less legitimate profit on the manufacture of 
 the coin. The first mention of seignorage in the records of the English coinage 
 occurs in an episcopal mint account of Henry III. ; £3,898 Os. 4±d. producing 
 £.97 9s., or about 6d. per pound. Of this profit the king had £60 18s. 
 3 \d., and the bishop the residue. This system of seignorage was continued 
 at varying rates till the reign of Charles II., when it was abolished. 
 
 With regard to the constitution of the mints, their officers, &c., little is 
 known previous to the reign of Edward II. In the Saxon laws, and in 
 the Doomsday Booh, no officer of the mint is referred to, except the 
 moneyer, who was probably the only responsible official. This appears the 
 more probable as in the reign of Henry I., when a debasement of the 
 coinage took place to an alarming extent, only the moneyers were punished. 
 In Richard I. a superior officer, chief of all the mints, appears to have been 
 appointed. We find, also, Richard of Cornhill made to account for the profits 
 on the cambium, or exchange, of all England ; and the first warden of the mint 
 appears to have been an officer nominated to perform similar duties as to the 
 collection of the profits on the seignorage. An assay master is first mentioned 
 in the sixth year of the reign of Henry III ; but an officer with similar duties 
 had doubtless been attached to all the local mints, if not a general superin- 
 tendent, at a much earlier period. In the energetic reign of Edward I., when 
 one of the largest coinages in our annals took place, many reforms were doubt- 
 less introduced to facilitate the progress of the great work. It is not, however, 
 till the reign of his son that we have any record of these organizations. The 
 chief officers of the Royal Mint, in the Tower of London, who then carried on 
 its management, were, the master, the warden, the comptroller, a king’s and 
 master’s assay master, a king’s clerk, &c. ; and most of these offices remained, 
 with little modification, up to the year 1817, when the great re-coinage of 
 George III. took place. 
 
 The duties of the comptroller were originally defined as consisting in the 
 making of a roll called a comptrol, or rather, comjytc roll, as being a roll of 
 parchment on which all the accounts connected with the receipt of all the 
 gold and silver minted in the Tower were inserted, in order to its production 
 before one of the Barons of Exchequer. 
 
 The king’s clerk kept the account of all the daily transactions. 
 
 The king’s exchanger purchased bullion for the mint, and exchanged 
 foreign for native coins. Richard of Cornhill was (as before stated) the first 
 officer appointed, in the reign of Richard I., to superintend the exchanges of 
 all England. The last officer appointed to the modified office of “ keeper of 
 
 N 
 
186 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 the exchanges between England and Ireland,” was Henry Lord Holland, in 
 the reign of Charles I. 
 
 The cuneator appears to have been established as an hereditary office. As 
 chief engraver he appointed all assistant engravers, who were taken by him 
 before the barons of the Exchequer to be sworn into their office. 
 
 The warden took account of all the bullion entrusted to the master and 
 workers. The warden also superintended all repairs and alterations, and paid 
 wages, &c. ; and it appears to have been part of his duty, in certain circum- 
 stances, to conduct the mint officers and workmen with their tools, from place 
 to place, to coin money in provincial mints. 
 
 In early times, the amount reserved over the actual expenses of coinage 
 for the sovereign, was entirely at his good will and pleasure. The £97 10s. 
 received from the Canterbury mint, before referred to, was described as 
 exetus lucri, probably meaning clear profit. In the reign of Edward I. some 
 regularity appears to have been introduced regarding the royal share of profit, 
 as the total seignorage then taken appears to have been regularly assessed at 
 the rate of Is. 2 \d. in the pound of silver, out of which the master took o\d. 
 for all expenses, leaving 9 cl. for the king. 
 
 The charges of the moneyers were assessed at certain fixed rates ; but in 
 the reign of Edward III., in consequence of alleged increase in the labour and 
 difficulty of the coinage, an increase of these rates was demanded. The case 
 was referred to John de Wyndesore, warden of the mints of London and 
 Canterbury, Roger Rekeman, Stephen Boke, and others experienced in such 
 matters. They came to the conclusion that, in consequence of the trouble of 
 whitening the sixpences, to hide the increased amount of alloy which had 
 been introduced, the rates ought to be raised. In virtue of this decision, the 
 rates, which had been previously 7 \d. per pound of silver halfpennies, should 
 be raised to lO^c?., and the previous 9 \d. per pound of farthings should be 
 raised to 12 \d., so that the master should have an increase of 2 d. per pound 
 of silver, and the workmen Id. 
 
 No further alterations are recorded in rates of payment and general 
 management, even through all the base coinages of Henry VIII., and the still 
 baser of Edward VI. In the reign of Elizabeth some alterations must have 
 been made, when it was attempted to introduce the new continental method 
 of the mill and screw instead of the ancient method of hammering, which 
 had till then remained unaltered. But no record has been preserved concern- 
 ing the nature of those modifications, which were not permanent, as the mill 
 and screw principle was abandoned in consequence of its greater expense, 
 which must clearly have been the result of bad management. The chief 
 alteration in the national mintage in this reign, was the gradual abandon- 
 ment of the provincial mints, which were, however, subsequently revived for 
 short periods on special occasions. 
 
 The old hammering process was carried on in the most primitive manner. 
 The pieces of metal intended to receive the impress of the punch and die 
 were cut out in square pieces, from a sheet of requisite thickness to yield the 
 proper weight for a given coin. These pieces were then, by a laborious pro- 
 
THE MILL AND SCREW PROCESS. 
 
 187 
 
 cess, hammered at the edges till a more or less round form was obtained. 
 They were then hammered flat, and then, most probably, softened by being 
 submitted to a certain heat, and, if very base, whitened by artificial means. 
 They were then passed on to the actual coiner, who was seated in front of a 
 block of wood, fixed firmly in the earth, to which a die, engraved with the 
 device of one side of the coin, was attached. Upon this die he placed the 
 piece of silver as truly on the centre as he could guess, and then, placing 
 carefully upon it a punch, engraved with the device of the other side of the 
 coin, he hammered away till the silver had received the impresses of both 
 die and punch. This was necessarily a slow process, and several men could 
 produce but a small number of coins per day. 
 
 The mill and screw process, even in its first and rudest form, must have 
 been a great improvement upon the primitive method, which had remained 
 unchanged for so many centuries; and which was that of the Greeks 
 and Romans, that pursued in the dark ages, and in the mediseval periods, 
 up to the middle of the sixteenth century. There is in the collection of old 
 dies in the Royal Mint a specimen of an iron punch of the reign of Edward 
 IV., upon which is the device of a groat of that reign, and it is as rude as 
 one can conceive the punch of the first Ionian moneyer to have been, nearly 
 three thousand years ago. It appears somewhat singular, that a number of 
 the ancient dies and punches of former coinages should not have been pre- 
 served in this country, considering that the corporation of moneyers remained 
 undisturbed in the Tower from Saxon times to the present day. Their 
 destruction is, however, fully accounted for by the privileges of the successive 
 cuneators, who claimed the “ old irons” as part of their official fee. 
 
 The mill and screw was first invented in France by Antoine Brucher, 
 in 1553, who exhibited its advantages to the French court in the palace 
 of King Henry II. The specimens so produced appearing more circular, 
 and more generally perfect, than any modern money up to that era., the 
 process was adopted in the Parisian mint. But so strong are ancient 
 prejudices that the system was abandoned in the reign of Henry III., about 
 1585, and the old hammering process resorted to again. Upon its intro- 
 duction in England it shared a similar fate. The chief features of the 
 process were, — First, a mill moved by horse-power for rolling the metal and 
 reducing it to a more uniformly even surface than could be obtained by 
 the former rude method; Secondly, the adoption of presses fitted with a 
 screw-power for cutting out circular pieces, and also for striking them with 
 the impresses of the dies at one blow. Hence the name of the mill and 
 screw process. The French coins of Henry II. and those of Elizabeth, 
 produced by the “mill and screw,” bear ample evidence to the superiority 
 of the process. 
 
 At a somewhat later period another Frenchman, Briot, a skilful 
 engraver and die sinker, endeavoured to revive the new process in France, 
 but quarrelling with the government of the day, he came over to England in 
 1628, and was patronized by Charles I., under whose auspices he established 
 the mill and screw process, by means of which all the regular coinage of 
 
188 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 that disturbed reign was afterwards produced. The improved system was 
 also used during the Commonwealth. 
 
 On the restoration, however, the reaction in favour of things of the past 
 was so strong, that even the coinage was once more produced by the 
 primitive process of hammering. This reign was, however, not destined 
 to be marked throughout all its course by such blind retrogression; and 
 subsequently, not only was the “ mill and screw” finally adopted, upon 
 improved principles, but a still greater advance in the system of mintage 
 took place, consisting in the final abandonment of seignorage, bullion being 
 coined at the expense of the state; it being enacted that any merchant 
 might have silver coined for him at the Tower, receiving back its full value 
 in current money. 
 
 The old constitution of the national mint remained nearly unchanged 
 up to the year 1798, when, in the reign of George III., considerable 
 modifications in its whole constitution took place. These were rendered 
 necessary by the experience gained by the government during the then 
 recent execution of the copper coinage by Messrs. Boulton and Watt at Soho, 
 near Birmingham, when, by the application of steam-power to the processes 
 of coinage, an immense economy was obtained, leaving far behind the methods 
 in use in the Royal Mint. It would have been found, however, impracticable 
 to introduce these improvements into that establishment in the existing state 
 of its constitution. The moneyers and other officers being a privileged body, 
 and having vested rights in customs, profits, fees, &c., which would have been 
 interfered with by such a sweeping improvement as the steam process of 
 Messrs. Boulton and Watt. 
 
 On the 7tli of February, therefore, in the year 1798, an order in 
 council directed an investigation, which led to the determination to 
 erect a separate building for the business of the mint, fitted up with 
 machinery manufactured by Messrs. Boulton and Watt. 
 
 In the next place, on the completion of the new building and its 
 magnificent machinery, in 1815, a modification in the constitution of the 
 mint took place, which proved sufficient for the effective and rapid 
 production of the great silver coinage which immediately followed, 
 restoring the character of the public money to that high standard 
 below which it had so lamentably sunk. 
 
 The partial reform, however, proved eventually insufficient. Subsequent 
 improvements in the methods of coinage were resisted by the officials 
 of the mint. Parliamentary inquiries took place in 1837 and 1848, 
 resulting in a determination to do away with the Company of Moneyers, 
 and all their ancient privileges together, and giving to the existing officials 
 such compensation as might be considered just and equitable. 
 
 The following are a few of the abuses which, in the new constitution of this 
 national establishment, it was sought to remedy. They are taken chiefly 
 from the report of the commissioners in 1848: — 
 
 That report states that they had “ obtained from the various depositories 
 of the public records, including the British Museum, information of great 
 
MANAGEMENT OF THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 189 
 
 interest and importance concerning the constitution, management, and expenses 
 of the mint in past times ; ” that they had also obtained from Mr. Morrison, 
 deputy-master, Mr. Barton, comptroller, and other officers of the mint, valuable 
 information as to modes then in use for regulating the various departments. 
 
 It was remarked that the most peculiar feature in the existing manage- 
 ment was the position of the “melter,” and that of the “Company of Moneyers.” 
 It was not that of officers acting wholly in the interest of the Crown, neither, 
 though acting in their own interest, were they ordinary mercantile contractors, 
 but occupying an intermediate position, being officially trusted with various 
 operations, and commercially paid for executing them. 
 
 The melters’ appointment might be closed by a three months’ notice from 
 the master; but the moneyers were a body continued by self-election — 
 and though acting under an agreement, voidable at three months’ notice, 
 they considered this as determining only the rate of payment of their work, 
 and not as affecting their sole right of executing it. 
 
 These pretensions rendered a single controlling authority almost impos- 
 sible ; and great abuses had taken place in the departments managed by the 
 “ soidisant corporation of moneyers.” The master’s share of profits had been 
 already commuted for a fixed salary, and his right of interference lessened. 
 The melter depended for his emolument upon private agreement with the 
 master, and had leave to carry on a private business as a refiner; — “very 
 objectionable,” says the report. 
 
 Coin produced by the moneyers (the provost, four other members, and 
 two apprentices) might be rejected, if not well manufactured; but there was 
 no other control. Their gains -depended on a private written agreement with 
 the master ; and if the value of the annual coinage should fall short £500,000, 
 each member of the Company was entitled to an allowance of £40 : “ That 
 they may not be too far exposed to temptation by their necessities,” as the 
 Treasury order says which directs it, and which is dated 1743. 
 
 The Company pretended to have certain freehold rights, and evaded giving 
 any account of the profits derived from them. An apprentice paid £1,000 
 to be admitted as such; but since the commencement of the present century 
 he was obliged to be approved of by the master. 
 
 The chief engraver, though with a fixed salary, had right of private prac- 
 tice. The master, though responsible for the weight, purity, &c., of the metal 
 by the trial of the pyx, had yet no real control over the producers. The 
 moneyers still went on receiving the rates of 1770, though the cost of 
 manufacture was so much reduced. Their joint profits, on two contracts 
 in a single year, 1843, appear to have exceeded £30,000. 
 
 The comptroller had no real power of control, and abuses were only to be 
 remedied by an entire reconstruction of the system, on principles adapted to 
 present circumstances. 
 
 The profits of the melter, from 1828 to 1847, are calculated at £49,650 7s. 
 lid The moneyers, from 1816 to 1847 inclusive, appear to have made 
 £340,750 6s. 7 d clear profits — being, in the earlier part of that period, 
 £10,648 per annum, and in the last six years, £17,531 per annum ; while 
 
190 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 the salaries of efficient officers to superintend, and the fair wages of good 
 workers, would amount to less than one-third for the same work. 
 
 The following were therefore the new arrangements proposed: — 
 
 A. master responsible for the conduct of the mint business in all its 
 branches ; execution by contract to cease altogether ; and all officials to be 
 subject to the master. 
 
 All to be remunerated by fixed wages or salaries, and none to engage 
 in employment on their own account. The appointments to be made by 
 the Treasury. 
 
 Dwelling-houses to be provided in the mint for those whose permanent 
 presence may be deemed necessary. 
 
 The trial of the pyx to be retained, and to take place at least once 
 a-year. 
 
 The solicitor’s appointments appear also to have been abused, and new and 
 better regulations were adopted. The law expenses had gradually increased 
 from £1,325 14s. 8 d. in 1786, to £8,077 19s. 4c 1. in 1847. 
 
 No extra expenses were to be allowed in future to the mint solicitor. 
 No payment to officers of the mint for evidence; and the practice of 
 paying counsel not attending trial to be discontinued. These regulations 
 were rendered necessary by extraordinary abuses connected with legal pro- 
 ceedings for forgeries and other offences connected with the mint, the 
 expenses of which had reached to fabulous amounts; while prosecutions 
 had been evidently got up for the mere purpose of creating legal expenses. 
 
 The monetary weights and measures, hitherto kept in the office of the 
 Exchequer, might well have been transferred to the mint, but it was thought 
 best, as the trial of the pyx took place at the Exchequer, that the test weights 
 should be there also. The same with the assaying of plate at Goldsmith’s 
 Hall ; and, as the fees charged were less than those named by act of parlia- 
 ment, they were to continue as before. 
 
 On the promulgation of the new arrangement, and the final dismissal of 
 the ancient officials, with pensions, or the offer of office under the new system, 
 it is said that the ancient Company of Money ers, to mark the destruction of 
 their lucrative privileges, collected all their books of accounts, in which the 
 particulars of their contracts for an extended period were recorded, and 
 thrusting them into one of the annealing furnaces, watched their total 
 destruction, announcing its completion with a deep “amen!” It is pro- 
 bable, though I am unacquainted with the precise nature of the books 
 thus consumed, that many highly curious records were then destroyed. 
 
 According to existing arrangements the government pays the whole 
 expense of our standard gold coinage out of the public treasury. Con- 
 sequently gold bullion is coined at the rate of £3 17s. l(j\d. to the ounce of 
 gold, which is only 1 \d. per ounce above the bank price. 
 
 With regard to silver and copper, however, the case is different; as a 
 seignorage is derived from them which is the prerogative of the Crown. 
 Silver is coined at the rate of 5s. 6d. per ounce, which is a seignorage of 10 
 per cent., when the market price of silver is 5s. per ounce. The coinage of 
 
THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF COINING. 
 
 191 
 
 copper yields a still greater profit, being above 100 per cent, upon the 
 average price of copper. The silver and copper coins must therefore be 
 considered more or less in the light of tokens, and they are by law only a 
 legal tender up to a certain amount. This profit is, however, greatly 
 reduced by re-coinages, as the government is bound, through the medium of 
 the Bank of England, to recoin silver as it becomes light or damaged by 
 wear, returning the full number of pieces without charge. 
 
 The present System of Coining now in use in the Royal Mint, remains 
 to be described. When bullion in the ingot is received by the mint, the first 
 processes through which it passes, are those by means of which its purity 
 are tested, the technicalities of which would be tedious to detail. 
 
 If is then melted down into bars of the shape required for rolling into 
 strips of the requisite size for special coins; the gold bars intended for 
 sovereigns being of a different size to those intended for half-sovereigns. The 
 manner in which a pot of the melted metal is fixed upon a kind of rack, 
 along which it is easily moved in a tilted position, so as to fill each mould 
 in succession, is a very admirable though simple piece of machinery; and 
 the ease with which the process is managed by two workmen displays 
 the excellence of the contrivance. 
 
 The bars thus obtained are next taken to the rolling mill, to which they 
 are submitted in a cold state. The first passage between the cylinders 
 does not produce a very striking difference in the flattening out of the 
 piece of metal ; but after passing several times between cylinders of gradu- 
 ally increasing closeness, the metal becomes spread out into a long band, or 
 narrow sheet, of the precise thickness required for any special coin. This 
 operation is performed with the greatest nicety, but is nevertheless tested 
 by means of an unerring gauge. 
 
 A process called dragging is the next in order. This is effected by a 
 beautiful machine invented by the late Sir John Barton. Its purpose is to 
 give still greater accuracy and evenness to the thickness and surface of the 
 strips than could be imparted by the rollers. It may be described as a kind 
 of drag-bench, the bands of metal being forcibly but steadily drawn by 
 steam-power (with a somewhat similar action to that of wire-drawing), 
 between steel dies of requisite character. The use of this machine has 
 effected a great subsequent saving of labour, inasmuch as the extreme 
 equality of thickness and surface thus produced greatly reduce the quantity 
 of imperfect blanks ; that is, such circular pieces of metal pierced out of the 
 strip or band, which are deemed unfit for stamping. 
 
 The bands thus equalized are passed to a testing press to ascertain their 
 perfect accuracy before they are given up to be cut into the blanks. 
 
 The cutting-out presses, by means of which the blanks are produced, are 
 arranged in a circle, and being worked by steam, the punches are in con- 
 tinual action, so that a man or boy placed at each press, passes the metal 
 under the punch at each descent, and a blank is cut out each time with 
 unerring accuracy, and with an ease and regularity that appears to an 
 uninstructed spectator perfectly marvellous, though, the machine being one 
 
192 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 of those invented by Messrs. Boulton and Watt, at Soho, it is now considered 
 behind the day in mechanical excellence. 
 
 These blanks are then tested as to their weight, &c. : the gold, individually, 
 by weighing and ringing, the silver by the average weight of a certain number 
 of pieces ; and the method by which this weighing, &c., is now effected have 
 received great recent improvements from the present managers of these 
 departments. 
 
 The next operation is that of milling, — that is to say, the process by which 
 the edges of the blanks are thickened, and so raised above the general surface, 
 with a view to protect the impress about to be placed upon it, and also to 
 render any attempt at filing the edges at once perceptible. This thickening 
 of the edge is produced by forcing the blanks along a steel bed with a rotary 
 motion, the sides of the bed becoming gradually narrower, and forcing up 
 the edges of the blanks with beautiful regularity. By this process 
 inscriptions can at the same time be placed on the edges of medals by 
 means of steel types fixed at the confining side of the bed, and I believe 
 the names of the receivers of the Crimean medals were impressed in this 
 manner on their respective medals. This machine, by an ingenious con- 
 trivance, is made to feed itself with blanks, which afterwards fall into 
 a receiver beneath as fast as they are completed. 
 
 By the various operations described, the blanks are found to have 
 acquired so great a degree of hardness, that they would be unfit to receive a 
 good impression of the dies in the stamping press. They are therefore 
 “ annealed,” — that is to say, they are placed in a furnace till they have 
 acquired a dull red heat. They are then placed over a fire in suitable 
 vessels, filled with a weak solution of sulphuric acid. The action of 
 the hot acid not only removes all grease and stains from the metal, 
 but gives to the gold its brightest native yellow, and to the silver that 
 opaque white appearance which adds so much to the beauty of the impress, 
 as we see it on a silver coin newly issued from the mint, when it is in 
 that state which French numismatists call “a fleur de coigne,” — a term 
 which we might translate as “ the bloom of the die.” The blanks in this 
 state are first rinsed in pure cold water, and then riddled in saw-dust, 
 over a slow fire till perfectly freed from any acid moisture. They are then 
 fit for the stamping-press. 
 
 Before proceeding to the process of stamping, it may be well to describe 
 the manner in which the dies themselves are made. 
 
 A sunk engraving of the device required is first made upon a piece of soft 
 cast-steel. When the work is quite perfect, as tested by a wax impression, 
 and the die deemed fit to transfer its device to the coin of the realm, it is 
 hardened by heating, and while hot, plunging it into cold water. This 
 is a delicate process, and the die is sometimes destroyed by imperfections 
 in the metal, or unskilful management of the process. When successfully 
 hardened, the die, in which the device is engraved in concave, is placed 
 in a powerful handpress. Immediately above the die, a conical piece 
 of soft cast-steel is placed. When its position is deemed accurate, the 
 
THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF COINING. 
 
 193 
 
 press, which works with long- weighted arms, is brisk] y turned, and 
 the blank piece of steel is forced down upon the die. At the first 
 stroke the conical end of the soft steel is considerably flattened, and has 
 already received a faint impress of the device of the hard die. Another 
 stroke of the press carries the impression towards completion, and 
 the third or fourth perfects it, if of about the size of a shilling. I saw a 
 perfect impression from the die of a fourpenny piece obtained at the first 
 stroke. The impressions thus obtained are, of course, in relief, like that of 
 an actual shilling, their office being to make other sunk dies with which to 
 stamp coins with devices in relief. Thus, wdien a die, or rather punch, in 
 relief, has been thus obtained, it is hardened by the process just described, 
 and a piece of soft steel, in the form of a die, is placed beneath it in the 
 press. The punch with the raised device is forced down by the press 
 upon the soft steel of the intended die, and in two or three strokes, or in one 
 for the smaller pieces, a perfect impression of the raised punch is produced in 
 the soft steel, in concave. The soft piece of steel with this sunk impression 
 is then hardened, and becomes a perfect die, fit to stamp a vast number of 
 coins ; but the hardened punch is capable of making many more dies of the 
 same description, so that, from one original die, an unlimited number can be 
 produced by merely mechanical means, without again taxing the labour of 
 the engraver. This facility, too, renders it unnecessary to use any dies in 
 the stamping-room for a single coin, after their first sharpness and beauty 
 begin to be impaired by use. They are replaced at once by others, now 
 that dies are so easily multiplied at a trifling cost. 
 
 The stamping machines are those originally set up by Messrs. Boulton and 
 Watt, and they have ever since done their work so efficiently that little or 
 no alteration has been found necessary. The machine is made to admit the 
 blanks in regular succession from a reservoir, and place them upon the lower 
 die to receive the stroke of the upper one. There is a steel collar fixed round 
 the engraving of the lower die, rather larger than the blank. The force of the 
 blow of the upper die expands the blank, or piece of silver, tightly into the 
 collar, from which its edge receives the impression of the notching, or of any 
 other kind of pattern that may be engraved upon the collar. This method of 
 imparting an impression to the edge of a coin was known as early, at all 
 events, as the time of Simon, and was the means by which his celebrated 
 petition was placed on the edge of the crown piece presented to Charles II. 
 Steam-power produces, however, hundreds of coins in less time than the hand- 
 press of Simon produced one ; for there are eight large presses in the great 
 stamping-room of the Royal Mint, working without cessation ; mechanically 
 placing the blanks on the dies and removing the perfect coins, which are 
 produced at one blow, into a receptacle below. By means such as these, 
 which the power of steam has alone rendered available, thirty-two men 
 and twelve boys perform all the processes of our national mint, which 
 furnishes coins, at home and in our colonies, to a larger population than 
 did the Roman mint of Aurelian, in which the numbers of workmen and 
 other officials employed were counted by thousands. 
 
194 
 
 THE ROYAL MINT. 
 
 As a final test, the perfected coins are taken to the weigliing-room, 
 where, in an exquisitely constructed machine, their weight is tested ; and 
 such is the nicety of the methods employed, that the difference allowed 
 from the exact standard of weight is not one -half what it was a very 
 short time since. The consequence is, however, that a greater number of 
 coins are cast out as above or below weight than formerly; those above 
 weight being thrown to one side of the machine, and those below to the other. 
 Those below weight are of course put aside as waste, to be melted down 
 and re-coined, and so, till lately, were the over-heavy coins also. But Mr. 
 Pilcher, who superintends this department, has recently invented a simple, 
 but very beautiful machine, by means of which a great number at once of 
 the heavy pieces can be reduced in weight in any given degree, so saving 
 the expense and waste of re-coining. Such innovations, however valuable, 
 it was found impracticable to introduce under the former constitution of the 
 mint; but under the existing arrangements, and with a highly intelligent 
 Master like Mr. Graham, always vigilantly on the watch to effect ameliora- 
 tions calculated to increase the economy as well as efficiency of the methods 
 in use, a continuous course of improvement has set in. 
 
 The efforts of the Master are most ably seconded by his assistant officers 
 in almost every department. I might mention in particular Mr. Ansell, now 
 fulfilling the active functions of chief coiner, and to whom I am indebted for 
 a most instructive explanation of the present means by which our national 
 coinage is produced ; and Mr. Pilcher, the superintendent of the weighing and 
 other departments ; and also many others, equally active and efficient in their 
 various positions, whose combined efforts render the Royal Mint on Tower 
 Hill the most complete establishment of the kind in Europe. 
 
 The ancient and final test of the “ trial of the pyx ” is still retained, 
 though in the present perfected state of our mintage it is a superfluity ; yet, 
 as a remnant of venerable antiquity, it has been deemed well worthy of 
 preservation. 
 
 The engraving at the head of this chapter represents the stamping-room 
 at the Royal Mint, with its eight steam-presses at work. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 OF THE ORIGIN AND GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSCRIPTIONS OF 
 
 NATIONAL COINS. 
 
 It will have been seen, in following the series of illustrations contained in this work, that the 
 earliest coins had no inscriptions,— a symbolic type connected with the foundation or early 
 history of the state being their only impress, used as a seal, to denote that the value of the 
 coin was guaranteed by public authority, which the sacred nature of the symbol, always con- 
 nected with the religious faith of the people, was amply sufficient to authenticate. Eventually 
 it was found that cases might occur of two different states using the same symbol, in which 
 case the initial letters of the name of the state or city were added, as u A. I.,” on the coins ot 
 Aigina; A0E (atiie) on the coins of Athens, &c. Afterwards, the name of a sovereign, or 
 chief magistrate, was added, the earliest example being the coins of Getas, King of the 
 Edoneans, and Alexander I., King of Macedon : that of Getas is accompanied by the title of 
 “•king,” and the name of the people — that of Alexander I. has the simple name. The names 
 are generally in the genitive case, reading, “ Of Alexander,” or “ Of Philip.” 
 
 At the period of the coinage of the Greek sovereigns of Egypt and Sicily, the title of king 
 always appears ; frequently accompanied by such titles as “ saviour,” &c., in addition to that of 
 king. Their portraits also began gradually to appear, displacing the ancient sacred symbols, 
 and the images of the gods. On the coinage of the Greek sovereigns of Syria, the name was 
 accompanied by the most inflated titles, as, “ Great king of kings,” &c. 
 
 On the republican coinage of Rome, and other independent Italian cities, the inscriptions 
 were simple, like those of the early Greek coinage, consisting only of the initial letters of a 
 city, &c., but frequently accompanied by numerals, denoting the value of the coins. 
 
 On the Roman coinage of the empire the name of the emperor was accompanied by various 
 titles or official dignities. (See page 42.) 
 
 After the fall of the Roman empire the inscriptions of the coinage of the barbaric nations 
 of the Middle Ages reverted again to extreme simplicity, as, “ Witiges Rex,” the first additions 
 being of a purely religious nature, as on the coins of Charlemagne, on which such inscriptions 
 as, I REIGN BY PERMISSION OF CHRIST, BY THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, &C., OCCUr. Allusions 
 of the same description, though more brief, occur on the Anglo-Saxon coinage. These inscrip- 
 tions, however, soon disappeared, and the titles only of the sovereigns were used, till the 
 fourteenth century, when mottoes of a religious character became general, in addition to the 
 titles of the prince. (See coinages of Edward III.) 
 
 About the beginning of the sixteenth century mottoes of a more general description were 
 also used, as the rosa spine sina of the coins of Henry VIII., in allusion to the termination 
 of the wars of the roses, &c. ; and about this period, dates were first generally used on the 
 coinages of Europe, though a few earlier examples occur. 
 
 In England a great variety of mottoes were used from the reign of Henry VIII. till the 
 end of the reign of Charles I., after which epoch the simple titles of the prince gradually 
 superseded every other kind of legend on the coinage. After the reign of Charles I. the 
 legend was almost invariably accompanied by the date, and frequently the year of the reign. 
 
196 
 
 A LIST 
 
 OF SOME OF THE 
 
 MOST REMARKABLE MOTTOES AND LEGENDS OF ENGLISH COINS, AND OTHERS 
 ALLUDED TO IN THIS WORK, WITH THEIR TRANSLATIONS, &c. 
 
 a. deo. tax. et. incrementvm. — “ From God, peace and prosperity,” on an Anglo- 
 Indian coin of Bombay. (No. 7, Plate 23.) 
 
 a. dno. factv. est. isty. z. est. mira. in. OCYL. nris., variously abbreviated, on the 
 double rial of Mary (No. 1, Plate 7), for “ A domino factum est istud et est mirabile in oculis 
 nostris” (It was made by the Lord, and is wonderful in our eyes). 
 
 agn. dei. qvi. toll. pca. mvdi. MiSE. nobis., variously abbreviated, for “ Agnus dei 
 qui tollis peccata mundi miserere nobis” (Lamb of God, Thou who takest away the sins of 
 the world, have mercy upon us), on the “ Mouton d’or” of Henry VI. (No. 11, Plate 5.) 
 
 avspicio. regis. et. senatvs. angli.e. — “ Under the auspices of the king and parlia- 
 ment of England,” on an Anglo-Indian coin of Bombay. 
 
 beat, tranqullitas., for “ Beata tranquilitas ” (Blessed tranquillity), on a coin of Crispus, 
 son of the Roman Emperor Constantine. (No. 20, Plate 17.) 
 
 benedictum. sit. nomen. domini. — “ Blessed be the name of the Lord,” on a billon groat 
 of Bordeaux. (No. G|, Plate 5.) 
 
 carolvs. a. carolo. — “ Charles from Charles,” or, if the halfpenny of Charles II. 
 was called a “ Carolus,” we may read, “ A Carolus from Charles.” (No. 7|, Plate 11.) 
 
 caroli. fortuna. resurgam. — “ I will restore the prosperity of Charles,” on a siege 
 piece of Charles I. (No. 13, Plate 20.) 
 
 christo. avspice. regno. — “ I reign under the auspices of Christ,” on coins of Charles I. 
 (Plate 9, and others.) 
 
 coloniarvm. Britannia:, moneta. — “Money of the British colonies,” on a pattern coin 
 for a general colonial coinage in 1823. (Page 170.) 
 
 crescite. et. mvltiplicamini. — “Increase and be multiplied,” on a coin struck by 
 Cecil, Lord Baltimore, for his settlement in America. (No. 4, Plate 23.) 
 
 cvltores. svi. devs. protegit. — “ God protects His worshippers,” on coins of Charles I. 
 (No. 2, Plate 9.) 
 
 decvs. et. tvtamen. — “ Ornamental and useful,” or, “ An ornament and a defence,” on 
 the edge of a silver crown of Charles H., to protect it from filing or clipping. (No. 3 
 Plate 11.) 
 
 devs. jvdex. jvstvs. fortis. fatiens — “ God the just, powerful, and patient judge,” 
 or, “ God is a just, patient, and powerful judge,” on the “chaise” of Edward the Black 
 Prince. (No. 8, Plate 5.) 
 
 diligite. ivsticiam. — “ Love justice,” on the reverse of the “lion” of Mary of Scotland. 
 (No. 7, Plate 8.) 
 
 dne. salvvm. fac. popvlym. tvvm. — “O Lord, save thy people,” on the “rider” of 
 James III. of Scotland. (No. 4, Plate 3.) 
 
 dns. aiVto. pteco. me. pro. spavi. cor. mevm., for “ Dominus adjutor et protector 
 meus, et in ipso speravit cor meum ” (The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart shall 
 trust in him), Psalm xxviii. 8, on the “pavilion” of Edward the Black Prince. (No. 7, 
 Plate 5.) 
 
 exaltabitvr. in. gloria.— “He shall be exalted in glory;” the gold quarter-noble of 
 Edward III. (No. 15, plate 4.) 
 
 ex. avro. harcinia:.— “ From the gold of the Hartz;” coinage of Hanover, 1815. 
 (Page 169.) 
 
 extremvm. svbsidivm. — “The last subsidy,” on a siege piece of Campen. (No. 7, 
 Plate 21.) 
 
 exvrgat. devs. dissipentvr. inimici. — “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered,” on 
 the gold twenty- shilling piece of Charles I. (No. 3, Plate 10.) 
 
 faciam. eos. in. gentem. vnam. — “ I will make them one people;” reverse of gold unit 
 of James I. (No. 3, Plate 9.) 
 
 florent. concordia. regna. — “ Kingdoms flourish by concord ; ” gold unit of Charles I. 
 (No, 1, Plate 10.) 
 
MOTTOES AND LEGENDS OF ENGLISH AND OTHER COINS. 197 
 
 glia. in. excelsis. deo. et. in. terra, pax., for “ Gloria in excelsis,” &c. (Glory be to 
 God on bigh, and on earth peace). 
 
 HON. soc. ang. IND. ori., for u Honorata Societas Anglicana Indim Orientalis” (The 
 Honourable English East India Company), on an Anglo-Indian coin of Bombay. (No. 7, 
 Plate 23.) 
 
 his. differt. rege. TYRANNYS. — “In these the tyrant differs from the king ; ” in allusion 
 to the types, the scales of justice and a sword; silver mark of James VI. of Scotland. (No. 
 10, Plate 8.) 
 
 his. praesvm. et. prosim. — “ Over these I rule, and these I would benefit” The quaint 
 alliteration of the Latin, was a fashion of the time. 
 
 inimicos. ejus. induam. confusione. — “ His enemies will I clothe with shame,” Psalm 
 cxxxii. 19, on a shilling of Edward VI. 
 
 in. vtrvmqve. paratvs. — “Prepared for either event” — Virgil , lib. 2, b. 61 ; on a 
 gold piece of twenty-pounds, Scotch, of James VI. (No. 11, Plate 8.) 
 
 jam. non. svnt. dvo. sed. yna. caro. — “ Now, they are not two, but one flesh,” on a 
 coin of Mary and Francis of France and Scotland. (No. 14, Plate 19.) 
 
 ihs. (for Jesus) avtem. transiens. per. medivm. illorvm. ibat., variously abbre- 
 viated on different specimens (“Jesus passing through the midst of them, went away ”)— on 
 the gold noble of Edward III. (No. 5, Plate 6.) 
 
 jvstitia. thronvm. firmat. — “Justice strengthens the throne;” twopenny piece of 
 Charles I. 
 
 mani. techel. phares., for “ mene techel peres ,” on a groat of Perkin Warbeck. (No. 
 16, Plate 5.) 
 
 meliores tessera fati — “A token of better fortune ; ” on the gun money of James II. 
 (No. 14, Plate 22.) 
 
 nemo. me. impvne. lacessit. — “ No one touches me with impunity;” the “Thistle- 
 Mark ” of James VI. of Scotland. (No. 19, Plate 8.) 
 
 o crvx. aye. spes. ynica. — “ Hail, oh cross, our only hope ! ” half Angel of Edward IV. 
 parcere. svbiectos. et. debellare. svperbos. — “ To spare the obedient, and to 
 subdue the arrogant; ” reverse of the twenty-pound piece of James VI. of Scotland. (No. 12, 
 Plate 8.) 
 
 pax. missa. per. orbem. — “ Peace established throughout the world ; ” farthings of Queen 
 Anne — a motto taken from the coinage of ancient Home. 
 
 pax. qvjeritvr. bello. — “ Peace is sought by war ; ” twenty-shilling piece of Oliver 
 Cromwell. (No. 22, Plate 10.) 
 
 p. lon., for “Pecunia Londinii” (Money of London), on a coin of the Roman Emperor 
 Constantine. (No. 17, Plate 1.) 
 
 per. crycem. TVA(m) salya. nos. x. (for “ Christe ”) re. (for “ Redemptor ”) — “ By thy 
 cross save us, O Christ, the Redeemer; ” on an “angel” of Edward IV. (For obverse, see 
 No. 23, Plate 4.) 
 
 post, mortem, patris. pro. filio. — “ After the death of the father, for the son,” on a 
 siege piece of 1649. (No. 12, Plate 20.) 
 
 posvi. devm. adivtorem. mevm. — “ I have made God my helper,” groat of Edward III. 
 (No. 11, Plate 4.) 
 
 QViE. devs. conivnxit. nemo, separet. — “Whom God has united, none may separate;” 
 shilling of James I. (No. 2, Plate 9.) 
 
 qvatvor. maria, vindico. — “ I vindicate the four seas ; ” farthing of Charles II. (No. 
 10, Plate 22.) 
 
 redi. cuique. quod. suum. est. — “Render to every one that which is his,” on the base 
 money of Henry VIII. 
 
 relig. prot. leg. ang. liber, par. — “ Religio Protestans, Leges Anglise, Libertas 
 Parliamenti ” (The Protestant religion, the laws of England, and the liberty of parliament), all 
 of which Charles I. openly professed to defend, and secretly worked to undermine ; the Oxford, 
 twenty-shilling piece of Charles I. (No. 16, Plate 9.) 
 
 repulsis. ^piratis. restituta. commercia. — “Commerce restored by the destruction 
 of pirates,” on the Bahama penny, 1806. (Page 168.) 
 
 rosa. sine, spina. — “ The rose without a thorn,” a motto assumed on the coins of Henry 
 VIII., in reference to the fortunate termination of the Wars of the Roses ; penny of Edward 
 VI. (No. 19, Plate 6.) 
 
 rvtilans. ROSA, sine, spina. — “ The shining rose without a thorn ; ” gold half-crown of 
 Henry VIII. (No. 14|, Plate 6.) 
 
 sans, changer. — “ Without changing ; ” motto of the Earls of Derby, on their coins 
 struck for the Isle of Man. (Page 168.) 
 
 salvym. fac. popvlvm. tvvm. dne. — (dne. for “Domine”) — “ Save thy people, O Lord ; ” 
 the “ rider ” of James IV. of Scotland. (No. 4, Plate 8.) 
 
 sarmatia. deyicta. — “ Sarmatia conquered ; ” coin of Constantine the Great. (No. 19, 
 Plate 17.) 
 
198 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 scvtvm. fidei. proteget. eym. — “ May the shield of faith protect him ; ” gold coins 
 of Edward VI. (Page 105.) 
 
 sit. nomen. domini. BENIDICTYM. — “ Blessed be the name of the Lord ; ” a bawbee of 
 Mary and Francis of Scotland. (No. 13, Plate 19.) 
 
 tali, dicat. signo. mens, flvctvare. neqvit. — “ It is said that devoted to such an 
 emblem, the mind cannot waver ; ” the emblem alluded to being the cross borne for device 
 upon the banner of St. George ; on the “ noble ” of Henry VIII. (No. 14. Plate 6.) 
 
 te. solvm. yereor. — ‘‘Thee alone I venerate;” “hat-piece” of James VI. (No. 8, 
 Plate 8.) 
 
 timor. domini. FON8. vita:. — “The fear of the Lord is the fountain of life,” on a shilling 
 of Edward YI. (No. 16, Plate 6.) 
 
 tveatvr. vnita. devs. — “ God upholds the united ; ” gold crown of four-shillings, of 
 James I. (No. 8, Plate 9.) 
 
 typvs. moneta. ANGL.(i'ae) a:ris. — “A sample coin of English copper;” a pattern 
 farthing. (No. 5, Plate 22.) 
 
 veritas. temporis. filia. — “ Truth the daughter of Time ; ” groat of Mary I. (No. 4, 
 Plate 7.) 
 
 vicit. leo. de. tribv. ivdae. — “ The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered ; ” testoon 
 of Mary and Francis of Scotland. (No. 17, Plate 8.) 
 
 victoria:, britannica:. — “To the British Victory ; ” coin of Septimus Severus. (No. 
 13, Plate 1.) 
 
 xrc. vincit. xrc. regnat. xrc. IMPERAT., for “ Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus 
 imperat ” (Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands), on an Anglo-Gallic coin of 
 Henry Y. (No. 12, Plate 5.) 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 ( The Dates are those of the Accession of each Sovereign.') 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 COINS OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS, AND COINS OF THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN. 
 
 No. Page 
 
 1 and 2, ancient British coins of tin, - - - 40 
 
 3 and 5, British coins, imitated from the gold coins of Philip of Macedon, - 30 
 
 4, a copper coin, also copied from a Greek model, - - - - 35 
 
 6, a British gold coin, with the name of a British city or chief, - - 35 
 
 7, a British silver coin, with the name, Tasciovan, of a British chieftain, - 33 
 
 8, a silver coin of Cunobelin, a British prince, - - - - 36 
 
 9, a British gold coin, formerly attributed to Boadicea, - - - 37 
 
 (For other coins of this class, see Plate 17.) 
 
 10, a gold coin of the Roman Emperor Claudius. The triumphal arch refers to the 
 
 one decreed to him by the Senate on the conquest of Britain, - - 42 
 
 11, a large brass coin of Hadrian. The reverse bears the inscription, adventus, &c., 43 
 
 12, a large-sized medallion of Commodus, - - - - - 44 
 
 13, a brass coin of Septimus Severus ; on the reverse, victoriae. britannicae., - 44 
 
 14, a coin struck in honour of Britannicus, by Cotys, King of the Bosphorus, - 43 
 
 15, a copper coin of Carausius, the Roman emperor of Britain, - - 47 
 
 16, a copper coin of Allectus, successor of Carausius, - - - - 47 
 
 17, a copper coin of the Emperor Constantine, struck in London, - - 47 
 
 (For other coins of this class, see Plate 17.) 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 SKEATTAE, and coins of THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 
 
 1, a skeatta, with Christian emblems on the reverse — the dove and the cross, - 51 
 
 2, another skeatta, the devices of which have not been explained, - - - 51 
 
 3, a skeatta, the types of which are a curiously- designed animal on the obverse ; and 
 
 on the reverse, a figure holding a cross in each hand, frequently seen on late 
 Roman coins, ---------51 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 199 
 
 No. Page 
 
 4, another skeatta ; a strangely rude attempt at a head on the obverse, - - 51 
 
 5, a skeatta, bearing a still further debased copy of the type of No. 4, - - 51 
 
 6 , a skeatta, bearing the Roman type of the wolf and twins, - - - 51 
 
 7, a skeatta, formerly supposed to be of Ethelbert L, King of Kent, - - 51 
 
 SILVER PENNIES OF THE SAXON HEPTARCHY (page 52). 
 kings of kent (page 53). 
 
 8 , the earliest known Saxon silver penny, formerly supposed to be of Ethelbert II. 
 
 (a.d. 725), - 53 
 
 9, a silver penny, assigned to Eadbert (a.d. 794) ; reverse, the moneyer’s name, 
 
 iaenbearht, --------- 53 
 
 10, a silver penny of Cuthred (a.d. 794), cvdred. rex. CANT(me) — “ Of Kent,” - 53 
 
 11, another silver penny of Cuthred, -------53 
 
 12, a silver penny of Baldred, the last King of Kent (a.d. 805), - - 53 
 
 kings of mercia (page 54). 
 
 13, a penny of Eadwald (a.d. 716), -------54 
 
 14, a penny of Offa (a.d. 757), Offa. rex., ------ 54 
 
 15, another penny of Offa, - -- -----54 
 
 16, a silver penny of Queen Cynethryth, supposed to have been the wife of Offa, - 54 
 
 kings of the east angles (page 55). 
 
 17, a skeatta of Beonna (a.d. 750) ; obverse, in Runic characters, beonna. rex., - 55 
 
 18, a silver penny of Eadmund (a.d. 855) ; obverse, eadmund rex, - 55 
 
 19, a penny of Ethelstan (a.d. 370) ; obverse, edelstin ; reverse, moneyer’s name, - 56 
 
 KINGS OF NORTHUMBERLAND (page 56). 
 
 20, a styca of Egfrith (a.d. 670), - - - - - - 52&56 
 
 21, a styca of Elfwald (a.d. 779). The inscription reads, alefvald, curiously disposed, 52 & 57 
 
 22, fragment of silver penny of Regnald (a.d. 912) ; rex, replaced by the Saxon 
 
 cvnvnc, ----------58 
 
 23, a penny of Anlaf (a.d. 941), anlaf cvnvnc ii., - - - - - 58 
 
 coins of saints (page 58). 
 
 24, a silver penny of St. Peter, ------- 58 
 
 25, a penny of St. Edmund, which reads sci. edmvn. r.x., - - - 59 
 
 coins of prelates ( page 59). 
 
 26, a penny of Jaenbert, Archbishop of Canterbury (a.d. 763), - - 58 
 
 27, a penny of Ceolnoth (a.d. 830), Archbishop of Canterbury, - - 52 & 59 
 
 28, the obverse of a styca of Ulphere, Archbishop of York (a.d. 854 to 892), - 52 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 COINS OF THE SAXON SOLE MONARCHS. 
 
 1, a penny of Egbert (a.d. 800) ; ecgbeorht. rex. ; reverse, a monogram, - - 60 
 
 2, a penny of Ethelwolf (a.d. 837) ; edelvvlf. rex., - - - - 60 
 
 3, a penny of Ethelbald (a.d. 855) : aedelbald. rex., - - - - 60 
 
 4, a penny of Ethelbert (a.d. 856) ; edelbearth. rex., - - - - 61 
 
 5, a penny of Ethelred (a.d. 866 ) ; edelfred. rex. a., for rex anglorvm, - 61 
 
 6, a penny of iElfred the Great (a.d. 872) ; reverse, the monogram of London, - 62 
 
 7, another penny of iElfred ; the name spelt elfred, - - - - 62 
 
 8, a penny of Edward the Elder (a.d. 901) ; type of reverse, the hand of Providence, 64 
 
 9, another penny of Edward the Elder, ------ 64 
 
 10, a penny of iEthelstan (a.d. 925), aedelstan. rex ; reverse, the moneyer’s name, 65 
 
 11, a penny of Eadmund (a.d. 941) ; eadmvd. rex., the n being omitted by accident, 65 
 
 12, a penny of Eadred (a.d. 953) ; eadred. rex., - 65 
 
 13, a penny of Edwy (a.d. 955) ; eadvig. rex., ----- 65 
 
 14, the reverse of another coin of Edwy, ------ 65 
 
 15, a penny of Edgar (a.d. 958) ; eadgar. rex., - - - - 66 
 
 16, a penny of Edward the Martyr (a.d. 975) ; eadpeard. rex. agl., for “ Anglise,” 66 
 
 17, a penny of Ethelred II. (a.d. 978) ; edelfred. rex. ang. (lorum), - - 66 
 
 18, another penny of Ethelred II. ; type of reverse, the hand of Providence, - - 66 
 
 19, a penny of Cnut (Canute) (a.d. 1016) ; cnvt. rex. an. pax (Peace) in the angles 
 
 of the cross, --------- 67 
 
200 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. Page 
 
 20, another penny of Cnut ; cnvt. rex. anglorvm., ----- 67 
 
 21, a penny of Harold I. (a.d. 1035); obverse, harold. rex., - - - 67 
 
 22, a penny of Hardicanute (a.d. 1040) ; hardacnvt. rex., - - - - 67 
 
 23, a penny of Edward the Confessor (a.d. 1042) ; eadpard. rex. an (glorum), - 68 
 
 24, another penny of Edward the Confessor; ead. ped. rex. anglo (rum), - - 67 
 
 25, a penny of Harold II. ; reverse, pax, and the moneyer’s name, - - - 68 
 
 PLATE IY. 
 
 COINS OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN SOVEREIGNS, FROM WILLIAM I. TO RICHARD III. 
 
 1, a penny of William I. (1066) ; pillemhs. rex. — the Saxon p being used for w, - 73 
 
 2, a penny of William II. (1089); pillelm. rex. ; reverse, the moneyer’s name, - 73 
 
 3, a penny of Henry I. (1100) hnri. rex., ------ 74 
 
 4, a penny of Stephen (1135) ; stiefne. rex., - - - - .74 
 
 5, a penny of Henry II. (1154) ; henri. rex. ANGLi(e), - - - .76 
 
 6 , a penny of Henry III. (1216) ; henricvs. rex. hi., - - - - 77 
 
 7, the supposed groat of Edward I. (a.d. 1272), ----- 79 
 
 8 , a silver penny of Edward I., with similar inscriptions, differently abbreviated, - 79 
 
 9, a farthing of Edward I., - - - - - - 80 
 
 10, a penny of Edward II. (a.d. 1307) ; on the reverse, civitas London, - - 81 
 
 11, a groat of Edward III. (1326), ------- 81 
 
 12, a penny of Edward III., with civitas eboraci (City of York) on the reverse, - 83 
 
 13, a gold quarter-florin of Edward III. ; reverse, exaltabitvr. in. gloria., - - 83 
 
 14, a gold noble of Edward III. ; iesvs. avtem. transiens. per. medivm. illorvm. 
 
 ibat. — “ Jesus, passing through the midst of them, went away,” - - 84 
 
 15, a quarter-noble of Edward III., -------84 
 
 16, a groat of Richard II., (a.d. 1377), ------ 86 
 
 17, a half-noble of Richard II., - -- ----86 
 
 18, a groat of the heavy money of Henry IY. (1400), - - - - 86 
 
 19, a quarter-noble of Henry IY., -------86 
 
 20, a groat of Henry Y. ; inscription as on the groat of Henry IV., except the V., 87 & 88 
 
 21, a half-noble of Henry Y. or VI., ------- 87 
 
 22, the obverse of a groat of Edward IY. (1461), with edward. di. gra., - 88 & 90 
 
 23, the obverse of a gold angel of Edward IY. ; reverse has o. crvx. ave. spes. 
 
 VNICA., - -- -- ---..89 
 
 24, the obverse of a groat of Richard IH., ------ 92 
 
 PLATE Y. 
 
 COINS STRUCK BY ENGLISH PRINCES IN FRANCE, TERMED ANGLO- GALLIC COINS. 
 
 1 , a denier of Aquitaine, struck in the reign of Henry H. (1154), - - - 76 
 
 2, a denier of Poictou, struck in the reign of Richard I. (1189), - - - 77 
 
 3, a penny of Aquitaine, struck in the reign of Edward I. (1273), - - - 80 
 
 4, a gold u Guiennois,” struck in Guienne, in the reign of Edward III., - - 85 
 
 4^, tne obverse of a gold “leopard” of Edward III., struck in France, - - 85 
 
 5, a silver penny of Aquitaine, of the reign of Edward HI., - - - 85 
 
 6 , a double “hardi” of Edward IH., - - - 85 
 
 6 £, a pattern for a new issue of the groats of Bordeaux, in billon , - - - 86 
 
 7, a “ pavilion ” of Edward the Black Prince, so named from the Gothic canopy, - 85 
 
 8 , the “chaise” of the Black Prince; legend devs. jvdex. jvstvs. fortis. et. 
 
 PATIENS., - - - - - - - -85 
 
 9 and 10, a groat of Bordeaux, of the Black Prince; legend gloria, in. excelsis., 
 
 &c., ------- - - - 85 
 
 11 and 12, the “ mouton d’of,” or “ gold lamb,” of Henry V., so named from the 
 
 type, - - - - - - - - - 88 
 
 13 and 14, the “ salute,” of Henry VI., named from the type — the salutation of the 
 
 Virgin, ----------88 
 
 15 and 16, obverse and reverse of a groat of the pretender, Perkin Warbeck, - 97 
 
 17 and 18, obverse and reverse of a groat of Henry VIII., struck at Tournay, - 98 
 
 PLATE YI. 
 
 COINS OF HENRY VII. AND VIII., AND EDWARD VI. 
 
 1, a groat of Henry VII., of the first character ; the crown as in the previous reigns, 93 & 96 
 
 2 , a groat of Henry VII., of the second character, with the arched crown, - 93 & 96 
 
 3, a penny of the same, - 93 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 201 
 
 No. Pack 
 
 4, a shilling of Henry VII., the first English shilling, - - - .94 
 
 5, the gold “ sovereign ” of Henry VII., the first English coin bearing that name, - 95 
 
 6 , a half “ groat ” of Henry VIII., similar in type to the shilling of Henry VII , - 98 
 
 7 and 8 , a testoon or shilling of Henry VIII., - - - - - 98 
 
 9 and 10, a silver halfpenny of Henry VIII., with rex. d. g. rosa. sine. spina., - 98 
 
 11 and 12 , a silver farthing of Henry VIII; rvtilans. rosa., - - - 98 
 
 13, the gold sovereign of Henry VIII.; the same inscription as the testoon, - - 99 
 
 14, a George noble of Henry VIII. ; reverse, tali, dicatt. sig°. mes. flvctyari. 
 neqt., ----------99 
 
 144, a gold half-crown of Henry VIII.; reverse, rvtilans. rosa. sine, spina., - 99 
 
 15, a gold crown of Henry VIII. ; reverse, rvtilans. rosa., &c., - 100 
 
 1 G, a shilling of Edward VI. (1547), with the legend Timor, domini. fons. vite. 
 
 MOXLIX., --------- 103 
 
 17, a silver crown of Edward VI., the first silver crown, - 103 
 
 18, the obverse of a sixpence of Edward VI., 104’ 
 
 19, a base penny of Edward VI. ; legend, rosa. sine, spina., - 104 
 
 20, the obverse of a treble-sovereign of Edward VI., ----- 105 
 
 21, the obverse of a half-sovereign of Edward VI., ----- 105 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 COINAGE OF MARY, PHILIP AND MARY, AND ELIZABETH. 
 
 1, double-rial of Mary (1553); a. dno. fact v (wz) est. istv. z. est. mira. in. 
 
 ocvt., nris., for “ A Domino. Factvm. est. istvd. et. est. Mirabile in Oculis. 
 
 Nostris,” - -- -- - - -- 107 
 
 2, a single-rial of Mary, with the same legends as the double-rial, - , 107 
 
 3, a half-angel of Philip and Mary; reverse, A. dno. factvm. est., &c., - - 107 
 
 4, a groat of Mary; reverse, veritas. temporis. filias. — “ Truth the daughter of 
 
 Time, 1 ’ - - - - - - - - - 107 
 
 44, the obverse of a penny of Philip and Mary, - - - - 107 
 
 5, a shilling of Mary and Philip, with the busts of both facing each other, - - 107 
 
 6 , another shilling of Philip and Mary, with Mary on the obverse and Philip on the 
 
 reverse of the coin, - - - - - - - -106 
 
 7, a shilling of Queen Elizabeth, - - - - - - -110 
 
 8 , a silver threepenny piece of Elizabeth, - - - - - -110 
 
 9, a silver threefarthing piece of Elizabeth, - - - - -110 
 
 10, a silver halfpenny of Elizabeth, - - - - - - -110 
 
 11 , a milled shilling of Elizabeth (1575), ------ no 
 
 1 2, a crown of Elizabeth, - - - - - - - -110 
 
 13, the obverse of a rial or half-sovereign of Elizabeth, - - - 111 
 
 14, a half-sovereign of another mintage; reverse, scvtvm fidei. proteget. eam. — 
 
 “The shield of the faithful protects her,” - - - - - 111 
 
 15, a gold crown of the same types as the half-sovereign, - - - - 111 
 
 16, a gold half-crown, ditto, - - - - - - - - 111 
 
 17, a pattern farthing of Elizabeth, in copper, with the monogram of Elizabeth, - 112 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 SCOTTISH COINAGE BEFORE THE UNION. 
 
 1, a gold “St. Andrew” of Robert II., so called from the cross of St. Andrew on the 
 
 reverse, - - - - - - - - - -114 
 
 2, a “lion” of James I.; legend, salvvm. fac. popvlvm. tvvm. dn, for “ Domine,” 114 
 
 3, a “unicorn” of James III. or IV.; legend, exvrgat. devs., &c., - - 115 
 
 4, a “rider” of James IV., so termed from the type of the king on horseback, - 115 
 
 5, the obverse of a “bonnet-piece” of James V., with the date of 1540, - - 116 
 
 54 , a third of a groat of James V., with iacobvs. dei. GRA(ta'a) B(ex) sC0T0R(?«m) - 116 
 
 6, the obverse of a gold rial of Mary of Scotland, with the queen’s bust, - - 117 
 
 7, the reverse of a “ lion ” of Mary, with maria regina in a monogram, - - 117 
 
 8, the “hat-piece” of James VI.; reverse, te. solvm. vereor., - - - 118 
 
 9, the reverse of a gold “ lion ” of James VI., - 118 
 
 10, a silver mark of James VI., with the legend, his. differt. rege. tyrannvs., - 117 
 
 11 and 12, a gold piece of £20, Scotch, of James VI. - - - - - 118 
 
 13, a silver piece of twenty shillings, Scotch, of James VI., - - - - 117 
 
 14 and 15, a groat of the reign of James V., ------ 116 
 
 O 
 
202 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. _ Page 
 
 16, the obverse of a silver testoon of Mary, - - - - - -116 
 
 17, a testoon of Mary, struck during her marriage with Francis II. of France, - 116 
 
 18, a silver rial of Mary, struck during her marriage with Darnley, - - 116 
 
 19, the reverse of a double-mark, known as the thistle-mark of James VI., - 117 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 COINAGE OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 
 
 1, a half-crown of James I. ; reverse, exyrgat. deys. dissipentvr. inimici., - 120 
 
 2, a shilling of James I. The inscription of the obverse is the same as the half- 
 crown, except the substitution of mag.(wce) bbi. ( tannice), instead of ANG .(lice) 
 et sco .(tice). On the reverse, qtle. devs. conivnxit. nemo, separet. — u What 
 
 God has united, none shall separate” — in allusion to the union of the crowns, - 120 
 
 3, a half-groat of James I., with rosa. sine, spina. — “ The rose without a thorn,” - 120 
 
 4, the obverse of a silver halfpenny, - - - - - - -125 
 
 5, a silver halfpenny, - - - - - - - -120 
 
 6, the obverse of the sceptred unit of t wenty shillings of James I., - - - 121 
 
 7, the obverse of a rial of thirty shillings, - - - - - -121 
 
 8, a gold four-shilling piece, ------- 121 
 
 9, a gold unit, with faciam. eos. in. gentem. ynam. — “ I will make them one 
 
 people,” --------- - 121 
 
 10 and 11, a gold “ angel ” of James ; reverse, a. domino, factvm, &c., - - 121 
 
 10£, a penny of Charles I. ; reverse, exvrgat, &c. (See Alphabetical List of 
 
 Legends), --------- 125 
 
 12, a half-crown of Charles I. ; reverse, christo. avspice. regno., - - - 124 
 
 13, a shilling of Charles I., - - - - - - - - 125 
 
 14 and 15, a halfpenny of Charles I., - - - - - - - 125 
 
 16, an Oxford twenty-shilling piece, ------- 125 
 
 17, an Oxford half-crown, with a view of the city beneath the horse, - 125 
 
 18, the reverse of a shilling siege piece of Pontefract Castle. The inscription reads, 
 
 obs. p. c. xn. 1648, obs. for obssessa (besieged), and p. c., probably for 
 Pontefract Castle, - 126 
 
 19, a gold crown or quarter-unit. Reverse, cyltores. svi. deys. proteget., - 128 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 COINAGE OF CHARLES I. AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 1, a gold unit of Charles I. ; reverse, florent. concordia. regna., 
 
 2, a gold quarter-unit of Charles I., 
 
 3, the reverse of a gold twenty-shilling piece of the “ Exurgat money,” 
 
 4, a shilling of the “ Exurgat money,” ------ 
 
 5, the reverse of a sixpence, with the motto, christo. ayspice., &c., 
 
 C, the reverse of a half-crown, with the motto, christo. avspice., &c., 
 
 6^, a silver threepenny piece of Charles I. ; reverse, christo. avspice., &c., 
 
 7 and 8, a silver penny of Charles I., 
 
 9, a sixpence of the money of necessity of Charles I., with cork, 1647, on the 
 reverse, ---------- 
 
 10, a three -shilling piece of the Carlisle siege money of Charles I., - 
 
 11, a ninepenny piece of the siege money of Charles I., struck at Newark, 
 
 12, a fourpenny piece of the same coinage as Nos. 7 and 8, - - - 
 
 13, a sixpence of the same mintage, with vi. on the reverse, - 
 
 14, one of the rude pieces struck at Dublin for the king. - 
 
 15, a half-crown of the Commonwealth, bearing for inscription the commonwealth 
 
 of England, Latin legends being abandoned during the Commonwealth; reverse, 
 god. with vs., date 1651, ------- 
 
 1 7, the reverse of a gold twenty-shilling piece of the Commonwealth, - - - 
 
 18 and 19, patterns of copper farthings of the Commonwealth, ... 
 
 20, the reverse of a pattern half-crown of the Commonwealth; gvarded with 
 
 ANGELES, --------- 
 
 21, ar half-crown of Cromwell (perhaps never issued); olivar. D.(ei) g .(ratio) r .(ei) 
 
 p .(ublicce) an G.{lice) SCO .(tice) et BiB.(erni) pro (tector ) — “ Oliver, by the 
 grace of God, Protector of the Republic of England, Scotland, and Ireland ;” 
 reverse, pax. qveritvr. bello.— “ Peace is sought by war,” - 
 
 22, the obverse of a twenty-shilling piece of the protector, with the same inscriptions, 
 
 128 
 
 128 
 
 128 
 
 125 
 
 125 
 
 125 
 
 125 
 
 126 
 
 126 
 
 126 
 
 125 
 
 126 
 126 
 126 
 
 134 
 
 135 
 135 
 
 134 
 
 134 
 
 135 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 203 
 
 PLATE XI. 
 
 COINAGE OF CHARLES II., JAMES II., AND WILLIAM AND MARY. 
 
 No. _ Page 
 
 1, a sixpence of Charles II. ; reverse, ciiristo. ayspice. regno., - 138 
 
 2, a sixpence of the new coinage by mill and screw, - - - - - 138 
 
 3, the celebrated petition crown of Simon, ------ 138 
 
 4, one of the last silver halfpennies coined, - - - - - -138 
 
 5, a fourpenny piece of Charles II., - - - - - - - 138 
 
 6, a twopenny piece of Charles II., - - - - - - 138 
 
 7, a gold forty-shilling piece of Charles II., of 1674, ----- 142 
 
 7^, the first copper halfpenny; issued in the reign of Charles II., - 146 
 
 8, a half-crown of James II., - 148 
 
 9, a twopenny piece of James II., - - - - - - 148 
 
 10, the obverse of a five-pound piece of James II., with the elephant mint-mark, - 149 
 
 10£, the obverse of a tin halfpenny of James II., with a copper plug, - - - 149 
 
 11, a half-crown of William and Mary, - - - - - -151 
 
 12, the obverse of a shilling of William and Mary, - - - - - 151 
 
 12|, the obverse of a fourpenny piece of William and Mary, - 
 
 13, a two-pound piece of William and Mary, - - 152 
 
 14, the obverse of a half-crown of William III., coined at Chester, with c. mint-mark, 
 
 on the reverse, is that of one coined from W.elsh silver, with the “ feathers ” 
 between the shields, - -- -- -- - 151 
 
 15, the reverse of a shilling of William III., - - - - - -151 
 
 16, the reverse of a fourpenny piece of William III., ----- 151 
 
 16|, the obverse of a five-pound piece of William III., - - - 152 
 
 17, the obverse of a tin farthing of William and Mary, with a copper plug, - - 153 
 
 18, a copper halfpenny of William III., with gvlielmvs. tertivs ; reverse, Britannia, 153 
 
 20, the reverse of a silver twopenny piece of William III., - 151 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 
 COINAGES OF QUEEN ANNE, GEORGE I., GEORGE II., GEORGE III., &C. 
 
 1 , a half-crown of Anne, - - - - - - - -155 
 
 2, a gold two-pound piece of Anne, ------- 156 
 
 3, the reverse of a shilling of Anne, coined from the Welsh silver, - 155 
 
 3^, the obverse of a shilling of Anne, of the Edinburgh mint, distinguished by the 
 
 letter E., - - 155 
 
 4, the obverse of a pattern copper farthing of Anne, - - - - 156 
 
 5, a pattern copper halfpenny of Anne, - - - - - -156 
 
 6, a crown of George I., - - - - - - - 157 
 
 7, a two-pound piece of George I., with the same inscription as the crown, - - 157 
 
 7^, a copper halfpenny of 1742, ------- 160 
 
 8, the reverse of a half-crown of George II. of 1745, - 159 
 
 8£, the obverse of a half-crown of George II. with lima, - 159 
 
 9, a two-pound piece of George II., with the same legends as No. 8, - - 160 
 
 10, a copper farthing of George I., - - - - 158 
 
 11, the obverse of the Northumberland shilling of George III., of 1763, - - 164 
 
 12, the reverse of a shilling of George III., 1763, ----•• 164 
 
 13, the obverse of a shilling of George III., of 1787, - - - - - 164 
 
 14, the reverse of a threepenny piece of George III., - - - 162 & 164 
 
 15, the reverse of a copper halfpenny of George III., - - - - - 167 
 
 16, the pattern silver crown of Victoria, ------ 173 
 
 17, a pattern for a five-pound piece of Victoria, ----- 172 
 
204 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
 SUPPLEMENTAL PLATES. 
 
 PLATE XIII. 
 
 THE EARLIEST GREEK COINS, &C. 
 
 No. Pagb 
 
 1, an Egyptian painting, older than the time of Abraham, showing a public weigher 
 
 and notary in the act of weighing and taking down the amount of ring-money - 14 
 
 2, a Lydian stater of Sardis, possibly issued by Croesus about b.c. 495, - - 16 
 
 3, a gold double-stater of Miletus, in Ionia, probably struck between 700 and 800 b.c., 17 
 
 4, a Persian daric (about b.c. 530), ------- 18 
 
 5, a quarter- stater of Phocea, with a ram’s head, and a small phoca or seal, - - 18 
 
 6, one of the earliest silver coins, a didrachm of iEgina, - - - 18 
 
 7, an incused coin of the Grecio-Italian city of Sybaris, - - - 18 
 
 8, an early coin of Athens; the head of Athena or Minerva, with A0E, for “ Athena,” 18 
 
 9, a medallion of Syracuse ; one of the finest examples of Greek monetary art, - 18 
 
 10, a tetradrachm, or four-drachma piece of Alexander the Great, - - - 19 
 
 11, a gold stater of Philip II. of Macedon. It has a laureated head of Apollo on the 
 
 obverse, and a biga or two-liorse chariot with OIAIIIIIOT — “ of Philip” on the 
 reverse, - - - - - - - - - 19&29 
 
 12, a gold pentradrachm of Ptolemy Sotor, the first Greek sovereign of Egypt, - 19 
 
 13, a Jewish shekel, struck about 125 b.c., - - - - - 12 & 13 
 
 PLATE XIV. 
 
 THE EARLIEST FORM OF THE AS LIBRALIS OF THE LIBRAL COINAGE OF ROME. 
 
 A square quincussis, formerly in the Pembroke collection, weighing four pounds nine 
 ounces eleven pennyweights three grains, sold at the sale of the above-named 
 collection for £22 10s. The weight of the earliest pieces of this kind was one 
 pound, ----------20 
 
 PLATE XY. 
 
 THE SECOND FORM OF THE LIBRAL COINAGE OF ROME. 
 
 1, the circular ass or as, representing a pound weight of copper, but depreciated to 
 
 nine ounces and a-half, --------20 
 
 2, a decussis or piece of ten ases of a later period ; type, the head of Roma, with the 
 
 numeral x., --------- 20 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE RING-MONEY OF IRELAND. 
 
 1 to 8, specimens of the ring- money, exhibiting different varieties of form, - 24 
 
 9, a specimen found in the county of Galway, the intrinsic value of which is £60, - 25 
 
 10, a cast specimen in which many rings are joined together, - - - 25 
 
 1 1 , a specimen of the cast brass ring-money ; an entire ring, - - - - 25 
 
 12, a group of brass rings looped one within another, - - - - 25 
 
 PLATE XVI. a. 
 
 TORQUES AND OTHER CELTIC ORNAMENTS. 
 
 1 , a portion of a torque of the original size, of bronze, found in Staffordshire, - 25 
 
 2 and 3, a coin of Manlius Torquatus; with the head of Roma encircled by a torque, 26 
 
 4 , 5, 6 , and 7, gold ornaments of this class found in France, - - - - 26 
 
 PLATE XVII. 
 
 EARLY BRITISH COINS, AND ROMAN COINS RELATING TO BRITAIN. 
 
 1, an early British coin- -a rude imitation of the biga type ; reverse, plain, - 35 & 39 
 
 2, a similar coin, with a barbaric ornament on the reverse, - - - 30 & 35 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 205 
 
 No. _ _ Page 
 
 3 , another, with an ear of corn on the reverse, and the inscription catti., - - 39 
 
 4 , another rude imitation of the biga type; inscription, dvmno., - - 38 
 
 5, a British coin, with a rude copy of the head of Alexander; reverse, the biga, - 31 
 
 6 , a gold coin, having an ear of barley on the obverse, and camv., - - 37 & 39 
 
 7, a gold coin of the British prince Cunobelin, with cvno. underneath the horse, &c., 36 & 39 
 
 8 , a coin, probably of Tasciovan, with ver., for “ Verulamium,” - - - 33 
 
 9, a coin of Cunobelin, in the Roman style, the obverse having a figure of Apollo ; 
 
 and the reverse, the word solido., ------ 37 
 
 10, a denarius of the Roman republic, - - - - - 48 
 
 1 1 , a gold coin of Sulla, dictator of the Roman republic, - - - 49 
 
 12, the reverse of a coin of Hadrian, with Britannia, - - - 43 
 
 13 and 14, the obverse and reverse of a coin of Antoninus Pius, - - 44 
 
 15, the reverse of a brass coin of Antoninus Pius, - - • - -4 4 
 
 16, a large bronze medallion of Commodus, - - - - - - 44 
 
 17, a “ large brass ” of Caracalla, ------ .45 
 
 18, a silver coin of Geta, - -- -- -.-45 
 
 19, a coin of Constantine the Great, with p. lon., for u Pecunia Londinii,” - - 47 
 
 20, a coin of Crispus; on the obverse, crispvs. nobil (issimus) c (cesar), &c., - - 48 
 
 PLATE XVIII. 
 
 IRISH COINS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO CHARLES I. 
 
 1 , a silver penny of Imars or Ifars, King of Limerick, - - - - 69 
 
 2, a silver penny of Enred, --------69 
 
 3, a silver penny of Ifars II., King of Dublin (a.d. 993), - - - - 69 
 
 4, a silver penny of Sithric III. (a.d. 989), ------ 70 
 
 5, a silver penny attributed to Anlaf V. (a.d. 1059), - - - - 70 
 
 6 , a silver penny of Askel (a.d. 1159), ------ 70 
 
 7, 8 , 9, and 10, Irish bracteate coins; the type indented upon the reverse, - - 71 
 
 11, an Irish coin of John, struck while he was Dominus , or Lord of Ireland, - - 77 
 
 12, an Irish penny of John, struck after his accession to the English throne, - - 77 
 
 12|, a halfpenny of John, with a lozenge on the obverse, - - - - 77 
 
 13, a silver penny of Henry III. ; the legend on the obverse is, iiericvs. rex. hi., - 78 
 
 14, a silver farthing of Edward I.; reverse, civitas. dvbliniae., - - - 80 
 
 15, a “ Patrick ” of Henry IV. — one-eighth of a penny, - - - - 88 
 
 1 6, a groat of Edward IV. ; type, the ancient arms of Ireland, three crowns, - - 88 
 
 17, a penny of Edward IV., - - - - - - - 88 & 90 
 
 18, a “ Patrick ” of Edward IV. ; a shield and the three crowns, the arms of Ireland, 91 
 
 19, a groat of Henry VIII.; the crowned initials H. and A., for Henry and Anne 
 
 (Anne Boleyn), -------- - 100 
 
 20, a Cork farthing, struck during the Commonwealth, - 135 
 
 21, a brass coin of Charles I., struck in Ireland, - - - - - 128 
 
 22, an Irish farthing of Charles I., - - - - - - 128 
 
 PLATE XIX. 
 
 SILVER COINAGE OF SCOTLAND, AND SPECIMENS OF SCOTTISH COPPER COINS. 
 
 1 , a coin of one of the princes of the Hebrides ; about the eleventh century, - 113 
 
 2 , a silver penny of Malcolm III., cotemporary with William I. of England, - - 113 
 
 3, a silver penny of William the Lion of Scotland, ----- 113 
 
 4, a silver penny of Robert Bruce, with robertvs. dei. gratia, - - - 114 
 
 5, a groat of Robert III. ; reverse, villa, edinbyrgi— “ The town of Edinburgh,” - 114 
 
 6 , a billon penny of Robert III. ; on the reverse, villa, innernis — u Inverness,” - 115 
 
 7, a billon penny of James I., - - - - - - - 115 
 
 8 , a billon groat of James I., ------- 115 
 
 9, a u plack ” of James III., - - - - - - -115 
 
 10, a silver groat of James IV., - - - - - - -115 
 
 11 , a half-plack of James V. ; reverse, oppidvm. edinbyrgi— “ City of Edinburgh,” - 116 
 
 12, a groat of James V.; inscription, iacobvs. 5 dei. GRA.(/m) rex. scotorv.(wz), - 116 
 
 13, a “ bawbee ” of Mary and Francis, - - - - - -117 
 
 14, the “ non sunt” of Mary and Francis, so called from the inscription, - - 117 
 
 15, the obverse of a testoon of Mary, - - - - - -116 
 
 16, a billon penny of Mary, -------- 11 G 
 
 17, the last billon coin struck by James VI., - - - - - -117 
 
 18, a Scotch twopenny piece of Charles I., - - - - - - 128 
 
206 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. Page 
 
 19 and 20, a “ bawbee ” of Charles II. ; the legend on the reverse is nemo, me., &c., - 147 
 
 21, a “ boddle ” of Charles II. ; legends, the same as those of the “ bawbee,” - - 147 
 
 PLATE XX. 
 
 SIEGE PIECES AND “ PIECES OF NECESSITY,” OF CHARLES I. 
 
 1, a five-shilling piece, stamped on both sides with V. S., - - - 12G 
 
 2, a shilling; obverse, c. R. ; reverse, CARL.(wZe) OBs(sessa) — “ besieged;” date, 1645, 126 
 
 3, the obverse of a five-shilling piece, probably of Dublin, - - - 126 
 
 4, a five-shilling piece ; a large V. S. on the obverse ; reverse, a simple cross, - 126 
 
 5, a Cork shilling ; on the obverse, cork, 1647 ; on the reverse, xil, - - 126 
 
 6 and 7, a Newark shilling ; the obverse has c. and r. on each side of the crown, - 126 
 
 8, a piece of silver, stamped with a castle, and beneath it V. S. to denote its value, - 126 
 
 9, a square piece of silver ; type, a castle, and I. S. I. D. to denote its value, - 126 
 
 10, a shilling piece, also stamped with a castle, and I. S. to denote its value, - - 126 
 
 11 and 12, a shilling piece, struck at Pontefract, after the death of Charles I., - 127 
 
 13, an octagon piece of uncertain value, ------ 127 
 
 PLATE XXI. 
 
 FOREIGN SIEGE PIECES. 
 
 The coin without a number is the gold penny of Henry III., - - - 78 
 
 1, a gold piece, issued by Charles, Duke of Sudermania, in 1589, - - - 130 
 
 2, a gold piece, issued by Maurice of Saxony during the siege of Leipsic, in 1547, - 130 
 
 3, a silver piece, issued during the memorable siege of Vienna by the Turks, in 1529, 130 
 
 4 ? another piece, issued at the same period, - - - - - -131 
 
 5^ a silver piece, issued by the Bishop of Osnaburgh during the siege of that city, - 131 
 
 6 a siege piece of Breda, 1623, - - - - - - - 131 
 
 7, ’ a siege piece of Campen, 1578, ------- 131 
 
 8, a siege piece of Magdeburgh ; the patron saint, St. Maurice, on both sides, - 132 
 
 9, a copper piece, struck by Gustavus of Sweden during the insurrection against 
 
 Christian, King of Denmark, - - - - - - -130 
 
 10, “ Money of Necessity,” struck by Marshal Turenne while besieging St. Venant, - 131 
 
 11, a gold piece, struck by Antonio Leva during the siege of Pavia, in 1524, - 132 
 
 The large piece in the centre was struck at London, in 1702. 
 
 PLATE XXII. 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE COPPER COINAGE, AND OF THE TOWN AND TRADE TOKENS. 
 
 1, pattern penny of Queen Elizabeth ; obverse, the pledge of, with a bust of the 
 
 queen, -- -------- 144 
 
 2, an old lead token, bearing the date 1599, ------ 144 
 
 3, a copper farthing of James I., ------- 145 
 
 4, a farthing token of the Boar’s Head Tavern, in Great Eastcheap, - - - 144 
 
 5, the pattern farthing, executed by Briot for Charles I., - - - 145 
 
 6, a farthing token of the Mermaid Tavern, in Cheapside, - - - - 144 
 
 7, a Bristol farthing of 1652 ; on the reverse are the arms of Bristol, - - 145 
 
 8, Nottingham halfpenny ; Nottingham halfpenny to be chainged by y e 
 
 CHAMBERLAINS, - - - - - - - - -145 
 
 9, a Cirencester farthing, - -- -- -- - 145 
 
 10, a pattern farthing of Charles II., - - - - - - - 147 
 
 11, a halfpenny ; the trade token of Thomas Dedicot, of Bewdley, - - - 145 
 
 12, a halfpenny; the trade token of Robert Watmough, carrier, of Halifax, - - 145 
 
 13, 14, and 15, specimens of the gun-money of James II. (struck in Ireland), - 149 
 
 16, the reverse of an Irish halfpenny of William and Mary, - - - - 149 
 
 17, the reverse of an Irish halfpenny of Charles II. (See No. 14, Plate 11), - - 153 
 
 18, the reverse of an Irish halfpenny of James II., with Hibernia, - 150 
 
 19, the reverse of an Irish penny of George III., with hibernia, and the date, 1805, - 167 
 
 PLATE XXIII. 
 
 BRITISH COLONIAL COINS. 
 
 1, a shilling of the Sommer Islands, - - ■ - - - - ITS 
 
 2, a sixpence of the Boston mint; N. E., for New England, and VI., to denote the 
 
 value, ---------- 148 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 207 
 
 No. . Page 
 
 3, copper coin struck for the Ionian Islands, ionikon. kratos. — “ Ionian government,” 169 
 
 4, a coin struck by Lord Baltimore, for his American estates, - 148 
 
 5 and 6 a Massachusetts threepenny piece ; the obverse reads masathvskts. and new 
 
 ENGLAND, --------- 148 
 
 7 and 8, a Bombay rupee of Charles II., - - - - - - 142 
 
 , 9, an early English imitation of an Indian coin, called a “ pagoda,” - - 143 & 175 
 
 10, a one-cash piece, date 1806, - - - - - - -175 
 
 11, a rupee of Calcutta, with the Indian characters, in imitation of the native coin, - 174 
 
 12, a Pie or P<n, of 1795, - -- -- -- - 174 
 
 13, a Bombay twenty-cash piece, ------- 174 
 
 14, a more modern gold pagoda, with a new device, - - - - -175 
 
 15 and 16, a modern rupee of the East Indian Company ; obverse, king william iv., 176 
 
 17, a gold mohur of the East Indian Company, of the reign of William IV., - - 176 
 
 18, a copper piece of one “ cash” of 1734, ------ 149 
 
 19, the obverse of a single u pie or pai” - - - - - - 174 
 
 20, the obverse of a piece of five u fanams ,” struck at Madras in 1808, - - 175 
 
 21, a twenty “ cash ” piece of the Calcutta mint, ----- 175 
 
 22, the obverse of a bronze cent, for Canada, issued in 1858, - 178 
 
 23, the reverse of the Canadian cent., - - - - - - 178 
 
 24, a twenty- cent, piece of silver for Canada (1858) ; the obverse having the same 
 
 head as the copper cent., but without the inner border of beading, - 177 
 
 25, the new bronze penny intended for issue in 1860, - 172 
 
 26, the reverse of the new bronze penny, ------ 172 
 
 EUR ATA. 
 
 Page 23, line 22, after 13, read No. 1. 
 
 ,, 113, line 2 from bottom, for No. 2, read No. 3. 
 
 ,, 125, line 13, for Plate 9, read Plate 10. 
 
 „ ,, line 17, for Plate 10, read Plate 9. 
 
 ,, 156, line 2§, for No. 12, Plate 5, read No. 5, Plate 12. 
 
 ,, 173, line 25 ,for No. 17, read No. 16. 
 
 ,, 176, line 17, for Plate 20, read Plate 23. 
 
 ,, 178, line 9, for No. 17, read No. 16. 
 
 „ 182, line 41 ,for forms, read form. 
 
 GLASGOW : 
 
 PRINTED BY BELL AND BAIN, ST. ENOCH SQUARE. 
 
GREEK COINS OF SUCCESSIVE PERIOD S.& 
 
 PL Kill 
 
 D ay h Son >'LiGvF- 
 
THE EARLIEST FORM OF THE LIBRAE COINAGE. (ROME) 
 
 PLJ2F 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
pl 
 
 THE SECOND FORM OF THE LIBRAL COINAGE. (home.) 
 
 Jjcct&, Scxn.lifeh?® to tlhe Oiieen. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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FI3YT. 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE RING MONEY OF IRE LATTE 
 
 Day ■&, San irfliT;? To Oie Q-u.e'm 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EARLY BRITISH COINS & ROMAN COINS RELATING TO BRITAIN 
 
IRISH COIRS EROM EARLIEST PERIOD TO CHAPvLES 1 
 
 Raj' 4 . .Son Xith TS tv the Queen 
 
SILVER COINAGE OF SCOTLAND BEFORE THE UNION, & LATE COPPER 
 
 Dav & Sonlith ? 8 to the Qufcfcn. 
 
0 tf> f ) <V (0 Q fil 
 
 SIEGE PIECES & PIECES OF .NECESSITY OF CHARLES I. 
 
 PI .XL 
 
 Decy- & oan. Iath 1 ’ 5 to tie Qixeen. 
 
PL XXT 
 
 SPECIMENS OP FOREIGN SIEGE PIECES, PIECES OF NECESSITY &ca 
 
 Derr&. San .Tj+i?',® to "the Q ubptl 
 

SPECIMENS OF THF, COPPER COINACE & TOWN & TRADE TOKEN S 
 
BRITISH COLONIAL COINS, AND THE- PROJECTED BRONZE COINAGE Of 1861 
 
 PL/. 'xxTTT 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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