fell to eighteen grains; and in that of Edward IV. to eleven. In the time of Edward VI. it was diminished to eight grains; and in queen Elizabeth's reign to 7; at which it still continues. Halfpennies and farthings were first struck in silver by Edward I. in 1280; the former continued to the time of the commonwealth, but the latter ceased with Edward VI. The groat was introduced by Edward III. in 1354, the halfgroat or twopence is of the same date. Shillings were first coined by Henry VII. in 1503. At first it was called testoon, from the teste, tete, or head of the king upon it: the name shilling being derived from the German schelling; under which appellations coins had been struck at Hamburgh in 1407. The crown was first coined in its present form by Henry VIII. Formerly it had appeared only in gold, whence the phrase of crowns of gold; though these indeed were the largest gold coins known for a long time in France and other countries on the continent being worth about ten shillings sterling. They had their name from the crown stamped on one side, and were first coined by Charles VI. in 1384, and continued till the time of Louis XIV. The halfcrown, sixpence, and threepence, were coined by Edward VI. In 1558 queen Elizabeth coined three half-penny, and in 1561 three farthing pieces; but they were discontinued in 1582. From the year 1601 to the present time the coins of England remain the same. Gold was coined in England by Henry III. in 1257; the piece was called a gold penny, and was larger than the silver one; and the execution is by no means bad for the time. The series of gold coinage, however, commences properly from Edward III. In 1344 this monarch first struck florins, in imitation of those in Italy; and it is remarkable, that though these coins, at the time they were first issued, bore only six shillings value, they are now intrinsically worth nineteen shillings; so much has the value of gold increased since that time. The half and quarter florin were struck at the same time, but only the last has been found. The florin, however, being inconvenient, gave place to the noble of 6s. 8d. value, and exactly half a mark. The latter had its name from being a limited sum in accounts; and was eight ounces in weight, two-thirds of the money pound. It is sometimes also called selibra, as being one half of the commercial pound of sixteen ounces. The noble had its name from the nobility of the metal; the gold of which it was coined being of the finest sort. Sometimes it is called rose noble, from both sides being impaled in an undulating circle. It continued with the half and quarter noble to be the only gold coin till the angels of Edward IV. appeared in 1465. These had their name from being stamped with the image of Michael and the dragon. The angelites of 3s. 4d. value were substituted in their place. In 1527 Henry VIII. added to the gold coins the crown and half crown at their present value; and the same year he gave sovereigns of £1 2s. 6d. and ryals of 11s. 3d. angels at 7s. 6d. and nobles at their old value of 6s. 8d. In 1546 he caused sovereigns to be coined of the value of £1, and half sovereigns in proportion. His gold crown VOL. XVI is about the size of our shilling, and the half crown of sixpence, but thin. All his coins, however, gold as well as silver, are much debased; and it was not without much labor and trouble that Edward VI. brought it back to its former standard. On the union of the two crowns, James gave the sovereign the name of unite; the value continuing of £1 as before. He coined also rose-ryals of £1 10s. value, spur-ryals of 15s., angels of 10s., and angelets of 5s. Under the commonwealth, the sovereign got the name of the twenty-shilling piece, and continued current till the coinage of guineas. These were so called from their being coined of Guinea gold, and were at first only to go for £1, though by a universal but tacit consent they always passed for £1 1s. Half-guineas, double guineas, and five guinea pieces, were also coined during the same reign. Quarter guineas were coined by George I., but they were found so troublesome, on account of their small size, that they were stopped within a year or two when 1eceived at the bank of England. The guinea rose to £1. 1s. 6d., and continued to increase in value till 1696, when it was as high as £1 10s.; but after the recoinage, in 1697 and 1698, it fell by degrees, and at 1717 was at its old standard of £1 1s., and at that time silver was fixed at its present standard value, viz. one to fifteen and a half in weight. Though the first money coined in Britain was copper, yet, except the Northumbrian stycas, no copper coin was found in England from the time of the Saxon conquest till the year 1672. An aversion to a copper coinage, it seems, was prevalent throughout the nation; and queen Elizabeth, who without hesitation used base money for Ireland, yet scrupled at coining copper for England. This want of small coin occasioned such an increase of private tokens for halfpennies and farthings that it became a serious object to government; and in 1594 a copper coinage was seriously thought of. This year a small copper coin was struck, about the size of a silver twopence, with the queen's monogram on one side, and a rose on the other; the running legend on both sides being THE PLEDGE OF A HALFPENNY. Of this there are patterns both in copper and silver, but both of them soon fell into disuse. On the 19th of May, 1613, king James, by royal proclamation, issued farthing tokens. They are generally of the same size with the two-pence, with two sceptres in saltier surmounted with a crown, and a harp upon the other; with an intention, as it would seem, that if they were refused in England they might pass in Ireland. In 1635 Charles I. coined those with the rose instead of the harp; but the circulation of these was entirely stopped by the vast number of counterfeits which appeared, and by the king's death in 1648. After this the private tokens began again to circulate, till put a stop to by the coinage of farthings in 1670. The workmanship of the tokens is quite contemptible. In 1672 the halfpence as well as the farthings, which had been struck two years before, began to circulate. They were of pure Swedish copper, the dyes engraved by Roettier; and they continued till the year 1684, when some disputes arose about the copper lately E obtained from the English mines. Tin farthings Darnley resided. It is described, however, in were coined with a stud of copper in the centre, the act as a palm, with a 'shell padoc' (a torand inscribed round the edge as the crown pieces, toise) crawling up. This, alludes to Darnley's with NUMMORUM FAMULUS, 1685 or 1686. In marriage with the queen, as the motto from Pro1685 halfpence of the same kind were coined; pertius, DAT GLORIA VIRES, also implies. The and the tin coinage continued till the year 1692, motto NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSET first appears to the value of more than £65,000; but next on the Scottish coins in 1578, and the invention year the tin was all called in by government, and is given to the celebrated Buchanan. In 1582 the copper coinage recommenced. The farthings the crown of an ounce weight went for forty of queen Anne are all trial pieces, excepting those shillings Scots, and was accordingly marked XL. of 1714, the last year of her reign. They are,' In 1397 the mark was L., the Scottish money says Mr. Pinkerton, of exquisite workmanship, being then only one-tenth of the English: the exceeding most copper coins either ancient or mark was LX. in 1601, the value being then remodern, and will do honor to the engraver, Mr. duced to one-twelfth, at which it has ever since Croker, to the end of time. The one whose re- continued. In the time of Charles I. half-marks, verse is Peace in a car, PAX MISSA PER ORBEM, forty and twenty penny-pieces were coined. In is the most esteemed; and next to it the BRITAN- 1675 the Scottish dollars first appeared, in value NIA under a portal. The other halfpence and fifty-six shillings Scots, with halves and quarters farthings are less valuable.' of proportional value. In 1686 James VII. coined sixty, forty, twenty, ten, and five shilling pieces; but only those of forty and ten shillings are known, with these numbers under the bust. At the union of the kingdoms all the Scottish coins were called in, and recoined at Edinburgh, with the mark E under the bust to distinguish it; since which there has been no coinage in Scotland. The Scottish silver coins are in general equal, if not superior, in the workmanship to the English. Scotland.-Silver pennies of Alexander I., who reigned in 1107, are believed to exist; and there certainly are some of Alexander II. in 1214. There are likewise coins of David I. in 1124; but perhaps none of Malcolm IV. his successor, whose reign was very short. There are many coins of William I. in 1165, and a large hoard of his pennies was found at Inverness in 1780. The money of Scotland continued to be of the same value with that of England, till the country was drained by the vast ransom of David II., after which it became necessary to reduce its size; and so much did this diminution affect England, that Edward III. found himself obliged to lessen the English coin also. The diminution of the Scottish coin, however, continued still to go on until it became impracticable to keep par with that of England. În the first year of Robert III. it passed only for half its nominal value in England; in 1393 Richard II. ordered it only to go for the weight of the genuine metal it contained. In 1600 it had sunk to such a degree as to pass only for a twelfth part of the English money, and continued at that low ebb till the coinage of Scotland was entirely cancelled by the union of the two kingdoms. Of silver coins we have only pennies till the year 1293, when, Edward I. having coined halfpence and farthings, Alexander III. of Scotland coined also halfpence, of which we have a few, but no farthings are to be met with; but there are silver farthings of Robert I. and David II. The latter introduced the groat and half groat, which completed the set of Scottish silver. It continued unaltered till the time of queen Mary, when they all ceased to be coined in silver, on account of the high price of that metal. In 1553 shillings were first coined, with the bust of the queen on one side, and the arms of France and Scotland on the other. The silver crown was first coined in 1565, which went for thirty shillings Scots; less pieces of twenty shillings and ten shillings have likewise been struck; and marks of silver, worth three shillings and four pence English, were also coined about the same time. These coins have upon them the marks Xxx. xx. x. to denote their value. They are commonly called Cruickstone dollars, from the palm-trees upon them, mistaken for a remarkable yew at Cruickstone near Glasgow, where Henry Gold was first issued by Robert II., about thirty years after Edward III. of England had coined the same metal in that country. The pieces were at first called St. Andrew's, from the figure of that tutelar saint upon the cross, and who appears on the obverse with the arms of Scotland, and on the reverse a lion in a shield. The lion was another name for the largest gold coin in Scotland, from the arms of the kingdom upon it. The next was the unicorn under James III., which were followed by the bonnet-pieces of James V. These last are of admirable workmanship, being almost equal to the ancient coins in this respect. In imitation of the French, the monarch we speak of diminished the size of the coin without lessening its weight; an improvement not adopted by the English for a whole century. The last gold coin in Scotland was the pistole and half pistole, of twelve and six pounds Scots. These coins have the sun under the head. The gold coins of Scotland fell in the same proportion with the silver. The copper coinage of Scotland is of more early date than that of England. It was preceded by money of billon, or copper washed with silver, called black money. James III. first coined black farthings in 1466; and this is recorded by historians as one of his greatest faults. This kind of coinage, however, continued as late as the reign of James VI. In his time the true copper coinage began; but, as the value of Scottish money had now declined almost to the utmost, the pieces suddenly assumed a form almost resembling that of the French coins. The bodle, so called from Bothwell the mintmaster, being equal in size to the liard, and worth two pennies Scottish, was struck. The billon coin, formerly called bas piece, and worth six pennies Scots, was now coined in copper, and termed the bawbee. Thus it corresponded with the French half sol and English halfpenny, the Scots penny being now equivalent to the French denier. Some pieces named Achesons were coined by James VI. in 1582, when the Scottish money was to the English as one to eight; but, on its being still farther reduced, they went for eight pennies, a third more than the value of the bawbee. Besides these there were the hardie and plack, the former being worth three and the latter four pennies Scots. This coinage continued through the reigns of Charles I. and II.; but Scottish coins of the former are perhaps the scarcest of any. Ireland. The first coins introduced into this kingdom seem to have been those of the Danes, and which have only a number of strokes round them instead of letters. In the tenth century, however, this coinage had been considerably improved; and in 930 and 994 there are pennies struck in Dublin, with the inscription ON DVFLI or DYFLI, Duflin or Dyflin being the Danish name of that city. There are likewise coins of the Irish princes themselves, and of the English monarchs, struck in Ireland as early as the ninth century; and it is asserted by some that Ireland, even in these days, had been conquered by England; of which, indeed, these coins seem to be a proof. None of the Irish coins of Henry II. are to be met with; but we have some of the coins of John; and from his time to that of Henry V. the Irish coins are known by a triangle enclosing the king's head, which appears also upon the coins of other nations at this period. The harp does not appear upon the Irish coins till the time of Henry VIII. Till the time of this monarch the English and Irish coins are the same; but the same debasement of the coin which at that time took place in England extended also to Ireland; but in 1601 copper halfpence and farthings were coined also for this kingdom. These circulated in Ireland when James VI. issued his farthing tokens of copper, the latter being of two sizes, that if they failed in England they might be sent to Ireland as pennies and half-pence. In 1635 a mint was established in Dublin by Charles I.; but it was stopped by the Irish massacre, and the many disturbances which followed; since which time the scheme has not been resumed. After the massacre, St. Patrick's halfpence and farthings were coined by the Papists, bearing the legends FLOREAT REX, and on the reverse ECCE GREX; on the farthing QUIESCAT PLEBS. Copper tokens were struck by towns and tradesmen, as in England and Scotland. In 1680 halfpence and farthings were issued by authority, with the harp and date. In 1689 James II., having invaded Ireland, instituted a mint, and coined shillings and half crowns of all the refuse metal he could find, particularly some brass guns were employed, whence the coinage is commonly called gun money. Even this metal, however, soon became so scarce, that a diminution in its size is quite apparent from June 1689 to July 1690; and, as the month of their mintage is marked upon them, this decrease is easily perceived. In March, 1690, pennies of lead mixed with tin were issued; and on the 15th of June, the same year, crowns of white metal were coined; but these are now very scarce In 1722 the patent for The first MODERN MEDALS of gold were those of David II. of Scotland, struck between the years 1330 and 1370. Only two of them now exist; one in the collection of Mr. Barker of Birmingham, and the other in that of Dr. Hunter. In 1478 there is a medal of James III., sent to the shrine of St. Amboise in France. It is described as of two inches and a third in diameter; the weight nearly two ounces; having on the obverse a beardless king, with long hair, sitting on a throne, holding in one hand a naked sword, in the other a shield, with the Scottish arms. On the borders of the canopy above the throne is an inscription in Gothic letters, IN MI DEFFEN, being corrupt French for in my defence; a common motto in the Scottish arms. Above the canopy is VILLA BERWICI: the reverse bears St. Andrew and his cross, SALVUM FAC POPULUM TUUM, DOMINE. There is also a medal of James IV. in the collar of St. Michael, having on the reverse a Doric pillar surmounted by a young Janus, standing on a hill, beyond which is the sea, and land on either side. This, however, is by some suspected to be a forgery. The most remarkable Scottish medals are those of the unfortunate Mary. The first is properly French, having been issued at her coronation as queen of France, along with her husband king Francis II. On the obverse of this piece there are portraits of Francis and Mary, face to face, with three legends around then, the outermost containing their titles; the middle one the following sentence: HORA NONA DOMINUS J. H. S. EXFIRAVIT HELLI CLAMANS; the innermost the name of the city (Paris). On the reverse are the arms of France and Scotland. Fine testoons were also coined upon the same plan, and are now so rare that Dr. Hunter gave ten guineas for one he has in his collection The same portraits appear on the fine crown of Mary and Henry, in 1565, which is so rare as to be esteemed a medal of the highest value; and Mr. Pinkerton imagines that if brought to a sale it would bring forty or fifty guineas. Another remarkable medal of Mary represents her full-faced, and weeping, with the inscription, o GOD, GRANT PATIENCE, IN THAT I SUFFER VRANG. The reverse has, in the centre, QUHO CAN COMPARE WITH ME IN GRIEF? I DIE AND DAR NOCHT SEEK RELIEF; with this legend around, HOURT NOT THE (figure of a heart) QUHAIS JOY THOU ART. There are also many counters of this unfortunate princess, being thin silver pieces of the size of a shilling. They all appear,' says Mr. Pinkerton, 'to have been done in France by Mary's direction, who was fond of devices. Her cruel captivity could not debar her from intercourse with her friends in France, who must with pleasure have executed her orders, as affording her a little consolation.' The coronation medal of Charles I., struck at Edinburgh for his inauguration, June 18th 1663, is remarkable as being the only one ever coined of Scottish gold, and the first in Britain struck with a legend on the edge. With respect to the workmanship, it is inferior to Simon's. Of these medals only three are known to exist, of which one is in the Museum. It is not uncommon in silver; in which case it sometimes wants the legend on the edge. 2. Italian medals. These appear in the fifteenth century, and from that time successively in most European countries. Vittore Pisano, a painter of Verona, is celebrated as the restorer of the art; but it remains to be accounted for how the medals of king David already mentioned came to exist so long before. Mr. Pinkerton considers this artist rather as an inventor than a restorer, his medals having no resemblance to the ancient coins, as being large, and all cast. They were first modelled in wax, then a mould taken from the model in fine sand and other ingredients. After a good cast was procured, it was touched up, and made a model for the rest. These medals of Pisano are almost always inscribed opus PISANI PICTORIS. The portraits of a great number of illustrious men were done by him in this manner; and in the British Museum is a large brass medal of Pisano by himself.-Other artists were Boldu, Marescotto, Matthæus de Pastus, Sperandes, Misaldone, &c. Towards the end of the century, however, the medals began to assume a more elegant appearance; and the papal ones are not only the most elegant, but the most ancient series of all the modern medals. The improvement began in the reign of Alexander VI., so famous for his own crimes and those of his nephew Cæsar Borgia. His successors, Julius II., Leo X., Hadrian VI., and Clement VII., had many of their medals designed by Raphael, Julio Romano, and other eminent painters, and the engraving executed by artists of equal merit. Among these were the celebrated Cellini, and the noted Paduan forgers of Roman coins, Cavino and Bassiano. In 1644 Cormanni, a medallic artist, was imprisoned on account of a piece which represented the pope upon one side and Olympia Maidalchina, the relation of his holiness, on the other. The unfortunate Cormanni poisoned himself. About this time the family of the Hamerani, originally from Germany, began to engrave the papal medals; which they did with surprising merit for several generations. Each of the daughters did a fine medal, as we are informed by Venuti. Besides the papal medals there are many issued by the various states of Italy. There are medals of Frederick II. of Sicily in 1501, of several Venetian generals in 1509, of Alfonso duke of Ferrara in 1511, and of the celebrated Andrew Doria in 1528. 3. French medals. Till the reign of Louis XIV. the medals of this country are neither fine nor numerous; but this monarch exceeds all modern princes in this way. Many of his pieces are well designed and executed, though objec tionable on account of their falsehood. 4. Danish medals. These appear of Christian II. in 1516; of Frederic and Sophia in 1532; of Frederic I. and Christian III., in bonnets worn in the sixteenth century. The elephant of the house of Oldenburg is frequent upon Danish medals. 5. Swedish medals. These begin with Gustavus Vasa; and several of Christina are likewise to be met with. There are also some curious ones of Charles XII. 6. Dutch medals. These begin in 1566; and many of them are remarkable for maps and plans, which must be very interesting to posterity. Had the Greeks and Romans (says Mr. Pinkerton) given us maps and plans, what a fine system of ancient geography and topography a cabinet of medals must have been !' 7. Medals of Spain, Portugal, and Germany. The Spanish medals began with Gonsalo in 1503, many of which are curious and interesting. Under Charles V. there are many curious Spanish medals; but those of Germany begin with Frederick in 1453. They are extremely numerous; as we may easily suppose from the greatness of the empire, and the various states which compose it. There is a famous medal of Sebastian king of Portugal, famous for his unfortunate expedition into Africa in 1578; with his bust, full face, and three quarters in length. On the reverse is a shell-fish in the sea, with the moon and seven stars, bearing the inscription SERENA FAVENT CAUSE. There is also a curious lozenge-shaped coin of the same, with the arms of Portugal, and the king's name and title: on the reverse is a cross with the inscription IN HOC SIGNO VINCES, 1578. 8. Satiric medals. These began almost as soon as the knowledge of the art of coining medals was revived. They seem to have been almost unknown to the ancients. One indeed of the emperor Gallienus is supposed to have been satiric. It has on the front the emperor's bust, with the inscription GALLIENE AUG., the reverse is Peace in a car, PAX UBIQUE; but this has been proved to be only a blundered coin. Some other ancient medals, however, are not liable to this objection. The first modern satiric medal published was that of Frederick king of Sicily in 1501, against his antagonist Ferdinand king of Spain. It has on one side the head of Ferdinand, with the inscription FERDINANDUS R. AR. VETUS VULPES ORBIS; on the reverse a wolf carrying off a sheep, JVGVM MÆVM SVAVE EST, ET ONVS MEVM Leve. Many others have been struck, of which the wit would now perhaps be difficult to be found out : but of all nations the Dutch have most distinguished themselves in this way; and paid very dear for their conduct, as they brought upon themselves, by one or two satiric medals, the whole power of France under Louis XIV. 9. English medals. The first of these is in the duke of Devonshire's collection. It is of a very large size, and done on the plan of the early Italian medals. It has on the reverse the arms of Kendal, with the inscription TEMPORE OBSIDIONIS TURCORUM. MCCCCLXXX. On the other side is a portrait with 10. KENDAL RHODI TURCUPELLERIUS. It was found last century in Knaresborough forest; but Mr. Pinkerton has no doubt of its having been done in Italy. The next is that of Henry VIII. in 1545, and is of gold, larger than the crown-piece, with the king's head upon the ob verse, and three legends within each other, including his titles, &c. The reverse contains two inscriptions, declaring him to be the head of the church; the one in Hebrew, the other in Greek. It was imitated exactly by Edward VI., whose coronation medal is the first we have. There are two medals of Philip and Mary, whose execution is tolerably good; but those of Elizabeth are very poor. There are good medals of James I. and his queen; with a fine one of Charles I. and Henrietta, though the workmanship is much inferior to the antique. There are many good medals of Charles, with various devices upon their reverses. Under the commonwealth the celebrated Simon produced medals which are deservedly reckoned the most admirable pieces of modern workmanship. There are many good medals of Charles II., James II., and William III. Some are also found of James after his abdication. Some fine gold, silver, and copper medals, were issued in the time of queen Anne; the two last affording a series of all the great actions of the duke of Marlborough. About the year 1740 a series of medals was engraved in London by Daffier, a native of Geneva, containing all the kings of England; being thirty-six in number. They are done upon fine copper, and executed with great taste. There are besides many medals of private persons in England; so that it may justly be said that this country, for medals, exceeds almost every other in Europe. To this account of modern coins and medals we shall add that of another set called siegepieces, and which were issued during the time of a siege in cases of urgent necessity. These were formed of any kind of metal; sometimes of no metal and Patin mentions a remarkable one struck at Leyden in 1574, when the place was besieged by the Spaniards. It was of thick paper or pasteboard, having a lion rampant, with this inscription, PVGNO PRO PATRIA, 1574; and on the reverse LVGDVNVM BATAVORVM. There are various siege-pieces of Charles I., both in gold and silver, some of the latter being of the value of 20s. The nummi bracteati are a species of modern coins, somewhat between counters and money; and have their name from the word bractea a spangle or thin bit of metal. They are commonly little thin plates of silver, stamped as would seem with wooden dies upon one side only, with the rude impression of various figures and inscriptions. Most of them are ecclesiastic, and were struck in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and a few in Poland. They continued to be in use in Germany till the end of the fifteenth century; and some are still used in Switzerland. SECT. V. OF THE PRESERVATION OF COINS AND MEDALS. We now come to consider what it is that distinguishes one medal from another, and why some are so highly prized more than others. This, in general, besides its genuineness, consists in the high degree of preservation in which it is. This, by Mr. Pinkerton, is called the conservation of medals, and is by him regarded as good and as perfect. In this, he says, that a true judge is so nice, that he will reject even the rarest coins if in the least defaced either in the figures or legend. Some, however, are obliged to content themselves with those which are a little rubbed, while those of superior taste and abilities have in their cabinets only such as are in the very state in which they came from the mint; and such, he says, are the cabinets of Sir Robert Austin and Mr. Walpole, of Roman silver, at Strawberryhill. It is absolutely necessary, however, that a coin be in what is called good preservation: which in the Greek or Roman emperors, and the colonial coins, is supposed to be when the legends can be read with some difficulty; but when the conservation is perfect, and the coin just as it came from the mint, even the most common coins are valuable. The fine rust, like varnish, which covers the surface of brass and copper coins, is found to be the best preserver of them; and is brought on by lying in a certain kind of soil. Gold cannot be contaminated but by iron mold, which happens when the coin lies in a soil impregnated with iron; but silver is susceptible of various kinds of rust, principally green and red; both of which yield to vinegar. In gold and silver coins the rust must be removed, as being prejudicial; but in brass and copper it is preservative and ornamental; a circumstance taken notice of by the ancients. This fine rust,' says Mr. Pinkerton, which is indeed a natural varnish not imitable by the art of man, is sometimes a delicate blue, like that of a turquoise; sometimes of a bronze brown, equal to that observable in ancient statues of bronze, and so highly prized; and sometimes of an exquisite green, a little on the azure hue, which last is the most beautiful of all. It is also found of a fine purple or olive, and of a cream color or pale yellow: which last is exquisite, and shows the impression to much advantage, as paper of cream color, used in all great foreign presses, does copperplates and printing. The Neapolitan patina (the rust in question) is of a light green; and when free from excrescence or blemish is very beautiful. Sometimes the purple patina gleams through an upper coat of another color, with as fine effect as a variegated silk or gem. In a few instances a rust of a deeper green is found; and it is sometimes spotted with the red or bronze shade, which gives it quite the appearance of the East Indian stone called the blood stone. These rusts are all, when the real product of time, as hard as the metal itself, and preserve it much better than any artificial varnish could have done; concealing at the same time not the most minute particle of the impression of the coin.' The value of medals is lowered when any of the letters of the legend are misplaced; as a suspicion of forgery is thus induced. Such is the case with many of those of Claudius Gothicus. The same, or even greater diminution in value, takes place in such coins as have not been well fixed in the dye, which has occasioned their slipping under the strokes of the hammer, and thus made a double or treble image. Many coins of this kind are found in which the one side is perfectly |