IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 ■u iiii |22 ■lUu HiolDgraphic Sciences Corporation 4 ^^ ■i^ ^ A. ^^^ \ 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WMSTM.N.Y. MSM (716) •72-4S03 '^ ^€ost considerable and most esteemed, because the use of money for the service of man is almost as ancient as the world itself. A writer on the subject has said, that coined money was the invention of Tubal-Cain. Our earliest record of primative civilization, th« Holy Bible, informs us that gold and silver were used in lieu of direct barter as early as the time of Shem ; and we there learn that Abraham re- turned from Egypt very rich in cattle, silver and i>old. This was, according to the commonly re- ceived computation, 1918 years B.C. Much, no doubt, was actual money, for it is shewn by the p linted sculptures of Egypt, that silver and gold w< re known as ciitjulating media, and were in Common use by the Egyptians as such, but this kind of money passed by weight and not by tale. The Hebrew word sometimes translated pieces of silver, may as properly be tianslated lambs. The Egyptians weighed out gold and silver by a weight the shape of which was that of a lamb. It is natural to suppose that the weights were originall}^ deter- mined by the value of a slieep or lamb. " A lamb and a just weight." The evidence that the price of c;ittle was tlie earliest method of fixing the value of money, and that gold and silver were valued according to the number of cattle a given quantity would buy, is proved by our own lan- guage, since the word j'K'cuniari/, is derived from pecunki, the Latin for money, and this was derived from 2>€cus a flock. Abraham is stated to liave given to Abimalech, one thousand pieces of silver, and in the purchase of the Cave of Macphelah, Abraham weighed to Ephron, four hundred 8he- the time ahaui rc- ilver and lonly re- lucli, no I by the and gold were in but this t by tale, pieces of bs. The ' a weiuht is natural 11}' deter- iib. " A that the of fixing ver ^Yere e a given own laii- ed from s derived to have of silver, acphelah, Ired She- t) kels of silver, current with the merchant. Thus we find the Shekel so early established as a na- tional Jewish weight, though it was as yet un- known as a coin. It was the received maxim of the Jews, that wherever the money of any person was owned as the current coin of the kingdom, there the inhabitants owned that persou as their Lord and Governor ; and David, though anointed by Samuel, is declared not to be their king whilst Saul lived, because " Xumisimi Snulis (ulhuc obtinef,'^'^ the coin which had the image of Saul upon it was still the current coin. In the letter of Antiochus the Kinc: to Simon the Hiu;h Priest, in the 6th varse, 15th chapter of the 1st Book of Maccabees, this passage occurs, " and I give thee leave to coin money of thine own stamp, in thinje own country." The earliest coin of Simon Mac- cabaeus, took the name of the old national weight, (Shekel) ; it was issued about the year 14-A B C. On the obverse is the sacred cup of manna, which Moses was directed to preserve in commemoration of the food furnished the Israelites in the wilder- ness- On the reverse is. the rod of Aaron, with buds thereon, commemorative of that miracle. The usual inscription being, " Shekel of Israel,'' on the obverse, and ** Jerusalem the Holy," on the reverse. The legends were in the ancient form of Hebrew characters. 6 A few yean ago a silver shekel was considered rare; but within the past seven years a large number of them have been found in Jerusalem, near the Pool of Siloam, evidently washed down by the rain from some point on the Hill of Moriah or the opposite slope of Zion. The Greek and Roman currency took tho place of this coinage, and although coins of Herod and of Barkochebas are extant, it seems improbable that these were is^ sued to any great extent. There are also coppef coins of Agrippa, but they are rare. The coins of the celebrated City of Athens have the head of Athenss, (Minerva), the tute« lary deity of the City on the obverse ; the reverse has the Owl, the principal attribute of Minerva, for type, with a sprig of olive, sacred to the same divinity, in the oorner,and the letters A@ E( Athe) . This symbol, tho Owl, gave rise to the well known anecdote of the Athenian mi^r, the roof of whose house was said to be infested by vast numbers of Owls, in allusion to money of the well known Athenian type being concealed therein. The first Homan coin that I shall mention, in connection with my present subject, will be a de? narius of Julius Csesar, commemorating the con- quest of Egypt. Obverse, head of Caesar ; in- scription, C-^SAR, COS. VI, Reverse, croco= ff-^ dlle, legend, ^GYPTO CAPTA. The next, that of the Colony of Nismes, by some oonsiderecl rare. The heads of Augustus and Agrippa, with the letters IMP. DIVI. F. are on the obverse; the Crocodile and Palm-tree, with COL. NEM, on the reverse, H was struck by the colony upon the con(|uest of Kgypt, after the victory of Actium, The Palm tree is Phoenecia, the Crocodile, Kgypt, chained to a palm, the emblem of victory, Of the f»^^ Denarii of Augustus, there is a great variety, and I a collection of above two hundred and fifty may II be formed. One of these I mention, it bears th^ j emblem of a comet. This coin ytfus probably ! struck in the early part of his rcigp, and unwitr ij tingly forshadowed that on traordinary star which jj guided certain Eastern Philosophers, Magi, or ! Wise Men, commonly called the three kings, to I the abode of the holy child Jesus, the Prince o^ Peace, when they went and paid him the adora- tion due to his dignity as King of the Jews, Various ponjeoturas have been formed by the learned concerning this star, which w said to have appeared In the East, Some think it was a comet, Of the coins of Tiberius, the denarius commonly known as the tribute money, in Scripture called a penny, is exceedingly interesting. The obverse bears the portrait apd name of the Emperor, but 8 Numismatists differ as to tlie reverse. Some say it has Tiberius seated, with PONTIF. MAX. for legend; while otiiers affirm the reverse to be a ring without a legend, signifying that all the world was subject to CiBsar, and con?orjucntly obliged to pay tribute. As our blessed Saviour miraculously procured money from a fish to pay tribute for himself . nd St. l\;ter, the miracle was of such a kind as could not fail to demonstrate that he was the Son of the Great Monarch worshipped in the Temple, and who rules the universe. In the very manner, therefore, of paying tribute, he shewed his power, and a^fe the same time gave the «sefui lesson, that it is better to recede a little from onfi's just rights than to offend the brethren, or disturb the state. And upon another occasion, when they attempted to entrap him by asking, *' Is it lawful to give tribute unto Ca?sar, or not?^' He saw throucrh their secret intentions, and dosiied to see a piece of the tribute money. The Roman coin was produced, upon which he taught tliem, that us the money bore the image and suporsoriptlon of Cecsar, it was his, and by making use of it they !;cknowledgcd his authority, nevertheless they should pay it, '' licnder therefore unto Cnesar the things which are Caesar's." Ilaviqg in tuv first paper alluded to the Widow's I 9 the 3Iite, which she cast into the Treasury of the Temple, and the remarks of the Saviour thereon, I would merely state that, as he was going out of the Temple the Disciples remembered that he had said, that the Temple should not again be favored with his presence 'till they should say, *• Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." I hey, therefore, desired him to observe the beauty of the building, whereupon he repeated the pro- phesy of its destruction, which he had before mentioned, when he prophesied the destruction of .'erusalem. The medal struck m commemora- tion of the subjection of Judesc, and which in reality commemorates the fulfilment of this pro- phesy, has on the obverse the laureated head of the Emperor, with the inscription IMP. T. CAES. VESP. AVG. P. iM. T R P.P. : . COS. VIII. Which reads Jmperator Titus Caisar Vespasian Augustus,Pontifcx Maximus^ Tribunitia Potestate, Pater Patria Consul VIII, and translated runs. Titus C?esar VeS|'anan Augustus IJigh Pontiff, the tribunitiary power, father of his country, consul for the eighth time. The reverfce has J VD. CAP. Judeao Capta .ludea taken. The palm- tree symbolising the subdued country, rises in the centre; on one side stands the figure of a cnptive, and on the other side of the tree sits a female fi;r- 10 ure in the act of weeping. This and the Judsea Devicta Medal, are remarkable testimonies to the truth of Scripture. We seek in vain for Chris- tian emblems on the coinage of the first Christian Emperor. On the coinage of his son, Constantius, Christian emblems first begin ta appear. The principal one being the Labarum, or sacred banner, bearing the monagram of Christ, which is held in the right hand of the Emperor. The inscrip- tions do not refer to the Christian symbol. The legend respecting the labarum bearing the mona* gram of Christ, is that it was presented to Con* Stan tine the Great, on the eve of his great battle with Maxcntius, and that by its influence he gained the victory which gave him the dominion over the Roman world. There are a variety of coins whose inscriptions contain an acknowledg- ment of the Supreme Authority of the High and Mighty Ruler of the Universe. I mention as a specimen, the one chosen for the seal of this Society, VICTORIA. DEI. GRATIA. RK- GIiNA, CANADA. It is thus that coins and medals are useful as aids to the study and verification of Holy Writ. I will now give a synopsis of the advantages derivable from the study of Numismatics. The study of medals is indispensable to Archaeology, ! 11 and to a thorough acquaintance with the fine arts* They indicate the names of Provinces and Cities, determine their position, and present pictures of many celebrated places, Thiy fix the period of events, determine, sometimes, their character, and enable us to trace the series of kings. They en- able us to learn the different metallurgical proccsse'^, the different alloys^ the mode of gilding and plat- ing practised by the ancients, the metals which they used, their weights and measures, their dif- ferent modes of reckoning, the names and titles of the various magistrates and princes, and also their portraits, the different divinities with their attri- butes and titles, the utensils and the cercTNonies of their worship, the costume of the priests, — in fine, everything which relates to usages, civil, military and religious. In preparing the foregoing remarks, I have taken notes from various works, and the following lines with which I conclude this paper are quoted nearly varbatim from the writings of a celebrated Poet : ** Perhaps, by its own ruins sav'd from flame, JSome buried marble half preserves a name ; That name the learn'd with fierce disputes pursue And give to Titus old Vespasian's due. Ambition sighM ; she found it vain to trust The faithless column and the crumbling bust ; Huge moles, whose shadows stretchM from shore to shore, 12 >r Their ruins perisli'd, and their place no more ! Convinced, she now contracts her vast design, And all her triumphs shrink into a coin. A narrow orb each crowded conquest keeps, Beneath her palm here sad Judea weeps ; Now scantier limits the proud arch confine, And scarce are seen the prostrate Nile or llhiiit" A small Euphrates through tlie piece is rolPd. And little eagles wave their wings in gold. The medal, faithful to its charge of fame, Through climes and ages bears each form a lie 1 name In one short view, subjected to our eyes, Gods, emperors, heroes, sages, beauties rise. With sharpen'd sight, pale antiquaries pore, Th' inscription value, but the rust adore. Tliis the blue varnish, that the green endears. The sacred rust of twice t^n hundred years ! To gain Pescenius one employs his schemes, (3ne grasps a Cecrops in ecstatic dreams. Poor Vadius, long with learned spleen devoured, Can taste no pleasure save his shield was scourM, And Curio, restless by the fair one's side, Siglis for an Otho, and neglects his bride. Their's is the vanity, the learning thine, \ Touched by thy hand, again Home's glories shine : Her gods and god-like heroes rise to view, And all her faded garlands bloom anew. Nor blush, these studies thy regard engage, These pleas'd the fathers of poetic rage; The verse and sculpture bore an equal part, And art reflected images to art. and