ScRTRAND E "> Of i HO, P- 1 fit) I MURRAY'S t HOME AND SCHOOL LIBRARY A SHORT HISTORY OF COINS AND CURRENCY COINS AND CURRENCY JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE ST. _ PREFACE THIS little book is founded on an Introductory Address which I had the honour of delivering some years ago, as first President of the Institute of Bankers. It was, however, almost rewritten last year as a Lecture delivered at the London Institution. Mr Magnus has done me the honour of sug- gesting that it should be included as one of the volumes in the Home and School Library, which he is editing for Mr Murray. The second part is new. It deals with the weights of coins ; the standards adopted ; the means taken from time to time to secure a satis- factory currency ; and, I regret to add, those also perhaps even more numerous by which Kings and Parliaments have attempted to secure a temporary and dishonourable advantage, by debasing the standard and reducing the weight of the coins. In this respect we may fairly claim that our own Sovereigns and Parliament are able to show 5 2003130 vi PREFACE (with a few exceptions) an unusually honourable record. In spite of all that has been written on the subject, the principles on which our currency is based are very little understood. We frequently hear Sir Robert Peel's celebrated question, " What is a Pound ? " put forward as if it were some abstruse and mysterious conundrum, instead of having been long- ago clearly answered, and determined by Act of Parliament. I have also endeavoured to explain in simple language the law which regulates the issue of Bank-Notes. I have to thank Sir John Evans, Mr Barclay Head, and Mr Grueber for much valuable assist- ance. Mr Grueber has also been so very kind as to look through the proof-sheets. I am also indebted to the Governor and Court of Directors of the Bank of England for some interesting particulars bearing on the Evolution of the Bank-Note in its present form. AVEBURY. HIGH ELMS, DOWN, KENT, February 1902. CONTENTS PART I ;HAP. PAGE I. THE ORIGIN OF MONEY ... I II. THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN . 4 2 PART II I. WEIGHTS OF COINS . . . .89 II. BANK-NOTES AND BANKING . . . IO2 APPENDIX . . . . -137 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGS. 1-2 Chinese Pu Money 3-4 Chinese Knife Money . 5-6 Later Chinese Knife Money 7-8 Chinese Cash . 9-10 Lydia-Babylonic Stater 11-12 Stater of Pheidon 13-14 Gold Stater of Croesus 15-16 A Daric 17-18 Stater of Sybaris 19*20 Stater of Athens 21-22 Stater of Cnossus 23-24 Tetradrachm of Selinus 25-26 Decadrachm of Syracuse 27-28 Didrachm of Metapontum 29-30 Stater of Philip 31-32 Stater of Alexander 33-34 Tetradrachm of Lysitnachus . 35-36 Tetradrachm of Tyre . 37-38 Romano-Campanian Didrachm 39-40 Denarius . , 41-42 Julius Caesar Denarius 43-44 M. Junius Brutus 45-46 Denarius of Cleopatra . 47-48 Denarius of Augustus . 49-50 Denarius of Augustus . 51-52 Denarius of Tiberius . 53-54 Lepton of Pontius Pilate PAGE 5 7 8 9 15 16 17 17 19 20 2O 22 23 24 25 26 27 27 28 29 30 31 31 32 33 34 35 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGS. 55-56 Sestertius of Vespasian 57-58 Sestertius of Antoninus Pius 59-60 Aureus of Marcus Aurelius . 61-62 Shekel 63-64 Tetradrachm of Simon Barcochab 65-66 Dirhem of Haroun al Raschid 67-68 Ancient British Stater 69-70 Ancient British Stater 71-72 Ancient British Stater 73-74 Coin of Tincommius 75-76 Stater of Cunobeline 77-78 Anglo-Saxon Sceat . 79-80 Penny of Offa 81-82 Penny of Alfred 83-84 Penny of Plegmund . 85-86 Penny of Canute 87-88 Penny of Edward the Confessor 89-90 Penny of William the Conqueror 91-92 Angel of Edward IV. 93-94 Rose Noble of Edward IV. . 95-96 The First Shilling 97-98 The First Sovereign 99-100 Shilling of Henry VIII. 101-102 Groat of Henry VIII. 103-104 Shilling of Edward VI. 105-106 Half-Crown of Edward VI. . 107-108 Shilling of Philip and Mary 109-110 Crown of Elizabeth . III-H2 Unite of Charles I. . 113-114 Half-Crown of Cromwell . 115-116 Guinea of Charles II. 117-118 Rupee 119-120 Ryal of Mary, Queen of Scots 121-122 James II., Gunmoney 123-124 Irish Halfpenny 125 Exchequer, Tally PAGE 36 57 38 38 39 40 44 44 45 46 47 48 50 5i 52 53 54 56 61 62 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 73 77 85 86 87 127 A SHORT HISTORY OF COINS AND CURRENCY PART I CHAPTER I THE ORIGIN OF MONEY IN early times the exchange of commodities was carried on by barter. Homer, in the seventh book of the Iliad, mentions that when From Lemnos Isle a numerous fleet had come, Freighted with wine . . . All the other Greeks Hastened to purchase, some with brass, and some With gleaming iron ; some with hides, cattle, or slaves. Barter, however, was a slow and cumbersome process. It was open to two great objections. Those who wished to buy might have nothing which those who wished to sell cared to take in exchange ; and secondly, it would require A 2 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY much time and haggling to decide the relative values of the different articles. Hence it was gradually found that trade would be greatly facilitated by fixing on some object or objects which might be used as standards of value, and might be accepted, not for use, but to be again exchanged. In countries where there were no true coins various other things have served as a standard of value. In the Hudson's Bay Territory beavers' skins have long been used in this manner. In ancient Europe cattle were the usual medium of exchange, whence the Latin word pecunia (money, from pecus, cattle). In our own language the word " cattle," or "chattel," came to include all property. In the Zend-Avesta the payment of physicians is calculated in the same way, but comparatively few realise that when we pay our Doctor his fee we are doing the same thing, for our word "fee" is the old word vieh, which in German still retains the sense of cattle. Homer* laughs at the folly of Glaucus, who exchanged his golden armour, worth one hun- dred oxen, for the bronze armour of Diomede, worth only nine oxen. In Iliad xxiii. 703, Achilles offers as a prize 'to the conqueror m I * Iliad vi. 234. BARTER 3 the funeral games in honour of Patroclus, a large tripod which the Greeks valued among them- selves at twelve oxen ; and offers to the loser a female slave valued at four oxen. In Africa and the East Indies shells are, and long have been, used for the same purpose. We even find indications that shells once served as money in China, for as M. Biot, in his interesting memoir on Chinese Currency, has pointed out, the words denoting purchase and sale, riches, goods, stores, property, prices, cheap, dear, and many others referring to money and wealth, contain the ideographic sign denoting the word "shell." Indeed, Wangmang, who usurped the Imperial throne about 14 A.D., wish- ing to return to the ancient state of things, attempted, among other changes, to bring into circulation five different varieties of shells of an arbitrary value. On the whole, however, pieces of metal were found most convenient for the purpose. They were easily carried, easily identified, and easily divided ; they did not decay, and could easily be weighed. Hence names for weights often passed into names for coins the shekel, the livre, the lire, the pound, and so on. The origin of money was well described by Aristotle. " It became necessary," he says, " to 4 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY think of certain commodities, easily manageable, safely transportable, and of which the uses are so general and so numerous, that they in- sured the certainty of always obtaining for them the articles wanted in exchange. The metals, particularly iron and silver and several others, exactly correspond to this description. They were employed., therefore, by general agreement as the ordinary standard of value and the com- mon measure of exchange, being themselves estimated at first by their bulk and weight, and afterwards stamped, in order to save the trouble of measuring and weighing them." Gold, silver, and copper are .the metals which have been generally used as money. Iron, indeed, is said to have been used in Sparta, under the laws of Lycurgus; but, in this case, there is no reason to suppose that it was ever coined. It was also used, according to Caesar, amongst the ancient Britons, in the form of bars. Pollux mentions that the inhabitants of Byzantium, in ancient times, used iron for coins instead of copper, and so have the Japanese ; but, on the whole, this metal is too heavy in proportion to its value. Coins of tin are reported to have been struck by Dionysius of Syracuse, and subsequently in Gaul, during the reigns of Septimus Severus and Cara- CHINESE SHIRT MONEY 5 calla, but they appear to have been almost immedi- ately abandoned again. Cast coins of this metal were in use among the ancient Britons. Platinum was tried in Russia, but was found unsuitable ; lead is still used in Burmah ; nickel in Belgium, the United States, and Germany ; and since 1869 we have struck some nickel pence and halfpence for Jamaica. The similarity, however, of such coins to those of silver constitutes a serious inconvenience. Glass is also said by some to have been at one FlGS. 1-2. Early Chinese Pu money, B.C. 700. (Natural size.) time used for subsidiary coinage in Egypt and in Sicily. It is probable, however,, that these objects were merely coin weights. 6 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY A curious illustration of the passage from a state of barter to the use of money occurred in China.* Knives and pieces of cloth had long been used as in some measure a standard of value, almost as grey shirting is in India even now. About the twelfth century B.C. it occurred to the Chinese government that for purposes of ex- change it would be an advantage to substitute for various objects in common use, such as knives, pieces of cloth, hoes, sickles, spades, etc., etc., small metal models w r hich might represent the objects themselves. This they did, and there are two principal kinds of coins the " pu " coins, roughly resembling a shirt (Figs. 1-2), and the " tao " or knife coins (Figs. 3-4), which are in the form of a knife. The word " pu " means cloth, and " tao " a knife. The specimen repre- sented in Figs. 1-2 is probably of about 700 B.C., but the dates of early Chinese coins are some- what uncertain. Figs. 3-4 represent a "knife" coin. These are also of very early date. The one figured is referred to the Tchou Dynasty about B.C. 300. On the obverse is "Currency of Tsi-moh City," and on the reverse " Three ten Star." But those forms were of course very inconvenient, and the blade \vas gradually short- ened (Figs. 5-6), while the end of the handle, * Terrien de Lacouperie. Catalogue of Chinese Coins. CHINESE KNIFE MONEY FIGS. 3-4. Chinese Knife money ; length, 7 in. : weight, 740 grs. 8 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY which was pierced by a hole, so that the coins might be strung on a cord, was enlarged. The inscription is " Yh tao ping wutsun," i.e., One tao equal to 5000 (cash). FIGS. 5-6. Later Chinese Knife money, 7-22 A.D. ; weight, 505 gr=. Finally the blade disappeared, and the circular end of the handle alone remained, with the hole in the middle, for, as the Chinese said, money ORIGIN OF CASH 9 which is meant to" roll round the world should itself be round. This change took place about 200 B.C., and thus originated the form still in use and known as '.' Cash." * The coin bears a mark FlGS. 7-8. Chinese Cash, 680 A.I). ; weight, 59 grs. (Natural size.) like a new moon. This originated in an accident very characteristic of China. In the time of the Empress Wentek, 620 A.D., a model in wax of a proposed coin was brought for Her Majesty's inspection. In taking hold of it she left on it the impression of her thumb-nail, and the impression has in consequence not only been a marked characteristic of Chinese coins for hundreds of years, but has even been copied on those of Japan and Corea. Even now the Chinese have no coins of gold or silver, but only of bronze. * Round coins seem to have been used somewhat earlier in certain provinces, but the origin of the " cash," and the general use of round coin, seem to be that given above. 10 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY Silver indeed they use, but only as uncoined metal, passing by weight. The Persians also used at one time scimitar- shaped pieces of metal as money. In the West, however, the earliest money was more or less rounded. Money seems to us now so obvious a conveni- ence, and so much, I might almost say, a necessity of commerce, that it appears almost inconceivable that those who erected the Pyramids and sculp- tured the Sphinx, who built the temples of Ipsam- boul and Karnac, of Babylon and Nineveh, should have been ignorant of coins. Yet it appears certain that this was the case. As regards the commercial and banking systems of ancient Egypt and Assyria, we are almost entirely without information. The standard of value in Egypt seems to have been the "outen " or " ten " of copper (94-96 grammes), which were in the form of bricks, and, like the Acs rude of the Romans, were estimated by weight. The copper was obtained from the mines of Mount Sinai, which were worked by King Dzezer of the Third Dynasty as early as 4000 B.C. Gold and silver appear to have been also used, though less frequently ; like copper, they were sometimes in the form of bricks, but generally in rings, resem- bling the ring money of the ancient Celts, which is MONEY AND THE OLD TESTAMENT 11 said to have been' employed in Ireland down to the twelfth century, and still holds its own in the interior of Africa. . This approximated very nearly to the character of money, but it wanted what the Roman lawyers called " the law " and " the form." Neither the weight nor the pureness was guaran- teed by any public authority. I have often wondered how they got on without coins, and even without bankers. Such a state of things must have been very inconvenient. In ancient Babylonia and Assyria, as in Egypt, the precious metals, and especially silver, circulated as uncoined ingots. They were readily taken, indeed, but taken by weight and verified by the balance like any other merchandise. There are, however, several passages in our translation of the Old Testament, which might lead us to carry back the use of coin too far. Thus in the i/th chapter of Genesis, in our version, we find among the commands given to Abraham, " He that is eight days old shall be circumcised ... he that is born in the house, and bought with money of any stranger." The word here translated " money " is in the original kesepJi ; in the Septuagint it is correctly rendered by apyupiov, and in the Vulgate argentum ; in fact, it should have been translated " silver," not " money." Again, in Genesis xx. 16, we are told, " And unto 12 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY Sarah he said, Behold I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver." The same expression is repeated in chap, xxxvii. 28. Here the word " pieces " suggests money, but probably it only meant pieces of a certain weight. The same observation applies to the statement in chap, xxiii., where Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah as a burial place for Sarah, and he " weighed to Ephron the silver, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchants." Here it will be observed that the word money is in italics, imply- ing that it is not in the original. It is obvious that silver was used by weight, the word " shekel " meaning originally a weight, like our pound, and afterwards, like the pound, being used for a coin. The word " money," indeed, primarily implies coin. It is said to take its origin from the fact that the Early Roman coins were struck in, or near, the Temple of Juno Moneta. Juno received this name, according to Cicero, from the verb moneo, because she advised the Romans to sacrifice a sow to Cybele to avert an earthquake. . Suidas, how- ever, derives .it from the encouraging advice she gave them in their war against Pyrrhus. Neither of these derivations seems very satis- factory. But, however Juno acquired the name of Moneta, it is evident that the name of Moneta was given to money because it was struck in, or ORIGIN OF COINS 13 near, her temple, and hence that it primarily implies " coin," and that wealth is a secondary meaning. Before the invention of true coins, bars of silver appear to have been used in the form of spits or skewers, six of which were termed a " drachma," literally a handful, which then came afterwards to be used as a name for a coin. The earliest Western coinage was either that of Lydia, or of Pheidon, struck in ^Egina. The claims of Pheidon, King of Argos, to have made this useful invention rest on a passage in the Parian marble. It is not, however, very clear, and if Pheidon made this invention we should have expected his coins to have been struck in his own city of Argos, and not at ^Egina. We may then, I think, probably accept the distinct statement of Herodotus * that, under the illustrious dynasty of the Mermnadae, the " Lydians were the first of all nations we know of" [observe the caution of the great father of history] " that introduced the act of coining gold and silver." In ancient Greece, as now, the right of coinage was prerogative of the sovereign. And here we find a curious difference between the 'Baa-iXevs and The former coined in his own name, * Book I., par. 94. 14 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY but the Tvpavvot, however absolute, never did so.* Their money was issued in the name of the people. It would seem that the mode of coining was by placing the piece of heated metal on an anvil, then putting the die upon it, and striking the upper side of the die with a hammer. Ancient coining implements, though very rare, have occasionally been discovered. Sir John Evans has described one found at Avenches in 'Switzerland. "This die," he says, "which was intended for striking the obverse of one of 'the Helvetian degenerate imitations of the stater of Philip (Figs. 29-30), consists of a disc of bronze inlaid in a cylindric block of iron. The surface of the die is concave," so as to produce the convexity of surface so common among the coins of this class, and one reason for this concavity of the die appears to have been that the coins were struck from nearly spherical pieces of metal, which were heated and prevented from rolling in their place by the concavity of the die." The simplicity and portability of this apparatus, and the fact that the coins were hand-made, accounts for the. number of mints and moneyers under our early kings, and this primitive process * With one or two exceptions, such as Alexander of Pheras, and Dionysius of Heracleia. THE EARLIEST COINS 15 continued in use until the invention of the mill and the screw in 1561. The "new method was not, however, at first supposed to work well,, and was given up until 1662, when it was finally adopted. In this short history it is, of course, impossible to mention more than a few of the more interest- ing coins ; even in the case of our English series, on which I propose to dwell rather more in detail. The number and variety of coins is indeed immense ; in a single reign, that of Elizabeth, there were no less than 20 denom- inations of money some of them of scarce types. I will now proceed to the coins themselves. The earliest coins we have (Figs. 9-10) are Lydian, and oval in form. They are perhaps FIGS. 9-10. Lydia-Babylonic Stater, dr. B.C. 700 ; electrum ; weight, 167 grs. stamped ingots rather than true coins, 1 for one side presents merely a striated surface. The reverse presents three incuse depressions, the 16 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY two outer ones square, the one in the centre oblong, and enclosing some animal or other ornament. They consist of electrum, a mixture of . gold and silver, and were probably struck about B.C. 700, in the reign of Gyges. They were known as staters, from a Greek word signifying " standard," and the legal weight FIGS. H-I2. Stater of Pheidon, King of Argos and yEgina, dr. B.C. 700 ; silver ; weight, 194 grs. was about 167 grains, or 220 grains, depending on whether the Babylon ic or Phoenician standard was used. The coins of Pheidon, King of Argos (Figs. 1 1- 1 2), are little, if at all, later. They are of silver, were struck in ygina, and are irregular in form, with a tortoise, the symbol^ of Astarte, the Phoenician goddess of trade, on one side, and on the other merely an incuse square made by the upper of the two dies, between which the " flan," or plain piece of metal,! was placed. The coinage PERSIAN COINS 17 consisted of the obol, 3 obol piece, 6 obols or drachma, and double drachma. The drachma originally weighed 93 grains, but was gradually reduced to 66. Figs. 13-14 represent a gold stater of Crcesus, FlGS. 13-14. Gold Stater of Crcesus ; weight, 124 grs. King of Lydia, B.C. 568-554, celebrated for his wealth. The obverse represents the fore-parts of a lion and a bull, face to face. The reverse is simply two incuse squares. FlGS. 15-16. A Daric ; gold; weight, 130 grs. The next illustration (Figs. 15-16) is a Persian " Daric." The name is derived from dara, a king, It is a coin of Darius (B.C. 521-485), and represents the great king holding a bow and arrow. The B 18 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY dark weighed about 1 30 grains. The 'word " daric " is unfortunately rendered a " drachma " in our translation of the Old Testament.* The earliest known inscribed coin is a Phoeni- cian stater of Halicarnassus. On the obverse is $a'j'of efjLi Z^tt, " I am the sign of Phanes," and a stag feeding. The reverse is an oblong sinking between two square sinkings. There has been considerable difference of opinion as to the meaning of the word Phanes. Some have regarded it as the name of a local banker ; others that it signifies " the shining one," a name for Artemis ; others that it refers to a certain Phanes who was a high official of Amasis, King of Egypt, but entered into the service of Cambyses, King of Persia, and assisted in the invasion -of Egypt in B.C. 525. The coin, however, would seem to be of a slightly earlier date. In these earliest coins it will be observed that one side is left plain, or bears only the mark of the anvil. The next improvement was to work the head of the die into the form of some object which thus appeared in concave on the coin. The oldest coins of most of the Greek cities of southern Italy are remarkable for hav- ing the type of the obverse side repeated in an incuse, or sunk form, on the reverse. * Nehemiah vii. 70. COINS OF ATHENS 19 Figs. 17-18 are a stater of the celebrated city Sybaris, dr. B.C. 550, showing on both sides the figure of a bull, with the head reverted, and the initial letters of Sybaris, 2v, below. This style FIGS. 17-18. Stater of Sybaris; silver; weight, 126 grs. is not considered to have lasted after B.C. 500. Sybaris itself was destroyed by Croton in 510. It is evident, however, that if two dies are to be made, it is useless to repeat the same design, and that the second surface may be better utilised. Athens seems to have been the first to realise this. Figs. 19-20 illustrate the typical coinage of Athens about B.C. 500, with the head of Athene on one side, and the owl and an olive spray, the emblems of Athens, on the other. The Athenian coinage is singularly rude ; it is supposed that these coins became known throughout the Greek 20 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY islands, and that it was considered unadvisable to change the type lest the circulation should be Fl ;s. 19-20. Stater of Athens ; silver ; weight, 265 grs. affected. In these archaic coins the eye is always drawn as if seen from the front, even when the face is in profile. FIGS. 21-22. Stater of Cnossus ; silver; B.C. 480-450; weight, 176 grs. Lord Liverpool long ago said of the Athenian coinage that it was a case in which " the affecta- THE MINOTAUR AND LABYRINTH 21 tion of an archaic style of work 'is easily distin- guished from the rudeness of remote antiquity." In later times the same happened to the coinage of Venice, which down to the eighteenth century retained the style of the fourteenth. Many of the early Greek coins have a deep slit across them. These are supposed to have been made by the Persians, during their invasion of Greece, to test the metal. The coin represented in Figs. 21-22 belonged to Cnossus in Crete, a city said to have been founded by Minos. It bears on the obverse a figure of the Minotaur, in human form, but with a bull's head, kneeling and holding a globe. On the reverse is the famous Labyrinth which was built for the Minotaur by Daedalus. Recent" explorations carried on by the Cretan Exploration Committee, under the superintendence of Mr Arthur Evans, have unearthed a considerable part of the western side of the great Palace, including two large courts, the porticoes and entrance corridors, a vast system of magazines, some of them full of huge stone jars, a bath chamber, a central court, and a richly adorned room, where between lower benches rose a curiously carved gypsum throne, on which King Minos himself may have sat in council.* The city of Selinus having been attacked by * Cretan Exploration Fund Report, November 1901. THE ORIGIN OF MONEY a pestilence which was supposed to be sent by Apollo, consulted Asclepius as to the best means of averting the wrath of the god. He advised the FlGS. 23-24. Tetradrachm of Selinus ; silver; 6.0.466-415; weight, 269 grs. citizens to drain a pestiferous marsh in the neigh- bourhood, which they did, and thus stopped the plague. The grateful inhabitants struck the above coin, Figs. 23-24, in his honour. On the obverse is the name of the city, 2EAIN02 ; a young river- god sacrificing at an altar, before which is a cock, the emblem of Asclepius. In the left hand of Selinus is the lustral branch, behind him a leaf of parsley (Selinus) and a bull. On the reverse ZEAINONTION (retrograde) and Apollo dis- charging the arrow of death. This is an early recognition of sanitation, and might well be taken as a seal for the medical profession. EUAINETUS 2S We now come to one of the most beautiful coins that the world has ever seen. Figs. 25-26 represent a decadrachm of Syracuse, B.C. 415-405. The obverse is a head of Persephone, decked with cornleaves, and surrounded by dolphins ; the reverse a quadriga, and Victory flying above is about to crown the charioteer. In this case we know the artist who made the die Euainetus. His initials, E Y., appear behind the neck of Persephone. FIGS. 25-26. Decadrachm of Syracuse; silver; B.C. 415-405 ', weight, 686 grs. Winckelmann, speaking of this coin, said, " It transcends all imagining, and might not Raphael, who complains that he could not find in nature any beauty worthy to stand for Galatea, have taken her likeness from the best Syracusan coins, since in his days with the exception of the 24 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY Laocoon the finest statues were not yet dis- covered ? Beyond these coins human compre- hension cannot go." Poole said * that " nothing more delicately finished has been produced by Greek art than Euainetos' Persephone." Headf calls it "the chef d'ceuvre of the art of coin engrav- ing"; and Lenormant| describes Euainetos as "the Phidias of coin engraving."- " Comme precision et science du modele, il est incomparable ; ses tetes de divinites respirent un souffle vraiment ideal ; il sait etre riche sans tomber dans cette serie d'ornements et de details qui finit par rapetisser un oeuvre d'art." Figs. 27-28 also represent a very lovely coin. FIGS. 27-28. Didrachm of Metapontum ; silver ; B.C. 359-336 ; weight, 123 grs. It was struck at Metapontum, a town of Magna * Greek Coins in illustrating Greek Art, Num. Chr. 1864. t History of Ancient Art ; Historia Numorum ; see also A. Evans' Syracusan Medallions. + La Monnaie dans tAntiquitt, PHILIP OF MACEDON 25 Graecia, between 359 and 336 B.C. The obverse is again a head of Persephone. Metapontum was the centre of a great wheat-growing district, and its emblem was an ear of wheat, which is shown on the reverse, with the inscription META, for Metapontum. These coins have generally some other object associated with agriculture, such as a plough, or a locust. In this case, which is, I think, one of the prettiest, there is a little harvest mouse sitting on the wheat leaf. FIGS. 29-30. Stater of Philip of Macedon ; gold ; B.C. 359-336 ; weight, 133 grs. We now come to one of the most important and interesting, while it is certainly not the least beautiful, of Greek coins the stater of Philip of Macedon. It was the most important coin of the Mediterranean, and is especially interesting to us from being, as we shall see, the foundation of our British coinage. The obverse bears a beautiful head of Apollo, with a crown of laurel leaves ; 26 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY the reverse a charioteer in abiga over the word $IAIIinOY. Horace justly spoke * of this coin as " regale numisma Philippi." We can better understand the immense coinage issued by Philip, from the statement that the gold mines of Crenides yielded him 1000 talents, or 3,000,000 a year. Figs. 31-32 are a stater of Alexander the Great, B.C. 334. On the obverse is a head of Pallas ; on the reverse AAEEAXAPOY, with 'Nike (Victory) holding a wreath and trophy. Up to this time the heads placed on coins were FIGS. 31-; 2. Stater of Alexander the Great ; gold ; B.C. 334 ; weight, 133 grs. those of deities. I have chosen the next illustra- tion, Figs. 33-34, because it is the first known coin on which a human head was ever placed. It was struck by Lysimachus, one of Alexander's generals and afterwards King of Thrace. He put on the obverse the head of Alexander, but being afraid that he might be accused of blasphemy for his * Ep. II. I. 232. ALEXANDER THE GREAT 27 innovation, gave the head a ram's horn, to indicate that it was not Alexander the Great as a man, but FIGS. 33-34. Tetradrachm of Lysimachus, B.C. 321-281 ; silver; weight, 130 grs. Alexander as a demigod as being the son of Jupiter Ammon. Fig's. 35-36 are a tetradrachm of Tyre, B.C. 116. FlGS. 35-36. Tyre Tetradrachm ; silver; B.C. 116 ; weight, 216 grs. The obverse is the head of the Tyrian Hercules or 28 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY Baal ; the reverse, an eagle on a rudder, in front of which is a club and the letters LI., z>., year ten = 116 B.C. Baal is represented in the Old Testament as an evil being, because he was the tutelary deity of a people often at war with the Jews. To the people of Tyre he was a good deity, and the head is certainly a very fine one. The Romans were much behind the Greeks in the matter of coinage. For purposes of exchange they used at first lumps of bronze (aes rude), the value of which was estimated by weight. The earliest Roman coins, which were large square, circular, or oblong pieces, date from about the fourth century. These were cast in a mould, and bore on each side a design in high relief. No silver money was struck till the first Punic War in B.C. 268. In illustration of the Early Roman coinage I give FIGS. 37-38. Romano-Campanian Didrachm, dr. B.C. 300; silver ; weight, 109 grs. EARLY ROMAN COINS 29 This coin has on the obverse a head of the young Hercules ; on the reverse ". Romano " (rum), short for Romans, with the wolf and twins (Romulus and Remus). These coins- are supposed to have been issued during the Samnite wars, under the directions of the Roman generals, for the use of the army. The true Roman silver coinage did not commence till nearly half a century later. Figs. 39-40 give one of the first types of true FIGS. 39-40. Denarius; silver; B.C. 269; weight, 66.7 grs. Roman silver coinage. On the obverse is head of Roma, behind which is the sign X denoting ten asses. On the reverse is ROMA, above which are the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux, charging, as they appeared at the battle of Lake Regillus, when "Swift, swift, the Great Twin Brethren ' Came spurring from the East." * The denarius Was so called from containing ten * Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. 30 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY asses. It remained a principal Roman coin, and the official money of account, down to the middle of the third century A.D. It is the origin of the French name Denier. The denarius contained about 7|d. of our money, and represented the average day's pay of a soldier or labourer, as in the well-known parable. Figs. 41-42 are a denarius of Julius Caesar. On the obverse is " Caesar Diet. Perpetuo," with a head of Julius Caesar. On the reverse, " L. Buca," the name of the moneyer. A caduceus and fasces crossed, a globe, two hands joined, and a hatchet. If we except some early pieces, the place of mintage of which is doubtful, the first Roman FIGS. 41-42. Julius Caesar. Denarius ; silver ; B.C. 44 ; weight, 56 grs. gold coins were those of Julius Caesar. They were struck in B.C. 49. The next coin (Figs. 43-44) is interesting as giving us a portrait of Junius Brutus, and was CLEOPATRA 31 struck by his confederate Casca, the envious Casca, while acting Brutus' lieutenant in Asia Minor, FIG?. 43-44. M. Junius Brutus ; silver; weight, 123 grs. dr. B.C. 43-42. The obverse has a head of Brutus in a laurel wreath, and the inscription "Brutus Imp.," the word Imperator then only meaning general ; and the reverse " Casca Longus," with a trophy between the prows of two ships. Figs. 45-46 represent the coin which Cleopatra FlGS. 45-46. Denarius pf Cleopatra ; silver; . ... weight, 55 grs. struck, B.C. 33-32, to commemorate her marriage, if so it could be called, with 'Mark Antony. 32 THE ORIGIN OF_MONEY The obverse has the inscription, "ANTOXI ARMENIA DEVICTA," with a head of Mark Antony, and behind an Armenian tiara. On the reverse is " CLEOPATR/E REGIN/E REGUM FILIORUM REGUM," and below a ship's prow. This is one of the best portraits we have of this celebrated queen ; as she struck it herself we may assume that it was not unflattering, but though it is FIGS. 47-48. Augustus. Denarius, B.C. 18 ; silver; weight, 60 grs. a bright and intelligent face, it does not seem to justify her reputation for beauty. Soon after Augustus had established his author- ity he instituted public games in honour of Julius Caesar, who was, as we are informed by Suetonius, " ranked amongst the gods, not only by a formal decree, but in the belief of the vulgar. For during the first games which Augustus, his heir, consecrated to his memory, a comet blazed for seven days together, rising always about eleven o'clock ; and it was supposed to be the soul of CESAR'S GHOST ON A COIN 33 Caesar, now received into heaven." Augustus struck the above coin (Figs. 47-48) in memory of this auspicious event, with his own portrait and name on one side, and on the other " Divus Julius," with Caesar's ghost in the form of a comet. The period would correspond with one of the former appearances of Halley's comet, the second before the one observed by that great astronomer. Figs. 49-50 is another denarius of Augustus ; on the reverse Augustus and Victoiy are represented FlGS. 49-50. Augustus. Denarius, B.C. 17; silver; weight, 59 grs. in a biga of elephants, surmounting a triumphal arch placed on a bridge. Figs. 51-52 is a denarius of Tiberius, i.e., Tiberius Caesar, son of the Divine Augustus Augustus. On the obverse is " Tl. CAESAR, Divi Aug. F. Augustus," and a laureate head of Tibe- rius. On the reverse, " PONTIF. MAXIM," and a C 34 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY figure of the Empress Livia seated, holding a sceptre and branch. FlGS. 51-52. Denarius of Tiberius, the Tribute Penny ; silver ; A.P. 16-37 ; weight, 59 <;r?. This is known as the Tribute Penny, being the coin referred to in the New Testament as being asked for by Jesus when the Pharisees "took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. " And they sent out unto him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man ; for thou regardest not the person of men. "Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Csesar, or not ? " But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites ? " Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. " And he saith unto them, W T hose is this image and superscription ? THE TRIBUTE PENNY 35 " They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore under Caesar the things which are Caesar's ; and unto God the things that are God's. " When they had heard these words, they mar- velled, and left him and went their way."* Figs. 53-54 represent a lepton of Pontius Pilate, struck in the year of the Crucifixion (A.D. 29-30). It bears on the obverse the name of Tiberius, and a " simpulum," which was an object used in sacrifices ; and on the reverse three ears of com bound together. The "widow's mite," two of which FIGS. 53"54- Lepton of Pontius Pilate; copper; weight, 31 grs. went to a " farthing," was probably one of these coins. . The word translated " farthing " is sup- posed to have referred to a bronze coin of Antioch, and the "pieces of money" for which Christ was betrayed are supposed to have been tetradrachms of Antioch. The " penny," as already mentioned, was the denarius (Figs. 51-52). * St Matthew, xxii. 15. 36 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY Figs. 55-56 represent a coin of Vespasian, struck in A.D. 70 to commemorate the subjugation of FlGS. 55-56. Vespasian. Sestertius, A.I). 70; bronze; weight, 400 grs. Judaea. On the obverse is IMP. CAES. VES- PASIAN. AUG. P. M. TR. P.P.P. COS. III., with a head of Vespasian Laureate. The letters after Vespasian stand for Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia Potestate Pater Patriae Consul III. (thrice Consul). On the reverse is "Judea Capta." and below, S. C, and the Empress standing near a palm tree, at the foot of which Judaea is seated weep- ing. The letters S. C. stand for Senatus Consulto, indicating that it was struck by order of the Senate, who had authority to strike bronze coins, those of silver and gold being the special pre- rogative of the Emperors. ROMAN EMPERORS 37 Figs. 57-58 are a sestertius struck by Antoninus Pius (131-161 A.D.), to commemorate his success- ful campaign in Britain. On the obverse is a head of the Emperor, laureate, with the inscrip- tion, "ANTONINUS AUG. PIUS, P.P. TR. P. COS. III." On the reverse, a figure of Britannia seated, hold- ing a standard and spear, and with her shield at her side ; and with the inscription " Britannia." This coin is interesting, because the figure of FIGS. 57-58. Sestertius of Antoninus Pius, 131-161 A.D. ; bronze; weight, 413 grs. Britannia is generally considered, and is indeed obviously the original of that on our copper coinage, though it does not appear that there is any actual record of the fact. The next is an aureus of his adopted son, Marcus Aurelius, a great emperor, and still greater man author of the Meditations, one of the 38 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY noblest books in the whole of literature. On the obverse is the Emperor's head, with the FlGS. 59-60. Aureus of Marcus Aurelius, 177 A.I). ; gold ; weight, 1 12 grs. inscription, " M. Antoninus Aug. Germ. Sarm.," referring to campaigns more than once mentioned in his writings ; and on the reverse a pile of German arms and standards, and " D. Germ. TR. P. XXXI. Imp. VIII . Cos. III. P.P." Before coming to the money of our own country FIGS. 61-62. Shekel ; silver ; weight, 220 grs. I will give one or two illustrations of Eastern coins. JEWISH COINS 39 Figs. 61-62 represent a Jewish shekel. It used to be supposed that these coins were struck by Simon Maccabaeus, B.C. 141-135 ; but they are now referred to the time of the first revolt in the reign of Nero, 66 A.n. They bear on one side a chalice ornamented with jewels, and the inscription, " Shekel of Israel, year 3." On the other a flower with "Jerusalem the Holy" in old Hebrew letters. They weigh about 220 grains. FlGS. 63-64. Tetradrachm of Simon Barcochab, 133 A.D. ; silver ; weight, 213 grs. Figs. 63 - 64 are a tetradrachm of Simon Barcochab, struck in the second year of the second revolt, during the reign of Hadrian, 133 A.D., which I have selected because it gives a representation, probably somewhat conven- tional, of the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and giving a glimpse of the Sanctuary within. On the reverse is " Second year of the 40 THE ORIGIN OF MONEY Deliverance of Israel." A citron and bundle of branches. Considering the zeal and success with which the Jewish race subsequently devoted themselves to commerce and finance, it is remarkable how small a part these professions play in the early history of the race. One ingenious French writer, indeed, has attempted to account for the turbulence and frowardness of the Jews in ancient times, by suggesting that they were fretted, being driven by circumstances into pastoral and agricultural pursuits against all their instinctive and natural tendencies, being, in fact, des banquiers comprimcs. Figs. 65-66 show a dirhem of Haroun al Raschid, FlGS. 65-66. Dirhem of Haroun al Raschid, 805 A.I).; silver ; weight, 44 grs. the romantic hero of the Arabian Nights, struck at Bagdad in the year of the Hegira 189 (805 A.D.). It is to be regretted that the coin bears no like- HAROUN AL RASCHID 41 ness of the great caliph, but the Mahomedans had, and still have, a feeling against placing any figure on a coin. The inscription is simple, and surely very grand. On the obverse, " There is no God but Allah : he is one ; he has no companion " ; and on the reverse, " Mohammed is the Messenger of God." CHAPTER II THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN CESAR has been quoted as denying the exist- ence of coins among the Britons, and according to the common text of his Commentaries the passage runs, " Utuntur aut a^re aut annulis (taleis) ferreis ad certum pondus examinatis pro nummis." (They use brass or iron rings of a certain weight for money). But, as Mr Hawkins has pointed out, many of the manuscripts have after " a^re," the words " aut nummo aureo," (or gold money), so that far from denying the exist- ence of money, he expressly affirmed it. The first antiquary who described and figured an ancient British coin was the illustrious Camden in 1586; but I am indebted for most of the following facts to Sir John Evans' excellent work on The Coins of the Ancient Britons. The earliest British coins were copies of the staters of Philip of Macedon (Figs. 29-30), and probably date back to about B.C. 200-150. The ANCIENT BRITISH COINAGE 43 earliest inscribed coins are those of Eppilus, Verica, and Tincommius, sons of Commius, a British chief mentioned in Caesar's Commentaries, so that we may take the date of these coins at a fe\v years before the Christian era. The un- inscribed coins were doubtless earlier. Sir J, Evans ingeniously attempts to determine the date from the diminution in weight. The stater of Philip weighed 133 grains; the earliest British coins 120 grains, reduced by B.C. 20 to 84 grains ; so that, assuming the degradation to have been approximately regular, the weight of 1 20 grains would have been reached by about B.C. 200. Sir John is disposed, however, to put them a little later. The coins were not only reduced in weight, but the artists were unable to reproduce the beautiful Greek designs. The dies, moreover, were usually considerably larger than the coins struck from them, so that in many cases a por- tion only of the pattern was reproduced on the coin. On the earlier specimens (Figs. 67-68) the head is clear, the front hair is represented by three open crescents, and the hair at the back of the head has lost the graceful waves and is reduced to parallel rows of nearly similar curls ; while the wreath of olive leaves is represented by a double 44 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN ro\v of flat leaves. On the reverse the change is greater ; one horse only is represented, and FlGS. 67-68. Ancient British Stater, B.r. 200-150; gold; weight, 118 gts. that but badly ; of the chariot only one wheel remains, while the charioteer is resolved into a series of dots. The inscription is copied, but quite illegible. FIG?. 69-70. Ancient British Stater, dr. B.C. 150-100 ; gold ; weight, 95 grs. Figs. 69-70 represent a still more degraded, lighter, and probably later coin. The face is ANCIENT BRITISH COINAGE 45 omitted, or possibly the metal did not reach to that part of the die, and the hair is still further conventionalised. The horse is still recognisable, though on some other specimens it is so much altered that the neck and body have been mis- taken by some writers for the golden knife said to have been used by the Druids for cut- ting the sacred misletoe ! Finally, Figs. 71-72 FIGS. 71-72. Ancient British Stater, dr. B.C. 150-100; gold; weight, 90 grs. represent a coin which is evidently derived from the previous example, and therefore from the stater of Philip. We can still trace the waves of the hair, and four legs of a horse, but if we had not the intermediate stages no one could tell which side was the head of Apollo, and which was the chariot and horses ! It is most interesting to watch this gradual degrada- tion, so ably traced in Sir J. Evans' work. Some of the smaller British coins were made of tin. 46 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN The earliest of these coins were probably struck in Kent, and thence extended westwards and northwards. It is doubtful whether the Dumnonii, who occupied Devon and Cornwall, had any coinage of their o\vn, nor are there any types which can be assigned with certainty to the midland counties. The earliest inscribed British coins are, as already mentioned, those of Eppilus. Verica, and Tincommius, sons of Commius, who was King of the Atrebates at the time of Caesar's second invasion, B.C. 54. The illustration given (Figs. 73-74) represents a coin of Tincommius. On the obverse is " Tine " on a sunk tablet. The reverse is a horseman, and under him appears a FIGS. 73-74. Coin of Tincommius ; gold ; weight, 82 grs. capital " C." On other coins it is followed by an " F," no doubt for C(ommii) F(ilius), son of Commius. Another name found on numerous British coins is that of Tasciovanus, King of the CYMBELINE 47 Catyeuchlani (Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and perhaps Middlesex and Essex). His name appears as Tasc, Tasciov, and Tasciovan. He probably reigned from about B.C. 30 to 5 A. I)., and was the father of Cunobeline. FIGS. 75-76. Stater of Cunobeline ; gold ; weight, 82 grs. Figs. 75-76 represent a stater of Cunobeline, the Cymbeline of Shakespeare, struck at Camu- lodunum (Colchester) ; it is a remarkable specimen of British art, and nothing so good, except perhaps some of Offa's pennies, was struck in our island for several hundred years afterwards. It is approxi- mately of the year 30 A.D., and bears on the obverse the letters " Camu," for Camulodunum, separated by an ear of corn, the Eastern counties being then, as now, a great corn-growing district. On the reverse is " Cuno," with a horse galloping. After the invasion and conquest of South Britain by Claudius, our native coinage was replaced by Roman money, of which the circulation must have been very considerable. Mints were re-established 48 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN at London and Colchester by Carausius and Allectus, continued at London by Constantino, and the last Roman coins struck in England were those of Magnus Maximus, who died in 388 A.D. Then followed a dark interval, and it was not until two hundred years afterwards that the Anglo- Saxons commenced to strike their own coins. The earliest of these was the sceatta, generally of silver, but occasionally of gold, followed by the penny in silver, and the styca in base silver and copper. The sceattas and stycas were not, however, struck at one time in the same district. Some were rude copies of Roman and other coins, while other devices were probably original. The word sceatta signified " treasure." We still FK;S. 77-78. Anglo-Saxon Sceat, 600 A.J). ; gold; weight, 20 grs. have it in the word " scot," or " shot," as "scot and lot," paying one's shot, scot-free, etc. The specimen figured belonged to about 600 A.D. It has a bust on one side, and on the other a cross and an inscription in blundered Runes, which is supposed SCEATTAS. STYCAS 49 to stand for " Feartigo," or forty, i.e., forty stycas. London is the only city mentioned on the sceattas ; and the word " London " is almost the only intel- ligible inscription in Roman letters. The sceattas were not in general circulation north of the H umber, where they were replaced by stycas (Germ, stuck, a piece), small pieces of base silver or copper. The earlier ones much resembled sceattas ; the later ones were of more simple forms, such as a small cross, a circle, or even a single pellet. The question is often asked, " What was the value of these ancient coins?" and like many other questions, it is easier to ask than to answer. They must be measured in something say wool or wheat, and the price of wheat of course varied then, as it does now, according to the harvest. By the laws of Wessex the life of an Anglo-Saxon was valued at 1200 sceattas, that of a Briton at 600. Before, and indeed for some time after, they had coins, the Anglo-Saxons used, as Caesar said of the ancient Britons, to make small payments by break- ing pieces off their armlets or rings, and such broken bits were called skillings or cuttings, from which our word shilling is derived. Figs. 79-80 represent one of our earliest pennies. This coin was first struck by King Pepin about D 50 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN the year 755 A.D., and in 760 was adopted by Offa, who was King of Mercia, from 757 to 796, and erected the celebrated Offa's dyke, which Fins. 79-80. Penny of Offa, dr. 760 A.D. ; silver; weight, 17 grs. stretched from the Dee to the Bristol Channel. His pennies were struck at London, Canterbury, and perhaps elsewhere. A few Saxon halfpence have also come down to us. The full weight of the penny was 24 grains, giving the name to the penny-weight, and 240 went to the Saxon pound of silver, as they do now to the sovereign. The name is said by some to be derived from pendiis, a weight, but is considered by Skeat to mean a pawn or pledge. The types of Offa's pennies are numerous and varied, and they show attempts at portraiture, but the face varies very much, no doubt from want of skill, though no coins so artistic as those of Offa were again struck in England until the time of Henry VII. The coin figured above bears on the obverse a bust of PENNY OF OFFA: OF ALFRED 51 Offa and his name, on the reverse the name of the moneyer, EADIIVVN, in angles of voided crosses. From the time of Offa the penny re- placed the sceat, and, driving the Roman silver money out of circulation, became, and until the end of the reign of Henry III. remained, the principal and almost the only English coin. It preserved also its standard of fineness, its weight, and its general type. It must, however, be remembered that it was a silver coin, the copper penny not being introduced till 1000 years later, under George III. Henry III. is often said to have struck a gold penny the first gold coin since the Conquest. The expression seems, however, misleading. He struck a gold piece in the form of a penny, but it was valued at twenty pence. Figs. 81-82 represent a penny of King Alfred, FIGS. 81-82. Penny of Alfred ; silver; weight, 25 grs. struck in London, 871-901 A.D. The obverse is a rude bust of the king, with the inscription "/ELFRED REX," and the reverse a monogram of Londonia. 52 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN At this period the archbishops as well as certain bishops and abbots were permitted to issue coins with their own heads and names. Under what circumstances or conditions this privilege was granted we have no record. The earliest are those of Jaenberht, and the last those of Plegmund (Figs. 83-84). He is supposed to have compiled FIGS. 83-84. Penny of Archbishop Plegmund, 890-914 A.D. ; silver ; weight, 22 grs. and written the first part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, now in Corpus Christi College. The series covers about a century. Plegmund held the see from 890 till 914 A.D. The obverse is "Plegmund Archief" in full, DO RO for Doro- bernia ; and on the reverse crosses and pellets, with the inscription " Hunfred Mo," i.e., Hunfred Monetarius, the moneyer. The privilege was withdrawn by Athelstan in 924, who enacted that there should be but " one money " throughout the country, and after this CANUTE. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR 53 the ecclesiastical coins resembled those from the royal mints, excepting in the mint marks, and the right was finally abolished by Henry VIII. Figs. 85-86 is a coin of Canute, 1016-26 A.D., struck at Hereford. He wears a pointed helmet like that in which he is represented on the Bayeux Tapestry. The reverse bears the name of the moneyer, ORDRIC ON (of) HERE (Hereford). The mode of reckoning by pounds, shillings, and pence was introduced in Saxon times, a pound being then a poundsweight of silver. The Fias. 85-86. Penny of Canute, c.ir. 1030 ; silver ; weight, 17 grs. shilling was not a coin but a money of account, and varied in value, being at the same time estimated in one district at 48 to the pound, in another at 60. The penny the largest silver coin actually struck is the most ancient representative of our coinage, as it continued to be issued, though much reduced in weight, till after the restoration of Charles II., i.e., till 1662. Except 54 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN in name, however, it has little in common with our present penny. Figs. 87-88 represent a coin of Edward the FIGS. 87-88. Penny. Edward the Confessor; silver; weight, 18 grs. Confessor. On his early coins he is represented without a beard ; but on the later ones,, as on that given, he is shown bearded. For the first time also the full face is given. The obverse showing the king w T ith a mitre-shaped helmet, and hold- ing a sceptre, depicts him as he is represented on the Bayeux Tapestry. The inscription is EADPARD. On other coins the name is spelt Edward, Edwercl, or Eadweard, or Eadweardus. The reverse has an ornamented cross with a circle in one angle the special mark of the York mint, i.e., the ring of St Peter. His mints were numerous and the types very varied. His pennies weighed from 28 grains down to 15. To supply a smaller currency it was common to cut the penny into halves and quarters, a primitive pro- WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 55 cess for which the cross on the reverse makes these coins specially suitable. Thus the halfpenny was literally the half of a penny. In fact the halfpennies were so generally regarded as semi- circular, that one of Merlin's prophecies was that the time would come when dimidium rotundus erit. This was supposed to be fulfilled when Henry I. ordered round halfpence to be made. It is curious, however, that none of these are known. The Saxon kings had a great number of mints, of moneyers, and of patterns. Edward the Con- fessor, for instance, had about 55 mints, some 500 moneyers, and though his coins were all silver pennies, 17 distinct types are known. The mints, moneyers, and varieties of coins were, on the whole, gradually reduced as time ran on, and at the beginning of his reign, Henry II. ordered one pattern for all his coins, which should be continuous. The advent of the Normans brought at first no material change in the currency, but the coins of William the Conqueror were of the same character as those of his predecessors. The penny figured belongs to about the year 1076. The obverse is a rude bust of the king between two sceptres, with the inscription " Pillelm Rex Anglie." The name is spelt with the Saxon P instead of W, The reverse shows a floriated cross 56 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN over a cross botoniice, with the inscription " Man on Cantulbi," it having been struck at Canterbury. FIGS. 89-90. William the Conqueror. Penny f silver ; weight. 20 grs. During the latter part of the reign, and until that of Henry II., the coinage became worse and worse, some of those of Stephen being indeed amongst the rudest ever struck in our islands. Both Richard Coeur de Lion and John retained the name of their father Henry on their coins ; this is the more remarkable as the dies were changed, though but slightly. Moreover, Richard struck coins in his own name for his French dominions. John also struck some pennies, halfpennies, and farthings in Ireland, and some halfpennies at the London and Winchester mints. From the Conquest, the penny theoretically weighed 24 grains, or one pennyweight, so that a pound of silver money was a legal pound both in weight and tale. In fact, however, the penny rarely weighed more than 20 grains. In the ENGLISH GOLD COINAGE 57 28th of Edward I., the legal weight of the penny was reduced to 23.7073 grains. Henry III. struck a gold penny, which, however, was not a success, and was soon withdrawn. Sir J. Evans is disposed to regard the head on these coins as an attempt at a portrait. Henry III. in- troduced the convenient practice of placing the Roman numerals III., or Terci, after his name. This was unfortunately, however, abandoned, until it was re-introduced by Henry VII. We have seen that the early English coins generally bore the name of the moneyer. This practice continued till the time of Edward I., after which it was discontinued, while that of the mint was not entirely disused till the last year of Eliza- beth. The moneyers, or later mint masters, also sometimes placed a mark on their coins, as, for instance, the Y on Fig. 105, indicating that it was struck by Sir John Yorke. Edward III. was the first to introduce the " Dei gratia " on our coins, though it had appeared on all the great seals since the time of William the Conqueror ; in France since that of Charlemagne, and in Scotland on the coins of Alexander III. (1249-92). It was even used by Ina, king of the West Saxons, in the introduction to his laws.* In 1343-4 Edward III. repeated Henry's * Ruding, v. i. 58 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN attempt to introduce a gold currency, and since his reign we have had a continuous series of gold coins. His first gold pieces were " florins " called from the city of Florence current for 6s., and half and quarter florins. They were, however, valued too high, and were therefore withdrawn from circulation, being replaced by the noble, valued at 6s. Sd., its half and quarter. Edward III. first claimed the title of King of France, which was not abandoned till the reign of George III. The noble bore on the obverse the king crowned and standing in a ship, holding a sword and shield. Selden suggested that Edward III. placed a ship on his coins as emblematic of the sovereignty of the seas, quoting the lines of an old distich : Four things our Noble sheweth to me, King, ship, and sword, and power of the Sea. It has also been attempted to connect the ship with the great victory over the French at Sluys in 1340. In support of this the curious motto on the reverse has also been adduced. This runs as follows: "Jesus, autem, transiens per medium illorum ibat," But Jesus, passing, went through the midst of them. Thomas de Burton (1396) in the Chronicle of the Abbey of Meaux, quoted by Sir J. Evans,* considers that this has reference to the battle of Sluys. He * The First Gold Coins of England Num. Chron,, 1900. EDWARD III. FLORIN; NOBLE 59 says that at first the French ships were chained together, lest they should possibly be separated the one from the other ; but before the first on- slaught, as King Edward and his fleet feigned to flee, they broke the chains and pursued him in a disorderly manner, which, when Edward saw, he marshalled his ships in order, and passing through the midst of them, obtained the victory as already related. On which account King Edward himself caused the impression of his gold money to be changed. Therefore on his noble, which is worth half a mark, he ordained that there should be impressed, on the one side, a ship having in it the king armed, and around it the king's name written, -and on the other side a cross with the circum- scription, " Jesus, autem, transiens per medium illorum ibat." The inscription, however, occurs also on the florin, on which the ship does not appear. By some this motto has been regarded as a warn- ing against clipping ; others that it was a charm used by alchemists in endeavouring to " make " gold, but none of these suggestions seems very reason- able. A more probable view regards it as a charm. Sir J. Maundeville in his Adventures mentions that, " half-a-mile from Nazareth is the lepe of our Lord. For the Jews led Him upon an high rock to make him leap down, and to have slain him ; but Jesu passed amongst them, and leapt upon another rock, 60 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN and the steps of His feet be yet in the rock, where he alighted. And therefore, say some men, when they dread them of thieves on any way, or of enemies : ' Jesus, autem, transiens per medium illorum ibat,' that is to say, ' Jesus, forsooth, pass- ing by the midst of them, went ; ' in token and mind, that as our Lord passed through, out of the Jews cruelty, and escaped safely from them, so surely men pass the peril of thieves." * This, as Sir J. Evans points out, is the more signi- ficant because it was in all probability written with- out any reference to the fact of the motto having been used on the coins. This view is also strengthened by the fact that the motto was also sometimes engraved on finger-rings. A piece of money, therefore, with this inscription, was not only a coin, but a charm. During the reigns of Richard II., Henry IV., V., and VI., there was but little change in our coinage. Edward IV. also introduced the angel, about 1470 (Figs. 91-92), so called from its bearing the Archangel Michael piercing the dragon. The reverse is a ship with a mast in the form of a cross. It weighed So grains, and was current for 6s. 8d. This coin is interesting from having been the one always used to put round the necks of * The Adventures of Sir fohn Maundeville, p. 135, ANGEL 61 patients touched for the King's evil. It is also especially]associated with English literature. FlGS. 91-92. Angel. Edward IV., A.D. 1465. These coins are certainly very beautiful ; so much so, indeed, that various fables arose as to their origin, and the gold Was supposed by many to have been produced by Raymond Lully by occult means. Edward IV. also coined nobles, and to distin- guish them from those of his predecessors, he placed on the ship a rose, the badge of the House of York, from which these coins were termed rose nobles. The weight was raised to 1 20 grains, and the current value to ten shillings. During the reigns of Edward V. and Richard III. no important changes were introduced into the currency. Henry VII., on the contrary, made great alterations. The shilling had long been a 62 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN money of account, but was now for the first time struck as a coin. The obverse \va.s a profile of FIGS. 93-94. Rose Noble of Edward IV., 1465-70; weight, 119.4 grs. the king. The motto on the reverse is " Posui Deum Adjutorem Meum," I have made God my f FIGS. 95-96. The First Shilling. Henry VII.; silver; 1504; weight, 141.3 grs. helper. In the Prayer Book (Psalm liv. 4) it THE FIRST SHILLING AND SOVEREIGN 63 stands, God is my helper. The shilling of Henry VII. is the first English coin on which we get a real portrait. " Nothing," says C. F. Keary, " superior to it has appeared since." * Henry VII. was also the first to coin the sovereign (Figs. 97-98). The obverse is the king enthroned, with sceptre and orb. On the reverse we still find the FIGS. 97-98. The First Sovereign ; gold ; 1489 ; weight, 239.1 grs. motto, "Jesus, autem, transiens per medium illorum ibat," round a shield on a large double rose within a tressure.- The double rose signified the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster by Henry's marriage with the Yorkish princess Elizabeth. The sovereign weighed 240 grains, and passed, as it does now, for twenty shillings. * Coins and Medals. 64 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN Another improvement made by Henry VII. was that he adopted the plan first invented by Henry .III., but subsequently dropped, and placed a VII. after his name on the coins. He was also the first of our sovereigns to recognise that no change should be made in the money without the consent of Parliament. The likeness of Henry VIII. on his coins is also very good. Figs. 99-100 show a shilling of 1543. FIGS. 99-100. Shilling of Henry VIII. ; silver ; weight, 121.3 g''s. Figs. 10 1 -102 represent a groat struck by Cardinal Wolsey at York, and bearing his initials, " T. W." above a cardinal's hat. The archbishops were allowed to issue half-groats and pennies, but a charge was trumped up against Wolsey that he was guilty of treason in issuing the above coin, because it was a groat and not a half-groat! That he placed his cardinal's hat on the coins WOLSEY'S GROAT 65 was one of the articles brought against him by the Earl of Surrey in Shakespeare : That out of mere ambition, you have caused Your holy hat to be stamped on the King's coin. FIGS. 101-102, Groat of Henry VIII. ; silver ; weight, 45 grs. The 4;s. in-112. Charles I. Unite, or 2O-shilling piece ; gold ; 1632 , weight, 141 grs. St George on the obverse, and those of St George and Ireland conjoined on the reverse. " Figs. 113-114 represent a half-crown of Crom- FlGS. 113-114. Cromwell Half-crown; silver; 1658; weight, 229.1 grs. 72 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN well, struck in 1658. The inscription is "OLIVAK D. G. Rl\ ANG. SCO. ET HIB. &c. PRO.," and on the reverse, "1'AX OU.ERITUR HELLO, 1658," a crowned shield with arms, an inescutcheon bearing the Pro- tector's paternal arms. Our Sovereigns had a curious prejudice against the issue of copper coins, which they seem to have considered as beneath their dignity. Halfpence and even farthings were struck of silver, but the si/.e was so inconveniently small that after the Commonwealth they were given up. No silver farthings, however, were issued after Edward VI, In the absence of other small change, tradesmen were in the habit of issuing " tokens," of copper, brass, or lead, which were of small value, and only locally current.* They were, however, very incon- venient, and at length, after much hesitation, James I. consented to an issue of farthing tokens, but not wishing them to come directly from the Royal mints, granted patents to Lord Harrington and others. They were issued from " Tokenhouse Yard " in the city, but on account of their small size, extreme thinness, and small value, they were not found very convenient. During the Common- * Queen Elizabeth, indeed, coined halfpence and farthings of base silver, and granted licenses to the cities of Bristol, Oxford, and Worcester, to coin copper tokens, which were to be current in that city and for ten miles round. THE GUINEA 73 wealth there was a revival of the use of tradesmen's tokens ; but in 1672 Charles II. struck an issue of halfpence and farthings on a sound basis, and the tradesmen's tokens were declared illegal. In 1684 he struck farthings of tin, with a square plug of copper in the centre to render counterfeit- ing more difficult. These, however, were not con- sidered worthy to be ranked as money, and were FIGS. 115-116. Charles II. Guinea ; gold ;. weight, 131^ grs. inscribed round the edge, " Nummorum famulus," to indicate that they were to be regarded as servants or helps to the true coinage. The guinea (Figs. 115-116) was first struck by Charles" II. in 1663, and was so called because it was made of gold brought from "Guinea by the African Company. The value was at first 2Os., and remained so till the reign of William and Mary. At that period, however, there was no fixed relation between the coins, and the silver coinage 74 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN gradually deteriorated, in consequence of which the value fell until 303. went to the guinea. To remedy this a new issue was made, and in 1698 the guinea was fixed at 2 is. 6d., reduced in 1717 to 2 is., at which it henceforth remained. The last guineas were struck in 1813. The halfpence and farthings bore on the reverse the figure of Britannia, with which we are so familiar. It is supposed to have been taken from a coin of Antoninus Pius (Figs. 57-58), and the head is said to have been a portrait of the beautiful Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond. Pepys, in his amusing diary, under the date of 25th February 1667, says : " At my goldsmith's did observe the king's new medal, where in little, there is Mrs Stewart's face as well done as ever I saw anything in my whole life, I think ; and a pretty thing it is, that he should choose her face to represent Britannia by." In the first of this series Britannia was armed with a spear, and her seat was placed on earth ; but Boulton's engraver, Klichler, in 1797, ingeniously represented her as ruling the waves by turning the spear into a trident, and replacing the earth by sea on which a ship was sailing. I cannot but regret the omission of the ship on our recent pennies. The coins of Charles II. and succeeding THE PENNY 75 Sovereigns have the bust of the reigning monarch turned the opposite way to that of his predecessor. Charles is said to have adopted this position from his reluctance to look the same way as Cromwell ! During the reigns of James II. and William and Mary some halfpence and farthings were struck of tin. Under Queen Anne there were two issues of gold and silver money, one before and the other after the Union. The denominations were the same, but whereas before the Union the arms of England and Scotland were on separate shields, after the Union they were impaled on one. The Act also provided that the coinage should be of, the same standard and value throughout the United Kingdom. In 1797 the Government adopted the singular plan of issuing Spanish dollars countermarked with the head of the King. The stamp was small and oval, being that used by the Gold- smith's Company for stamping plate. These dollars were current for 45. and gd., whence the saying, " Two king's heads not worth a crown." In 1804 the Bank of England struck dollars, which, however, did not retain a permanent place in our coinage. Owing to the dearth of small change there was a return to tradesmen's tokens, and in consequence 76 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN copper pence the first appearance of the penny in that metal were struck by George III. in 1797. The beautiful design of St George and the Dragon, by Pistrucci, first appeared in 1817. It is said that it was originally intended for a gem which he was engraving for Lord Spencer. William IV. in 1836 revived the "groat," or 4cl, at, it was said, the instance of Joseph Hume, whence the}' were known as Joeys. They were discontinued in 1856. The threepenny piece had been used since 1662 for Maundy money, and was put into general circulation in 1845. The florin was adopted in 1849, and in the first issues the " Dei Gratia," which had appeared on our coinage since the time of Edward III., was omitted, whence they were termed the graceless or godless florins. The letters were inserted in the 1851 issue. Bronze was substituted for the copper coinage in 1860. On the occasion of the Queen's jubilee in 1887 many changes were made in the coinage. They did not, however, give satisfaction, and in 1893 a Committee was appointed, over which I had the honour of presiding, by which .designs were selected for submission to Her Majesty, by whom they were approved. These continued in use until the end of the reign. In 1895 there was a new issue of the bronze QUEEN VICTORIA 77 coinage, when the ship and lighthouse were omitted, a change which does not seem to me any improvement. In the same year a British dollar was issued for use in our Eastern possessions. Its weight, 416 grains, and fineness, are the same as those of the Japanese "Yen." If has on the obverse a figure of Britannia with a trident, standing upon a rock in the sea, with the inscription, " British Dollar " ; on the reverse, a device of four com- partments, with a Chinese labyrinth in the centre, and the value is inscribed in Chinese and Malay characters in a beaded circle, and with a key- pattern border. ' "The last of our coins (Figs. 117-118) which I . IT./- FIGS. 117-118. Rupee; silver; weight, 174^ grs. propose to figufe is a rupee of 1861, showing our late lamented Queen in a Hindoo robe. 78 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN It is curious and interesting how different the history of our principal coins has been. The penny is in one sense the most ancient, and goes back to the time of Offa, but it was then a silver coin, -and so remained till 1797, when it was struck in copper by George III. In 1817 it became a token coin. The shilling is also very ancient as a money of account, but was first struck as a coin by Henry VII. in 1504. It then weighed 141.3 grains. It now weighs 87^, which, however, is immaterial, as, like the penny, it became a token coin in 1816. Our sovereign goes back to Henry VII., and was first coined in 1489, when it weighed 240 grains, but was finally fixed at its present weight of 123^^ grains under George III. in 1816, when the beautiful design of St George and the Dragon was introduced, the other coins then became tokens, and the sovereign became the standard. The last bust of the Queen on the sovereign and half-sovereign was by Mr Brock. She wears the Ribbon and Star of the Garter, and below are the initials "T.B." The letters, " Ind. Imp.," Empress of India, were now introduced, so that the inscrip- tion reads, " Victoria Dei Gra. Britt. Regina Fid. Def. Ind. Imp." The reverse is Pistrucci's St George and the Dragon, with the initials " B.P." LIST OF ENGLISH COINS 79 The bust of Her Majesty on the half-crown and the design on the reverse are also by Mr Brock. The reverses of the florin, shilling, and sixpence were designed by Sir E. J. Poynter, P.R.A. LIST OF ENGLISH COINS. The following list of English coins from the Conquest is compiled from Mr Grueber's excellent Handbook of tJie Coins of Great Britain and Ireland. It must be understood that the types are very varied. WILLIAM I. Silver Penny. WILLIAM II. Silver Penny. HENRY I. Silver Penny. STEPHEN I. Silver Penny. HENRY II. Silver Penny. RICHARD I. Silver Penny. JOHN. Silver Penny and Halfpenny. HENRY I.-III. Gold Penny. Silver Penny. EDWARD I. Silver Groat (?) Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. EDWARD II. Silver Penny. Halfpenny, and P^arthing. EDWARD III. Gold Florin, Half-Florin, Quarter-Florin, Noble, Half-Noble, and Quarter-Noble. Silver Groat, Half-Groat, Penny, Half- penny, and Farthing. RICHARD II. Gold Noble, Half-Noble, and Quarter- Noble. Silver Groat, Half-Groat, Penny, Half- penny, and Farthing. 80 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN HENRY IV. Gold Noble, Half-Noble, and Quarter- Noble. Silver Groat, Half-Groat, Penny, Half- penny, and Farthing. HKNRV V. No change. HKXRV VI. Gold Noble, Half-Noble, Quarter-Noble, Angel, and Half-Angel. Silver Groat, Half-Groat, Penny, Half- penny, and Farthing. EDWARD IV. Gold Noble, Rose Noble or Ryal, Half Rose Noble, Quarter Rose Noble, Angel, and Half-Angel. Silver Groat, Half-Groat, Penny, Half- penny, and Farthing. EDWARD V. Gold Angel, and Half-Angel. Silver Groat. RICHARD III. Gold Angel, and Half-Angel. Silver Groat, Half-Groat, Penny, and Half- penny. HF.NRY VII. Gold Ryal or Noble, Sovereign, Angel, and Half-Angel. Silver Shilling, Groat, Half-Groat, Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. HKNKY VIII. Gold Double Sovereign, Sovereign, Half- Sovereign, Crown, Half-Crown, Ryal or Rose Noble, Angel, Half-Angel, George Noble, and Half George Noble. Silver Shilling, or Testoon, Groat, Half- Groat, Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. EDWARD VI. ('.old Triple-Sovereign, Double-Sovereign, Sovereign, Half-Sovereign, Crown, Half- Crown, Angel, and Half-Angel. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. MARY (alone). Gold Sovereign, Ryal, Angel, and Half- Angel, Silver Groat, Half-Groat, and Penny. LIST OF ENGLISH COINS 82 PHILIP and Gold Angel, and Half-Angel. MARY. Silver Half-Crown, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat, Half-Groat, and Penny. ELIZAHKTH. Gold Sovereign, Ryal, Half-Sovereign, Crown, Half-Crown, Angel, Half-Angel, and Quarter-Angel. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, Three Halfpence, Penny, Three Farthings, and Halfpenny. JA.MKS I. Gold Sovereign or Unite, Half-Sovereign or Double-Crown, Crown or Britain Crown, Half-Crown, Thistle Crown, Angel, Half-Angel, Rose Ryal or Thirty- Shilling Piece, Spur Ryal or Fifteen- Shilling Piece, Laurel, Half-Laurel, and Quarter-Laurel. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, Half-Groat, Penny, and Half- penny. Copper Farthing. CHARLES I. Gold Triple-Unite or Three-Pound Piece, Unite or Twenty Shillings, Double- Crown or Ten Shillings, Crown or Five Shillings, and Angel. Silver Pound or Twenty Shillings, Half- Pound or Ten Shillings, Crown, Half- Crown, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat, Half- Groat, Penny, and Halfpenny. Copper Farthing. CROMWELL. Gold Fifty Shillings, Broad or Twenty Shillings, and Half-Broad or Ten Shil- lings. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, and Sixpence. Copper Farthing. F 82 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN CHARLES II. Hammered. Gold Broad or Twenty Shil- lings, Half-Broad or Ten Shillings, and Crown or Five Shillings. Silver Half-Crown, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Milled. Gold Five Guineas, Two Guineas, Guinea, and Half-Guinea. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper Halfpenny and Farthing. Tin Farthing. JAMES II. Gold Five Guineas, Two Guineas, Guinea, and Half-Guinea. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Tin Halfpenny and Farthing. WIU.IAM and Gold Five Guineas, Two Guineas, Guinea, MARY. and Half-Guinea. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper and Tin Halfpenny and Farthing. WIU.IAM III. No change. ANNE. Gold Five Guineas, Two Guineas, Guinea, and Half-Guinea. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper Halfpenny and Farthing (patterns only). GEORGE I. Gold Five Guineas, Two Guineas, Guinea, Half-Guinea, and Quarter-Guinea. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. LIST OF ENGLISH COINS 83 GEORGE I. Copper Halfpenny and Farthing. GEORGE II. Gold Five Guineas, Two Guineas, Guinea, and Half-Guinea. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper Halfpenny and Farthing. GEORGE III. Gold Guinea, Half-Guinea, Quarter-Guinea, Third-Guinea or Seven Shillings, Sove- reign, and Half-Sovereign. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper Twopence, Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. GEORGE IV. Gold Double-Sovereign, Sovereign, and Half-Sovereign. Silver Crown, Half-Crown, Shilling, Six- pence, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. WILLIAM IV. Gold Sovereign and Half-Sovereign. Silver Half-Crown, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat, and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. VICTORIA. Gold Five Pounds, Two Pounds, Sovereign, and Half-Sovereign. Silver Crown, Double Florin, Half-Crown, Florin, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat or Four- penny Piece, Threepence ; and Maundy Groat, Threepence, Half-Groat, and Penny. Copper and Bronze Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing. It is understood that the coins of King Edward VII. will be the same as those of Queen Victoria, 84 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN omitting, however, the double florin and the four- penny piece. As regards the sister kingdoms, the first Scotch coins were minted in the reign of David I. (1124- 1153). It consisted of pennies copied from the contemporary English types. Up to that time Roman and Saxon money were used. The Scotch standard was probably at first the same as the English, but the silver coins gradually became very debased. Coins of " Billon " were also issued, but this is only a name for much debased silver. Alexander III., as already mentioned, placed " Dei Gratia " on his coins some years before it was adopted in England. The first gold coins, those of David II. (1329- 1371), were copies of the noble of Edward III., but not so well executed. One of the issues of farthings is peculiar in the name being partly on one side of the coin and partly on the other ; the obverse having "MONETA REGIS D," and the reverse, "AVID SCOTTORUM." James V. (1514-1542) placed a date on his coins f t539> eight years, therefore, before this improve- ment was adopted in England. The coins of Mary, Queen of Scots, are very varied, and gave quite an epitome of her troubled life. SCOTCH COINS 85 In addition to coins with denominations similar to those current in England, Scotland had several FlGS. 119-120. -Ryal of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1557 ; gold weight, 117 grs. terms peculiar to herself. One of these, which often appears in literature, was the bawbee. For this several derivations have been suggested. Some ascribe it to the young or baby face of Mary, Queen of Scots, on her earlier coins ; some more prosaically, from the French bas billon, or basi billon ; and others the territorial title, " Laird of Sillibawbee," of Alexander Orrole, the moneyer. It is not, however, at all clear that he was the first to strike these coins, and it cannot be said that any of these explanations " holds the field." The " plack," current at first for 3d., was raised to 8d. in the reign of James VI. It is said to derive its name from the French plaque. 86 THE COINAGE OF BRITAIN IRELAND. No coins were struck by any of the native rulers of Ireland. The first were those of the Danish Prince Sihtric III. (989-1029), and were copied mainly from those of ^Ethelred II. of Wessex. The first Anglo-Irish coins, but struck in the name of his son John, as Lord of Ireland, were those of Henry II. in 1 177. Figs. 1 21-122 represent one of the "half-crowns" struck by James II. in 1690, in Ireland, and which FIGS. 121-122. James IF. Gunmoney ; copper; weight, 209 grs. were known as " gunmoney," because they were in part made out of old guns. They were "proclaimed" to pass for five shillings ; but the intrinsic value being nominal, the " proclamation " proved use- less. Time, however, has done what James II. could not, and they are now worth about that IRISH COINS 87 sum. Half-crowns, shillings, and sixpences were also struck in the same manner. This money was called in by William III., when it was found that metal worth ^642 had been made into coin of the nominal value of ^22,500. The harp first appeared on Irish money in the reign of Henry VIII. These were the coins which raised such a storm of passion, and were so fiercely attacked by Dean Swift. They were, however, of good metal ; and though the weight was not quite FIGS. 123-124. Wood's Irish Halfpenny ; copper; 1722; weight, 121 grs. what it should have been they were far superior in weight and fineness to the Irish coinage under previous Sovereigns. The last Irish coinage were the pennies and halfpennies of George IV. Figs. 123-124 represent one of Wood's Irish half- pennies, struck in 1722. On the reverse is Hibernia seated and holding her harp. PART II CHAPTER I WEIGHTS OF COINS THOUGH coins have been struck of very different weights and values, from the obol to the dodeca- drachm, from the farthing to the five-pound piece, still those of each metal in general use have only differed in weight within somewhat narrow limits. As regards gold coins, our sovereign weighs 12 3-fWo grains, of which 113.001 grains are pure gold. The daric weighed 128 grains; the stater of Philip of Macedon 130; the ancient British coin (Fig. 67) weighs 118. The German 20 mark piece weighs 122.8 grains; the Turkish pound, 111.36; the napoleon, 99.6. Mr W. Ridgway * considers that the weight of the early gold coins was originally selected as representing the value of an average ox. This suggestion is certainly ingenious. The size, more- * Origin of Currency and Weight Standards. 1892. 81* ' 90 WEIGHTS OF COINS over, would be convenient. Larger coins would be cumbersome, and seldom required for the ordinary transactions of life. Small gold coins, on the other hand, suffer unduly from wear and tear, and are inconvenient, as being so easily lost. In the case of silver, crowns are cumber- some and heavy, while anything below a three- penny bit is inconveniently small. To preserve a certain size, and yet have a silver coin of very small value, many ancient coins were made very thin. Within the limits thus determined, however, we find innumerable differences in the weights of coins, and a general tendency downwards. There are three ways in which the short-sighted avarice of rulers and of legislatures has deterior- ated this currency. Firstly, by gradually reduc- ing the weight ; secondly, by debasing the standard ; and thirdly, by the issue of incon- vertible notes. The history of coinage is indeed, in many cases, a melancholy record of fraud, folly, and ignorance. Take, for instance, the Roman coinage. The bron/e "as" was originally a pound, but rapidly fell in weight. By B.C. 268 it had fallen to between 3 and 2 ounces ; fifty years later, after the war with Hannibal, it was' reduced to I ounce, though it is only fair to remember that WEIGHTS OF COINS 91 this was passed as a measure of desperate neces- sity, when Hannibal was at the gates of Rome, and when the disasters of Lake Thrasimene and the Trebia had brought the republic to the very verge of ruin. By the time of Augustus the "as" was reduced to about the size of a farthing. The Roman ' solidus ' gradually fell to the French " sou," and the pound Scot to one-twelfth of the original weight. The Saxon shilling was not a coin, but merely a money of account, taken sometimes, as for 'in- stance in Wessex, at 5, and sometimes, as in Mercia, at 4 pence. William the Conqueror fixed the Norman shilling at 12 pence. The pound weight of silver was originally coined into 240 pence of 24 grains each ; William the Conqueror increased the number to 256 pennies, Henry VII. to 480, or 40 shillings, Elizabeth to 62 shillings, and George III. to 66 shillings, or 792 pence. The statute of weights and measures of 1265 enacted that the penny sterling should weigh 32 grains of wheat, round, dry, and taken from the midst of the ear ; 20 pence, I ounce troy, and 12 ounces, I pound. The first coined shilling that of Henry VII. weighed 141.3 grains; those of Henry VIII., 120.4; under Charles I, the weight was reduced 92 WEIGHTS OF COINS to 93 grains; and finally, in 1816, to 87.272, at which it still remains. The sovereign, as originally coined (the " unite " of 20 shillings), weighed 240 grains. In the time of Charles I. it had fallen to 139, and under George III. to i23 ] - y, T grains, at which it has since remained. THE STANDARD. As already mentioned, gold, silver, and copper are on the whole the metals most suitable for coins, and in the earliest specimens were almost pure, that is to say, out of 1000 parts 997 were pure gold. The Macedonian staters of Philip and Alexander were .997 fine. The gold of the Roman Republic was pure the aurei of Augustus .998, and the Persian darics .958. The addition, however, of a small quantity of alloy renders them harder, and therefore less liable to wear and tear. The addition of a small quantity of alloy openly, and for such a purpose, is of course unobjectionable. The temptation, however, to make a profit by tampering with the standard, has too often proved irresistible. The imperial coinage of Rome, for instance, did not long retain the high standard of Augustus, but became more and more debased, and after the time of Severus Alexander, was practically copper with a mere colouring of gold. THE STANDARD 93 In our own case the gold coins of Henry III. were of fine gold. Edward III. introduced the standard of 23 carats, 3^ grains gold to grain alloy, and this was retained till the reign of Henry VIII., who debased the coins to 20 carats. Edward VI. restored the standard to 22 carats gold and 2 alloy, at which it has since remained. As regards silver, the staters of ^Egina were .960 fine ; the Athenian coinage, .985. The just reputation of the Athenian coinage for purity of metal and accuracy of weight, gave it a wide circulation, and rendered it inadvisable to alter the form for fear of affecting the value. On the other hand, the money of Phoc?ea and of Lesbos was notorious for its bad quality ; and indeed the steady depreciation of the currency throughout most of the Greek world was deplor- able. The Roman Republican silver was of good quality, but under the Empire it became terribly debased. In our own coinage it is remarkable that the Anglo-Saxon silver pennies seem to have been, with some exceptions, intended to be of the same standard as our present coins, namely, 1 1 ounces and 2 pennyweights fine, and 18 penny- weights of alloy. The earliest record of this standard of fineness is indeed in the time of 94 WEIGHTS OF COINS Edward I., but is even then spoken of as being of great antiquity. It remained intact till the reign of Henry VIII., who debased the coins until they were reduced to ^ silver and f alloy. The coins having the King's full face soon began to show the inferior metal at the end of the- nose, that being the most prominent part, whence the king received the nickname of " Old Copper Nose." The standard was again raised some- what by Edward VI., and restored by Elizabeth to the ancient rate of 1 1 ounces 2 pennyweights silver and 1 8 pennyweights alloy, or 37 parts of silver to 3 of copper, at which it has ever since -remained. As in other matters, it is easy to debase but much more difficult to restore. All the more credit, therefore, to those among our Sovereigns, such as Edward VI. and Elizabeth, who did so. It is, moreover, only right to mention that Elizabeth appears to have been much assisted by the wise counsels of the illustrious Gresham. In some cases, not only has the standard been debased, but the authorities themselves have actually issued false coins. Herodotus mentions, though with some doubt, that Poly- erates, tyrant of Samos, having to pay a large sum to the Lacedaemonians, " coined a large quantity of the country money in lead, had FALSE COINAGE 95 it gilt, and gave it to them ; and that they, having received it, thereupon took their depar- ture." Greek plated coins are indeed not un- common, and, among the .Romans, the issue of a certain number of plated coins from 'time to time seems to have been regarded as a legitimate source of national revenue ! * From this point of view it is interesting that many Greek coins, which are anterior to the time of the Persian wars, have a deep slit across the face. These cuts are supposed to have" been made .by the Persians to test the quality of the metal. In the above cases the value of the coins has been lowered either by dishonest legislation, or by the legal, perhaps, but unjust and unwise action of rulers. Even, however, when the issuing authorities were honestly desirous of maintaining the weight and purity of the coins, it has been found far from easy to do so. In our own history, though our Sovereigns, with a few disgraceful exceptions, maintained the standard, the weight of the coins was from time to time reduced," and even when this was not nominally done, the remedy, as it is technically called (or fraction by which a coin is allowed to fall below the standard weight without being dis- * Hill, Handbook of Greek and Roman Coins, p. 72. 96 WEIGHTS OF COINS carded), was sometimes increased ; and though the amount on each coin was necessarily small, still substantial sums were thus in certain cases surreptitiously obtained. Moreover, in early times, notwithstanding the periodical examinations of the Pyx, by which the weight and purity of the coins were, and are, tested from time to time the Pyx being the box in which the coins to be examined were placed some of the moneyers enriched themselves by the issue of debased or light coins. In the time of Henry I., for instance, the coinage was so bad that, in 1125, Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, summoned all the moneyers of England to Winchester, at Christmas, when, out of 97, no less than 94 were found guilty, deprived of their right hand, and banished ; three only being acquitted. Again, in the time of Edward VI., the officers of the mint, with William Sharington at their head, were convicted of de- basing the coinage. Forgery was also a frequent crime. In Anglo-Saxon times it was punished by the loss of a hand, to which Henry I. added that of the eyes. Even when false coinage was prevented, and when the money issued from the mints was CLIPPING 97 and true, the coins current were often very unsatisfactory. Besides the loss of weight due to the necessary wear and tear, it was found 'almost impossible to prevent them from being " clipped " and " sweated." Against that crime strong laws were from time to time enacted ; 'it was treated as treason, and punished with great severity. Yet many persons in good position, and even some high ecclesiastics, were proved to be guilty. The crime was facilitated by the fact that the coins of the realm were legal tender, and that to refuse them was regarded as a great offence. Clipping was at last greatly reduced by the introduction, in 1663, of milling or lettering the edges of the coins. Another source of trouble was the practical impossibility of maintaining the relative value of the different coins, and especially those of gold and silver respectively. The value of the two metals, of course, fluctuated considerably ; depend- ing on the supply coming from the mines, and the demands not only for coinage, but in' the arts. But as the law endeavoured to keep the "coins at their relative intrinsic value, and as they were all legal tender at rates 'fixed by law, it followed that, as soon as any change occurred in the relative value of the metals, the coins which G 98 WEIGHTS OF COINS were over-rated were melted down or exported. The attempts to keep both the silver and copper coins intrinsically equivalent to their legal value led to much inconvenience. For instance, in 1800, during an issue of copper halfpence, owing to an unexpected rise in the value of copper, it was .found necessary to lower the weight of the coin, and to issue 36 halfpence to the pound of copper instead of 32. Again, in 1805, from the same cause, the greater part of the copper coinage disappeared, because, when melted down, the metal was worth nearly one-third more than the legal value. These considerations show clearly the advantage of our present system, under which the pound sterling is the standard, while the silver and copper coins are tokens representing certain fractions of the pound. There are indeed few other countries which can be said to have a satisfactory coinage. It is not indeed sufficient for the maintenance of a satisfactory currency, that the coins should be issued of the proper standard and full weight. Even apart from any change in the value of the metal, from any illegal clipping or sweating, the fair honest wear gradually reduced them below the proper weight. At present, many of the French gold pieces are below their legal weight. As regards our own money, the standard is THE PRICE OF GOLD 99 the pound sterling, and the pound sterling is a sovereign of the proper legal weight. But if a sovereign has fallen below this, it ceases to be legal tender,, and may be refused. The worn sovereigns, however, are called in from time to time, arid new ones are being almost continu- ously issued. Standard gold is coined at the rate of 3, i /s. loid. an ounce, so that an ounce of pure gold gives 4, 45. ii|d. The sovereign contains 123.27447 grains of standard gold. The shilling contains 87.27272 grains of standard silver. The penny contains 145.833 grains of bronze, which itself is 95 parts of copper, 4 of tin, and I of zinc. THE PRICE OF GOLD. It is sometimes asked why the price of gold should be fixed and not that of any other com- modity. This, however, shows a misapprehension of what is really done, and what the law really is. What the law fixes is the weight of the sove- reign. An ounce of standard gold is coined into 3, 173. iod. Any one can take bar gold to the mint, and is entitled to have it coined free of charge. He receives back in due course the same weight of gold. The process, however, takes some time, during which, of course, there is a loss of 100 WEIGHTS OF COINS interest. It is, therefore, a convenience to the importer to obtain coin at once, and the Bank of England is bound, by the Act of 1844, to give coin for bar gold at the rate of 3, i/s. gd. So far, then, as the price can be said to be fixed at all, it is the price of bar gold which is fixed in coined gold. Our silver and copper coins, as already mentioned, do not depend for their value on. their .material. They are tokens representing a certain fraction of sovereign, and, indeed, may almost be said to be Government notes printed on metal. I say almost, because the position is not quite logical. The Government, whatever their moral responsibility may be, do not legally bind themselves to give a sovereign for 20 shillings or for 240 pence. They maintain the value of the small coins by limiting the quantity, and call them in from time to time, giving the full nominal value. In this way we secure an admirable and elastic system, and our standard coin, the sovereign, is known and respected all over the world ; it may be fairly said to be the premier coin and standard of the world, while at the same time we have a supply of small change which is abundant and not redundant. No one can realise the convenience of our monetary system who has not travelled in foreign countries, and who has not found himself BRITISH CURRENCY 101 sometimes in a difficulty to procure small change, and at others encumbered by a number of small coins or notes which he could only dispose of at a heavy loss. OUR CURRENCY. Our currency, therefore, consists Firstly, of gold, which is legal tender for any amount ; secondly, of silver coins, which are tokens repre- senting fractions of the pound sterling, and are only legal tender up to 40 shillings ; thirdly, of bronze coins, also tokens, and only legal tender up to one shilling ; and lastly, of bank notes, which are issued by the Bank of England, some English country banks, and Scotch and Irish banks. Bank of England notes are legal tender to any extent, except by the bank itself, which is bound to pay them in gold on demand. CHAPTER II HANK-NOTES AND BANKING THE use of paper as an instrument of credit and a form of currency is involved in much obscurity. A passage in /Eschines* seems to indicate that the Carthaginians possessed a form of currency making some approximation to a bank-note. The Carthaginians, he says, " make use of the following kind : in a small piece of leather a substance is wrapped of the size of a piece of four drachmae ; but what this substance is no one knows except the maker. After this it is sealed and issued for circulation ; and he who possesses the most of this is regarded as having the most money, and as being the wealthiest man. But if any one among us had ever so much, he would be no richer than if he possessed a quantity of pebbles." " It follows," says Heeren, " from this description, that this money (which, therefore, by others is improperly called leather-money) was not, like * /Eschines, Dialogi c. Fisheri, p. 78, ed. 3. PAPER MONEY IN CHINA 103 the small coins, composed of copper or bronze, which would pass only for their intrinsic worth ; but rather a representative of specie, upon which a fictitious value was bestowed in circulation, and which, therefore, out of Carthage was of no value. Another fact may be gathered from this descrip- tion, namely, that it was only under the authority of the state that this money was stamped and issued." * By some writers the use of the bank-note is regarded as one of the inventions which we appear to owe to the genius of the Chinese. Some writers regard paper currency as having originated about B.C. 119, in the reign of Emperor Outi. At this time the court was in want of money, and to raise it, Klaproth tells us that the Prime Minister hit upon the following device. When any princes or courtiers entered the imperial presence, it was customary to cover the face with a piece of skin. It was first decreed, then, that for this purpose the skin of certain white deer kept in one of the royal parks should alone be permitted, and then these pieces of skin were sold for a high price. But although they appear to have passed from one noble to another, they do not seem ever to have entered into general circulation. * Heeren's Historical Researches, vol. i^, p. 146. 104 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING One of the earliest mentions in European litera- ture of paper, or rather cotton, money, appears to be byRubruquis, a monk, who was sent by St Louis, in the year 1262, to the court . of the Mongol Prince, Mangu-Khan, but he merely mentions the fact of its existence. Marco Polo, who resided from 1275 to 1284 at the court of Kublai-Khan I do not know whether in " the stately pleasure dome Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man, Down to a sunless sea," gives us a longer and interesting account of the note system, which he greatly admired, and he concludes by saying, " Now you have heard the ways and means whereby the great Khan may have, and, in fact, has, more treasure than all the kings in the world. You know all about it, and the reason why." But this apparent facility of creating money led, in the East, as it has else- where, to great abuses. Sir J. Mandeville, who was in Tartary shortly afterwards, in 1322, tells us that this "Emperour (the great Khan) may dis- penden als moche as he wile withouten estyma- cioun. For he despendeth not, ne maketh no money, but of lether emprented, or of papyre. . . . For there and beyonde hem thei make no money nouther of gold nor of sylver. And therefore he PAPER MONEY IN EUROPE 105 may despende ynow and outrageously. . . ." . The great Khan seems to have been himself of the same opinion. He appears to have "despent outrageously," and the value of his paper money fell to a very small fraction of its nominal amount, causing great discontent and misery. The value of the notes fell, until it took 11,000 min, or ,3000 in nominal amount, to buy a cake of rice ! This created so' much .dissatisfac- tion that the use of notes was abandoned, and indeed so completely forgotten, . that the Jesuit father, Gabriel de Magailano, who resided at Pekin about 1668, observes that there is no recol- lection of paper money having ever existed in the manner described by Marco Polo. Two centuries later indeed we find it again in use. It must be observed, how r ever, that these Chinese bank-notes differed from ours in one essential, namely, they were not payable at sight. Western notes, even when not payable at all, have generally purported to be exchangeable at the will of the holder, but this principle the Chinese did not adopt, and their notes were only payable at certain specified periods. They were therefore not' bank-notes in our sense of the term, but rather long-dated bills. The bank-note is regarded by others as a Swedish invention. The first bank in Sweden was founded in 1656 by a Swede named Palmstruck, and is 106 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING said to have issued bank-notes in 1658. An enquete made by the French Government in 1729 recognises the priority of Sweden in this matter, and declares the bank-note to be an admirable Swedish invention, designed to facilitate commerce." * It does not, however, seem clear how far these either were true bank-notes in the present sense of the term. The issue of real bank-notes may, I think, be said to date from the foundation of the Bank of England. The charter was signed on the 27th July 1694. On the same afternoon the Direc- tors met, and immediately proceeded to discuss "the method of giving receipts for running cash," and the minutes of the meeting, for w r hich I am indebted to the Governor and Directors of the bank, and which are now for the first time published, will, I am sure, be read with interest. " The method of giving receipts for running cash was debated, whether one certain method or more than one should be observed, and what method in particular ; and there were pro- posed : " i. By keeping accompts in books with the creditors. " 2. By endorsing notes given. * R. H. Inglis Palgrave, " Notes on Banking," Jour. Statist. Soc., vol. xxxvi., 1873. ENGLISH BANK NOTES 107 " 3. By charging notes on the bank. " And upon putting the question after a long debate, it was resolved that these three methods shall be observed, and none other : " i. To give out running cash notes, and to endorse on them what is paid off in part. " 2. To keep an accompt with the creditor in a book or paper of his owne. " 3. To accept notes drawn on the bank. " And it is ordered that no creditor shall use any two of the said methods, but if having used one of them, he shall think fitt to change it for another ; giving notice thereof to the Court, he is at liberty to use any one of the said methods." It will be observed that these notes or receipts were given for odd amounts, and were paid off by degrees to suit the convenience of the holder. The first reference to a note of which the amount was printed, as well as the body of the note, occurs in May 1695, as shown in the Minutes of Court, dated the 1st and 2nd May. The denominations which seem to have been first in regular circulation were 10, 15, ^25, ,30, and 50. These appear to have been the first notes printed from copper plates, and were issued in 1725. The first 5 note was dated April 1793, and 108 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING the first 1000 in October 1802 less than one hundred years ago. The earliest "Note" in the bank's possession is, as far as is decipherable, in the following terms : London, ye \othjune 1697. Received of dipt. '. . . lias. . . . P. ... a '.'... forty seavon pounds nine shillings Current mony for which I promise to be accountable For the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. The next specimen reads thus : 1699 No. 163. 1 promise to pay to Mr John Wright . . . or Bearer on demand the Summe of Two hundred pounds. London, the 2 yd day of Jaw- 1699. ^200. For the Governor and Comp in y of the Bank of England. JOSKPH. The framework of these notes is printed ; the date, name, and amount are in manuscript. EARLY BANK NOTES 109 The earliest account book the bank possesses is a " Clearer " (i.e., an abstract of outstanding notes, made apparently subsequent to 1764, at which time the original books were probably destroyed). The " Clearer " dates from the 26th March 1697. The amounts vary from 6d. to ^500, and in many cases bear the memo- randum " pt. . .. ." They are records of notes wholly or partly unpaid. Most have names attached to them ; a few have not. The second entry in the books, for instance, reads : 1699-1700, ind Jan. Sam 1 - Pitts 10. Up to the year 1764 there is no record (acces- sible at the moment) of any classification. The first note in existence (so far as is known) in which the amount is (partly) printed, is one of the 28th July 1736; the word '"Twenty" is printed, and the words "five pounds," which follow, are written. This note actually remained unpaid until 1847, when it was presented and paid. There is also a note extant, dated 2Oth January 1748, in which the amount' " Fifty " is printed, though the succeeding word "pounds" is written. Bank-notes are, no doubt, a very useful in- 110 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING vention, but like many other good things, they are liable to be misused. The over-issue of the above-mentioned Chinese paper money (if so it can be called), and its consequent depreciation, which probably led to the abandonment of the system, is a case in point, and the depreciation of the French assignats is another instance. We constantly see, as regards various foreign countries and the South American Republics, with certain exceptions, such as Chili and Uruguay, are flagrant examples that gold is at such and such a premium. In truth, however, it is the paper money which is depreciated. Even in our own history we find such a case. In 1797 the Bank of England was authorised to suspend the payment of their notes. For some time, owing to the just confidence felt in that great Institution, the notes retained their value in relation to coin. The amount in circulation, however, was raised, and a gradually increasing difference became apparent. At length, in 1811, Lord King gave notice to his tenants that he would "no longer consent to receive any bank- notes at their nominal value," but would insist on his rents being paid in gold. This brought matters to a head, and a law was hurriedly passed, making Bank of England notes legal SUSPENSION OF CASH PAYMENTS 111 tender. They therefore became the standard, and gold coins went to a continually increasing premium. This occasioned much inconvenience, and a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to consider the subject. They reported that the difference in value between gold and notes was due to the increased issue of the latter, and this was certainly the correct explanation ; yet how much the true principles of currency have been misunderstood we may see from the criticism of this report, even by so high an authority as Ruding. He maintains * that it was mainly due to " the legal regulations of the mint, which confines the bullion, after it has been coined into money, to a certain value, but which have no power over marketable bullion. . . . As the gold coin is thus fixed at three pounds seventeen shillings and tenpence halfpenny the ounce, it is rather a matter of wonder that the Committee should be surprised at the ounce in coin not being equal to an ounce in bullion, when that happens to be worth four pounds and upwards. . . . The truth is that the pound sterling is our actual measure in this kingdom, and that the coin is only an instrument by which that measure is applied." But this raises Sir Robert Peel's celebrated * Annals of (he Coinage of Great Britain. 112 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING question, "What is a Pound?" The answer, happily, is clear. The pound sterling is a gold coin ' of a specified weight and fineness. The House of Commons Committee were undoubtedly right that the difference between the coin and the notes was due to the fact that the number of the latter in circulation was greater than the circumstances of the country required. If they had been payable in gold they would have been presented for redemption, but as the Bank of England was relieved from the necessity of paying, its notes, and as the notes were re- dundant, they necessarily fell in value. In such cases, as already mentioned, it is not the gold which has risen, but the notes which have fallen. At the close of the war steps were taken to diminish the notes in circulation, and cash pay- ments were resumed in 1821. So great, indeed, is the temptation to meet pecuniary difficulties by the issue of paper money, that the wisest countries have hesitated to entrust their Governments with so dangerous a preroga- tive, and have left the management of the paper issues in the hands of banks, such as the Bank of England, the Bank of France, or the Bank of Italy; to which the issue has been entrusted, and which are bound to pay these notes in coin on demand. DEPRECIATION OF THE BANK-NOTE 113 It has generally, however, been found wise that even these great and well-managed institutions should be more or less under the control of law. It was for a long time, and even indeed within the last hundred years, supposed that the rate of interest depended on the scarcity or abundance of money, an extraordinary fallacy when it is remembered that the interest itself was payable in money. Acting on this theory, if, from bad harvests or any other cause, the precious metals were exported and the rate of interest rose, more paper money was issued. The result was that more coin was exported, and still more paper money was issued, until at last the reserve of gold was so dangerously reduced, that a state of panic was produced. It was not till nearly the middle of the last century that the true remedy for the export of coin was realised, namely, to raise the rate of interest in good time, and thus prevent capital from leaving the country, or, if necessary, attract it from abroad. The temptation, however, to meet adverse exchanges by the issue of paper, and the reluct- ance to keep down the rate of interest, were great, and accordingly, Sir Robert Peel, under the wise advice of Mr George Warde Norman H 114 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING and Lord Overstone, introduced the Bank Act of 1844, the object of which was to keep the currency in a healthy condition, and to prevent any over-issue of notes, by regulations which would secure that the amount of notes and gold in circulation should fluctuate as the quantity of gold would, if there were no bank-notes. It was considered that the circulation of notes would never, under any circumstances, fall below 14,000,000; and accordingly the Bank of Eng- land was authorised to issue 14,000,000 notes against securities, while against any extra amount gold was to be held. The circulation of notes of country banks was also fixed, and it was pro- vided that if any of these banks ceased to issue notes, a certain proportion of the circulation so lapsing might be added to the 14,000,000 issued by the Bank of England against securities. The addition thus made now amounts to ^3>775,ooo, so that the total issued against securities is 17,775,000, and everything above this must be represented by coin or bullion. The Bank of England was divided into two departments : an issue department and a banking department the first entrusted with the manage- ment of the bank-notes ; the second doing ordi- nary banking business. These provisions, though much criticised, have THE BANK ACT 115 stood the test of time and are now generally approved. They have, created "a reserve of gold which has only twice been touched, to a small extent, and for a few weeks. That the reserve has on two occasions been so utilised, has indeed been brought forward as an argument against the Act. But it would be as logical to say that the provision of a reservoir of water had failed, because on two occasions some of the water had been used. Some time, indeed, elapsed before the working of the Bank Act was properly understood. The increase of the rate of interest will always turn the exchanges and bring capital into the country ; but this takes time ; and the directors of the Bank of England, reluctant to increase the charge on the mercantile community, on more than one occasion delayed raising the rate too long, and then put it up too rapidly. This created alarm, gave rise to hoarding, and thus aggravated the evil. The Act is now, however, better understood ; the rate is raised in good time ; for many years a rate of 5 per cent, (or 6 per cent, on one or two cases for a short time) has proved sufficient ; and though we cannot hope altogether to avoid times of pressure in the future, they will probably not be due to any alarm as to the currency. 116 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING I subjoin one of the periodical Bank returns, the last one of last year. BANK RETURN. BANK OF ENGLAND. Weekly Account. [In round thousands.] An Account pursuant to the Act 7th and 8th Victoria, cap. 32, for the week ending on Tuesday, 24th December 1901. ISSUE DEPARTMENT. Notes Issued 17,824,000 j Government Debt 11,015,000 Other Securities 6,760,000 Gold Coin and Bullion 30,049,000 17,824,000 47,824,000 BANKING DEPARTMENT. Proprietor's Government Capital 14,553,000 ' Securities .17,476,000 Rest 3,178,000 Other Securities. 29,055,000 Public Deposits.. 10,742,000 j Notes 17,669,000 Other Deposits... 37,600,000 Gold and Silver Seven -day and Coin 2,016,000 other Bills 143,000 .66,216,000 ,66,216,000 From this it will be seen that the total amount of notes issued was, on the 24th Decem- ber 1901, 17,824,000, of which 30,049,000 was THE BANK RETURN 117 against gold, and 17,775,000 against' securities. In the improbable event of there being any de- ficiency, it would be made good out of the capital of the bank. As regards the banking department of the bank, the capital of the bank is 14,553,000; the reserve fund, or undivided profits, 3,178,000; the amount due to Government departments was 10,742,000 ; due to private depositors, 37,600,000; due on bills, 143,000: making together, 66,216,000. Against this the bank held Government securi- ties, 17476,000; other securities, 29,055,000; ba'nk - notes (part of the above amount), 17,669,000 ; and gold and silver coins, 2,016,000. In 1775 bankers were prohibited by Act of Parliament from issuing notes of less" than 2os,, arid in 1777, of less amount than 5. This led to much inconvenience, to obviate which the London bankers invented cheque-books, which were first issued in 1781, and thus founded banking in its present form. ON COMMERCE AND BANKING IN ANCIENT TIMES. The works of Heeren, MacPherson, and others, contain admirable summaries of the exchange of 118 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING .commodities in ancient times, and the transfer of various products from one country to another ; but as to the manner in which the accounts were kept, and the balances adjusted, whether and to what extent credit was given, whether bills of exchange in any form ' existed in fact, in what manner the mechanism of business was carried on, we have unfortunately very little in- formation. The excavations in Assyria and Babylonia have, however, thrown some light on the subject, and afforded us some interesting information as to the commercial arrangements of these countries, and we now possess a considerable number of receipts, contracts, and other records relating to loans of silver' on personal securities at fixed rates of interest ; loans on landed or house property ; sales of land, in one case with a plan'; sales of slaves, marriage settlements, etc. These were engraved on tablets of clay, which were then baked. Some of those in the British Museum are considered to go back to B.C. 3000. The earliest banking firm of which we have any account is said to be that of Egibi & Company, for our knowledge of whom we are indebted to Mr Boscawen, Mr Pinches, and Mr Hilton Price. Several documents and records BANKING IN ANCIENT TIMES 119 belonging to this family are in the British Museum. They are on clay tablets, and were discovered in an earthenware jar, found in the neighbourhood of Hillah. a few. mOes . from Babylon. The house is said to have acted as a sort of national bank of Babylon ; the founder of the house, Egibi, probably lived in the reign of Sennacherib, about B.C. 700. This family has been traced during a century and a half, and through five generations, down to the reign of Darius. At the same time, the tablets hitherto translated scarcely seem to me to prove that the firm acted as bankers, in our sense of the word. I give below the contents of three such tablets in my own collection, kindly translated for me by Mr Pinches. The first runs as follows : " Loan of 2/3 of a mana of coined (?) silver, by Nabu-sum- iukum to Ban'isat, daughter of Nabu-usatu, at an interest of one shekel monthly upon the mana. " 4th day of Sivan, 8th year of Darius." The " mana " contained 60 shekels, so that the rate of interest was very high. There were two Babylonian silver shekels. The heavy shekel weighed 21.80 to 21.90 grammes; the light one 10.90 to 10.95 grammes. 120 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING The second tablet runs : " Loan of five mana of silver by Nabu-zer-iddin, ' chief of the dagger-bearers' (rab-nas-patrutu) to Belnasir. The money to be repaid in instalments of a shekel and a half, beginning in Nisan. " i 5th day of Tebet, 34th year of Nebuchadnezzar." The third relates not to money, but to corn, and it will be observed that, in this case, the full amount, and the full amount only, is to be returned : " Loan of corn by Labasi to Baba, daughter of Nabuikisa. ' She shall pay it back, in its full amount, this month.' 6th day of Tisri, I3th year of Nabonidus." It must be admitted that these three documents, from the Government Record Office in Babylon some of the earliest actual business documents which have come down to us, are admirably plain, simple, and business - like. One consideration, however, which I think would strike any modern man of business, is a feeling of wonder that it should be worth while to record such small trans- actions on solid tablets, and still more that it should be found desirable to deposit them in a Government office. In London we should regard such a system as one of exaggerated caution. In fact, most transactions are effected by word of mouth, recorded at first on mere slips of paper, if GREEK BANKERS 121 at all, and only reduced subsequently to a formal document. Such a system is, of course, only consistent with good faith as between man and man. It is a well-known saying that if a man cheats you he is to blame ; but if he cheats you twice, you are yourself to blame. In Greece the original business of bankers seems to have consisted in changing money for foreigners, but they soon commenced banking and allowing interest on deposits. We are incidentally informed that the father of Demosthenes kept part of his fortune with one of these " trapezitae," or bankers. Some of them enjoyed considerable credit. Pasion, for instance, we are told, was well known and trusted all over Greece. The ordinary rates of interest were very high, and will not at all bear comparison with those of the present day, as they ranged from 10 to 37 per cent. ; but the risks also must have been extreme, and notwithstanding this large rate of interest their profits seem to have been small. Even Pasion's business is said to have been worth but 400 a year, which appears scarcely credible. The Greek bankers seem to have been as much notaries as bankers, and a large part of their business consisted in witnessing contracts between others. They were acquainted with letters of credit, and had even invented a form of endorse- ment. Thus Iceratus, we read, drew in Athens a. 122 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING bill on his father in Pontus, which was guaranteed by Pasion, and then bought by Stratocles. Bottomry bonds also were in use. It is often said that the great banks of Greece were the temples, but I con- fess I have my doubts about this. No doubt they served in some cases as national treasuries, and there are some references in history to deposits being made in the temples, but there is a second and not less important function of banks, viz. : repayment of deposits, as to which the evidence is very deficient. The Greeks appear to have introduced bank- ing into Italy at least if we may judge from the fact that in early Latin writers most of the words re- lating to banking and finance are of Greek origin, and were gradually replaced by others of Latin origin. The bankers in Rome soon became of great importance, and the old Roman comedies contain many allusions to them, not always, indeed, of a complimentary description, although their pro- fessional honour stood very high. It has been mentioned, as an indication of the unpopularity of Gaulish bankers, that when the revolt of Ver- cingetorix took place, the houses of the bankers were first attacked. But surely another explana- tion may be given. We are told that all money transactions among the Romans were carried on through the interven- ROMAN BANKERS 123 tion of bankers, and that they kept the account books of their customers. But, however this may be, the system of banking does not appear to have been very thoroughly developed. When Cicero sent his son Marcus to complete his education at Athens, he wrote to Atticus to inquire if it would be possible to procure a letter of credit on Athens, or whether it would be necessary for Marcus to carry money with him. The later Roman law contains numerous provisions relating to banks. One is rather curious. It seems that if a banker failed, those who had simply deposited money with him for safety ranked before those who placed sums with him at interest. But although they, have been the subject of various learned dissertations, it is by no means clear how the Roman bankers kept their accounts. It has been stated that the house and archives of a Pompeian banker Lucius Ccecilius Jucundus have been discovered in that city. I have not, however, seen any account of the result. We are generally told in histories of banking, as, for instance, in that of Gilbart, that the first national bank was that of Venice, founded in the year 1157, but this institution does not seem to have been at first, in any sense, a true bank. The state being deeply involved in debt, its creditors were formed into a corporation, and 124 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING the debts made transferable like our consols. It has indeed been stated that in 1587 the in- stitution began to take money on deposit. The fact, however, appears to be that it undertook the custody of bullion, pledging itself to keep it intact in the vaults, and to return it to the depositor at any time, or to transfer the amount to any one else. It was in fact a treasury or storehouse rather than a bank. The earliest real bank appears to have been that of Barcelona, founded in 1401. In this case, the city funds were made responsible for any moneys entrusted to the bank, which not only received deposits, but ex- changed money and discounted bills. The Bank of Amsterdam was founded in 1609. The so- called Bank of St George, at Genoa, dates back to 1407, but does not appear to have done genuine banking business until 1675. The Bank of Stockholm commenced in 1668. Up to 1770 there were very few banks out of London, but during the American War a large number were founded. My own firm com- menced business in 1772. EXCHEQUER TALLIES. Although banking, in some form or other, can, as we have seen, be carried back to an early EXCHEQUER TALLIES 125 period in history, and even in our own country has long existed, still in our national accounts a very archaic system was pursued until quite recently. It is indeed scarcely credible that the old wooden " tallies " were only abolished by Mr Burke's Act, which was passed in 1782, but did not come into full effect till 1826, on the death of the last of the chamberlains. The tally was a willow stick, not exceeding 5 feet in length, about one inch in depth and thickness, with the four sides roughly squared. On one of the four sides the amount was expressed in notches. The stick was then split down the middle : one half, constituting the tally, was given to the person making the pay- ment into the Exchequer, the other half, the counter tally, or counterfeit, was kept in the Exchequer. There was no single notch for a larger sum than ;iooo ; a notch of the gauged width of i inch denoted ^"1000 ; I inch 100; f inch 10; and half a notch of this last size 1 ; of T : V inch is., and the smallest notch id. ; ^d. was denoted by a small pounded hole. In the Return on Public Income and Expendi- ture, 29th July 1869, the following account is given of the mode in which these tallies were actually issued. 126 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING The slip of parchment, or teller's bill, as it was called, was thrown down a pipe into the tally court, a large room under the teller's offices, notice being given to the tally officer by a clerk calling out " down " through the pipe. The teller's bill fell upon the large table in the tally court, which was covered with a chequered cloth. In the tally court sat officers of the clerk of the pells, and of the auditor as perform- ing the duties of the chamberlain of the Ex- chequer. The teller's bill was first recorded by the officer of the clerk of the pells, in his book of introitus or receipt, and then passed over to the auditor's clerk, who entered it into a book called the bill of the day. A copy of each teller's bill was written by the auditor's clerk upon an indented form of receipt (up to 1826 upon the wooden tally, the amount .being ex- pressed in notches only), and given upon his ap- plication, generally on the following day, to the receiver or other person paying in the money. At the close of the day, when all the teller's bill had been sent down and entered, the bill of the day was sent on to the clerk of the cash- book, in which book all the receipts of the day were entered. The auditor's cash - book was the foundation of all the accounts of the receipt of revenue, EXCHEQUER TALLIES weekly, quarterly, and yearly certificates of which were trans- mitted from the Exchequer to the Treasury, from which the annual accounts of revenue were prepared and laid down before Parliament. The following figure (Fig. 125) represents a section of the end of an Exchequer tally two-thirds natural size, " acknowledging the receipt of 236, 43. 3|d. on 25th October 1739, from Edward Iron- side, Esq., as a loan to the king on 3 per cent, annuities, pay- able out of the sinking fund, on account of ,500,000 granted per Act ii George II., c. 27. " This date is written upon the upper side of the tally, where the two notches, denoting 200, are cut. The lower side, on which the smaller notches are cut, has only the word ' Sol ' written upon it." * * Returns, Public Income and Ex- penditure, Part II., July 1869, p. 339. 128 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING INTEREST. That the rate of interest does not depend on the abundance of gold or silver was strikingly shown by the cases of California and Australia, where, although, in consequence of their gold mines, that metal was peculiarly abundant, the rate of interest has been extremely high. It is now generally admitted that the rate depends partly on the security of repayment, and partly on the average rate of profit deriv- able from the employment of capital. The rates in ancient times seem to have been extraordinarily high according to our ideas. It is stated that Pompey lent money at 50 per cent., Brutus, and Cato himself, at 48 per cent. The rate of interest in Rome, as elsewhere in ancient times, was, in fact, excessive. There was, how- ever, no legal rate till the law of Twelve Tables. It was then fixed nominally at 8| per cent. Subsequently, in the time of Cicero, it was raised to 12 per cent., at which it continued until it was reduced by Justinian, who made what seem to us the curious provisions that the rate should be 4 per cent, for illustrious persons, 6 per cent, for those engaged in commerce, and 8 per cent in other cases. The high rates which prevailed so generally in THE RATE OF INTEREST 129 ancient times were, to a great extent, due to the uncertainty of repayment, both from the unsettled state of politics, and from the unsatisfactory character of the law. Instead of endeavouring to cure the evil by removing the cause, legislators attempted to put down the high rates of interest by rendering them illegal. In this they were not only not successful, but they produced the very opposite effect from that which they in- tended. The result was to raise, not to lower, the actual rate paid, because the borrower had not only to pay interest, but to compensate the lender for the additional risk. Indeed, the idea that there is something wrong about charging interest for the use of money is not the least remarkable, or disastrous, of the various prejudices which have interfered with the happiness and comfort of man. The supposed axiom that " pecunia non parit pecuniam" the mis- application of certain texts of Scripture, and the supposed interests of the poor, all contributed to the same error. In Mohammedan countries, notwithstanding that interest is expressly forbidden in the Koran or rather, perhaps, to a certain extent, in con- sequence of that prohibition the ordinary rate is three or four times as high as in Europe. In England after the Conquest, interest was 130 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING expressly prohibited, both by civil and ecclesi- astical law ; and one curious effect of this was that, as the Jews were allowed, under the Mosaic dispensation, to charge interest to strangers, the business of money-lending fell naturally into their hands. Subsequently, a simi- lar privilege was accorded to the Italian or Lombard merchants, from whom, of course, Lom- bard Street, still the centre of banking, derived its name. In the reign of Henry VIII. a statute was passed legalising interest to the extent of 10 per cent. In the reign of Elizabeth, 15/1 (13 KHz., cap. 8), an Act was passed against usury and "corrupt chevisance and bargaining by way of sale of wares," which were declared to have abounded, " to the importable hurt of the Commonwealth," declaring usury to be forbidden by the law of God, in its nature sin, and detest- able. Quaintly enough, however, this was in the first instance limited to five years, but subse- quently (39 KHz., cap. 1 8) it was continued, on the ground that it was found by experience "to be very necessary and profitable to the Common- wealth of this realm." Under James I. the limit was lowered to 8 per cent. ; in the time of Queen Anne to 5 ; and the usury laws were not altogether abol- USURY LAWS 131 ished till 1839. As regards Scotland, interest was altogether illegal until the Reformation. In 1587 it was legalised up to 10 per cent. This Act was repealed in 1552, but revived in 1571, the effect of rendering interest once more illegal having been to raise it from 10 per cent. to much higher rates. Subsequently, in 1633, the legal rate was reduced to 8 per cent., and in 1 66 1 to 6 per cent. In Ireland interest was forbidden until 1635, when it was legalised up to 10 per cent., reduced in 1704 to 8 per cent., in 1722 to 7 per cent., and in 1732 to 6 per cent. The statute of Anne, above alluded to, applied to the whole kingdom. In 1818, a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed which reported strongly against the usury laws ; but even then so strong was the popular prejudice, that not until 1839 was it rendered legal to charge a higher rate of discount than 5 per cent. In France the legal rate, which had been 5 per cent., was lowered in 1766 to 4 per cent According to the Code Napoleon, 6 per cent. was the highest legal rate on commercial loans, and 5 per cent, on those of real property. In the United States, again, the rate is fixed by law, and varies from 8 to 6 per cent, in the different states. It is unnecessary to say that these restrictions are quite inoperative. It is 132 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING very remarkable that so many civilised countries have failed, and that some still fail to appreciate the simple statement of Locke, that "it is in vain to go about effectually to reduce the price of interest by a law ; and you ma}- as rationally hope to get a fixed rate upon the hire of houses or ships as of money." DERIVATION OF WORDS RELATING TO COINS AND CURRENCY. The derivations of words relating to money and commerce are interesting and instructive. " Pecuni- ary " takes us back to the times when value was reckoned by so many head of cattle. The word " money " is from inoneta, because in Rome coins were first regularly struck in or near the temple of Juno Moneta, which again was probably derived from moncrc, to warn, though this deriva- tion is uncertain, as has been already stated (see ante, p. 12). "Coin" is probably from the Latin word ainens, a die or stamp. The Latin nummus> from which we derive our word " numismatics," was the Greek i/oyu/ a head ; others from the proper name of the monarch, such as the Louis d'or or the Napoleon. The dollar, or thaler, is short for the Joachims- thaler, or money of the Joachims valley in Bohemia, where these coins were first struck in the sixteenth century. Guineas were called after the country from which the gold was obtained, and the " franc " is an abbreviation of the inscription " Francorum Rex." The " sou " is from the Latin solidus. The word " shilling " appears to be derived from a root signifying to divide ; and in several cases the name indicates the fraction of some larger coin, as the denarius, halfpenny, farthing, cent and mil. The pound was originally not a coin, but a weight, and comes from the Latin pondus. Our pound was originally a pound of silver, which was divided into 240 pennies. The origin of the word penny is uncertain. Some have derived it from pendo, to weigh, but this does not seem very satisfactory. Our word "sterling" is said to go back to the time of the Conquest, but the derivation has been much disputed. Some have supposed that it was first attributed to coins struck at Stirling, but for this there is not the slightest evidence ; others, 134 BANK-NOTES AND BANKING that the name was derived from coins having a star on the obverse ; but no coins which could have given rise to such a name are known. The most probable suggestion is that it had reference to the Easterling, or North German merchants. It first occurs in a public record of the time of Henry II.* The purity of gold is usually stated in carats. Our standard gold is described as 22 carats, i.e., 22 parts of gold and 2 of alloy out of 24, this number being selected because the Roman " solidus " weighed 24 carats. The word comes from the East, and originally signified the beans of the locust tree called locusts in the New Testament, where we are told that John the Baptist lived on locusts and wild honey. The tree still retains the name in its botanical appellation of Ceratonia. The beans from time immemorial have been used as a weight among Eastern nations, just as barley and wheat grains have been with us. Before the invention of true coins, the Greeks used little spikes or obelisks of metal, whence the name " obol " ; six of which made a " handful," whence the name " drachma," which has continued to the present day. The " stater " was the " standard." * Ruding, i, 174. CONCLUSION 135 Finally, some coins have been named from the head of the State, as, for instance, the ancient Persian daric, from dara, a king, the crown ; and last, not least, the sovereign, which is not only the standard of these islands, but the great financial standard of commerce of the world long may it so remain ! APPENDIX EXTRACT FROM THE COINAGE ACT (33 VICT., 1870, CHAP. 10) " A TENDER of payment of money, if made in coins which have been issued by the mint in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and have not been called in by any proclamation made in pursuance of this Act, and have not been diminished in weight, by wear or otherwise, so as to be of less weight than the current weight, that is to say, than the weight (if any) specified as the least current weight in the first schedule to this Act, or less than such weight as may be declared by any proclamation made in pursuance of this Act, shall be a legal tender : In the case of gold coins, for a payment of any amount : In the case of silver coins, for a payment of an amount not exceeding forty shillings, but for no greater amount : 137 138 APPENDIX In the case of the bronze coins, for a pay- ment of an amount not exceeding one shilling, but for no greater amount." FIRST SCHEDULE. Standard Least Weight, Current Grains. Wc-ght. Gold Sovereign 123.27447 122.5 Silver Shilling 87.2727 ^ alloy Imperial Grains. {| e /} -36363 Bronze ( Mixed metal, "j Penny 145-83333 ... -.copper, tin,- 2.91666 I and zinc J By a subsequent Act, passed in 1891, the " remedy " for the silver coinage was altered, and that for the shilling now stands at .578. Bank of England notes are a legal tender, except by the bank itself; but the holder is entitled to demand payment in gold at any time. BY THE SAME AUTHOR THE SCENERY OP SWITZERLAND, and the Causes to which it is Due. Third Edition. Crown Svo. (5s. (Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) THE USE OF LIFE. Fifty-fifth Thousand. Globe Svo. Popular Edition, Is. (id. ; sewed, Is. Library Edition, 3s. (3d. (Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE. Forty-fifth Thousand. Crown Svo. (is. Xew Edition, without Illustrations. Globe bvo. Cloth, Is. (3d. ; paper, is. (Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) THE PLEASURES OF LIFE. Parti. One hundred and ninety-seventh Thousand. 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INTERMEDIATE FRENCH ACCIDENCE AND OUT- LINES OF SYNTAX, with Historical Notes. By G. H. CLARKE, M.A., of Hymers College, Hull, and L. R. TAN- yiJEREY, B.es. L. [In the Pi ess. ARITHMETIC MADE EASY. Lectures on Method, with Illustrations, for Teachers and Pupils. By MABEL A. MARSH. [/ the Press. THE SOIL. By A. D. HALL, M.A., Principal of the South- Eastern Agricultural College. Other Volumes to follow LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. MARLE STREET, LONDON, W. August, 1901. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. ANNOUNCEMENTS. MR. MURRAY'S TEXT-BOOKS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION. Edited by LAURIE MAGNUS, M.A., MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD. COMMERCIAL FRENCH. In Two Parts. By W. MANSFIELD POOLE, M.A., Magdalen College, Oxford; Assistant-Master at Merchant Taylors' School, AND MICHEL BECKER, Professor at the Ecole Alsacienne, Paris; Author of " L'Allemand Commercial," and " Lectures Pratiques d'Allemand Moderne." With a Map in each Volume. PART I. Consisting of Simple Sentences and Passages in French, with occasional Business Letters, arranged in a manner suited for Practical Teaching, and containing in an Appendix a clear system of French Grammar, with special reference to the Verb. This Grammar takes account of the first and second Decrees of the French Minister of Public Instruction, as recognised, among other teaching and examining bodies, by the Local Examinations and Lectures Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Crown 8vo. 25. 6d. [Just out. " . . . a most careful piece of work ... an excellent book ... we warmly recommend to all who have to teach Commercial French." Educational Tintts. " . . . is in every respect excellent, and we commend it to the best attention of all students of Commercial French." Birmingham Gazette. PART II. Comprising an Advanced Commercial Reader, will be published shortly. i 2 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Text-Books of Secondary Education continued. BRITAIN OVER THE SEA- A Reader for Schools. Compiled and edited by ELIZABETH LEE, Author of " A School History of English Literature," etc. ; Editor of " Cowper's 'Task ' and Minor Poems," etc. With Four Maps of the British Empire at different periods. Price as. 6d. [Just out. This School Reader is conceived < ctions, comprising " The English South Africa," etc. ; and the story ...e actual explorers, navigators, col , in the expansion of England at the time. The selections range from the works of Sir Walter Raleigh to the speeches of Lord Beaconsfield, and include yet more modem authorities. It contains a literary introduction, weaving the threads together, and the extracts are provided with biographical and historical notes. The name of the author, who is a contributor to the Dictionary of National Biography, carries assurance that the editorial work is well done. MR. P. A. BARNETT (H.M. Inspector of Training Colleges)." I congratulate you on the production of a very excellent piece of work. I hope the schools will use it ; but it is almost too good for them." MR. J. H. LOBBAN (formerly Examiner in English to the University of Aber- deen)." I have read your Introduction and not a few of the extracts with very- great interest, and I think you have achieved a really first-rate Imperial Reader. I admire very- much the skill with which you have refrained from beating on the Jingo drum and yet have contrived to satisfy fully the demands of all reasonable patriotism. I hope the book will take ' as it deserves. I shall be surprised if it does not appeal to an audience outside of educational institutions." " .... a very happy thought, very successfully carried out. ... We should like to see this book in use in every school in England." The Globe. COMMERCIAL KNOWLEDGE. By ALGERNON WARREN. This text-book of HandclrwissenschaSt is designed for the use of students who intend to enter the higher branches of commercial life. It will also be useful to those already engaged in commercial pursuits. The author has been able to draw on his own experience of business, extending over more than twenty-five years, and he has been fortunate in the assistance of business friends and acquain- tances, as well as the courteous information put at his disposal by public officials. His volume includes chapters on Supply and Demand ; Free Trade and Protec- tion; Partnership; Companies. Syndicates, and Trusts; Principal and Agent; Contracts; Banking: Transit! Insurance; Tariffs; Employers' Liability ; Com- mercial Travellers ; Consuls, etc. [/ the Press. THE SOIL, By A. D. HALL, M.A., Principal of the South Eastern Agricultural College. This volume, by the Principal of the County Council College at Wye, is the first of a group of text-books intended for the use of students in Agriculture. Other volumes, which will be duly announced, will deal with " Plant Physiology," Manures, etc. [fn preparation . AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF POETRY. By LAURIE MAGNUS. Designed to instruct pupils in the middle and upper forms of schools with the fitera e tSre teachirf > ud 8 ment in P tr y by the natural or direct method of MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. 3 MURRAY'S HANDY CLASSICAL MAPS. Edited by G. B. GRUNDY, M.A., A NEW SYSTEM. The Maps in Sir WILLIAM SMITH'S Classical Atlas, engraved at a cost of several thousands of pounds, are regarded as amongst the best of the kind in existence, but hitherto they have only been published in a costly form, and are practically inaccessible to school-boys and many students. Mr. G. B. GRUNDY, of Brasenose College, Oxford, whose name is a sufficient guarantee of the excellence and scholarly character of the work, has undertaken to edit the series, to bring it up to date in the light of modern research, and to make it suitable for school and college use. The form of their issue is entirely novel, and will, we think, commend itself to teachers. The maps will be published separately, mounted on cloth, with an index of names, and folded in a cover similar to those used for tourists and cycling maps, though somewhat larger. By this means, instead of having to purchase at one time and bring into School or Lecture Room an expensive and bulky atlas, the student will be enabled to carry only the map required for the lecture or lesson in hand. The old method of engraving and hatching the mountain ranges has been supplemented by colouring the contours with flat brown and green tints, which is now recognised as the best and most intelligible way of denoting the configuration of the land. LIST OF MAPS IN THE SERIES: GALLIA ----- One sheet, 2s. cloth; is.net, paper. BRITANNIA - ... One sheet, zs. doth ; is. net, paper. [NOW READY HISPANIA ..... One sheet, zs. cloth; is. net, paper. [NOW READY. Northern Italy ) Tieo sheets in one case, 35. cloth ; South and S i C iiy. [ is.6d. net, paper. [*o\v RKADV. PALESTINE, SYRIA, and } part of MESOPOTAMIA, I Three Maps on one sheet, 2s. cloth ; and a Map showing St. \ is. net, paper. [NOW READY. Paul's Voyages ASIA MINOR and MARE ) Two -Maps on one sheet, zs. cloth ; AEGAEUM / is. net, paper. 4 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Handy Classical Maps continued. THE ROMAN EMPIRE ) Two Maps on one sheet, as. cloth ; (&t different epochs) ) is. net, paper. EGYPT and the EASTERN \ Two Maps on one sheet, as. cloth ; EMPIRES I is. net. paper. An Index is bound in each case. "These maps of Mr. Murray's are far better than anything which has yet been attempted in the direction of teaching the physical features of ancient geography, and they deserve all attention from students and schoolmasters." Athetuzum. "... admirably executed maps . . . likely to be of high utility to students, Biblical and others . . . may be consulted with much advantage." Notes and Queries. "... are admirable, and will prove of great assistance to students of ancient history. We have before warmly praised the colour-system of the maps and we need only say of this one (Graecia) that it will help those that use it to realize the relations and circumstances of the Ancient Greek States far better than any other map with which we are acquainted." Educational Times. " It is likely to take rank as the best map of Greece." Daily Chronicle. SPANISH PRINOIPIA, Part I. A FIRST SPANISH COURSE. Containing Grammar, Exercises, Vocabularies, and Materials for Conversations. By DON FERNANDO DE ARTEAGA, Taylorian Teacher of Spanish in the University of Oxford. Crown 8vo. [/ preparation. This book has in the main been formed on the plan of Sir Win. Smith's well- known and deservedly popular " Principia Latina, Part I." It possesses, however, one new feature which is as novel as it is likely to prove valuable to the student who uses the book. English people, for the most part, who set themselves to learn Spanish, are not children, but either would-be travellers in the country, students of its literature, or persons engaged in commerce with Spain or Spanish- speaking countries. It has therefore Seen the aim of the Editor throughout avoid the old-fashioned Ollendorfen sentences in illustration of the grammar, and instead to make use of phrases and expressions which are likely to prove of prac- tical use to the traveller and the man of business. A GREEK GRAMMAR FOR SCHOOLS. By JOHN THOMPSON, M.A., Late Scholar of Christ Church, Cambridge; Senior Classical Master, High School, Dublin. Crown 8vo. [// preparation. One of the chief objects of this book is to bring within the reach of the younger generation of students and schoolboys some of the results of the linguistic dis- ries ot the present day. It is therefore written in accordance with the . philological views of the Grutidriss tier l^eryleichenden Gratnmatik of Professors Brngmann and Delbruck, of P. Giles' Manual of Comparative Philology, of G. Meyer's Griechische Grammatik and of other scholars. Use has also been made of the Third Edition, revised by Drs. Blass and Gerth, of Kiilmcr's Ausfiihrliche Grammatik der Griechischen Sprache, and of several school Greek Grammars in use in Germany. Part I. containing the Accidence, and Part II. the Syntax. The forms and spelling in use in Attic Greek are given according to the latest authorities, and there are special notes on Homeric peculiarities. There are also tables of Greek verbs arranged on a new plan to remove many misconceptions about Greek verbs. The book contains various appendices, and particular attention has been MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SPEAKER. Compiled by F. WARRE CORNISH, M.A., Vice-Provost of Eton College. Large 8vo. 75. 6d. [Recently published. This work, as its name implies, is a collection of piecs suitable for recitation at school " speeches." The Editor has made his selection in the widest manner and from various languages Greek, Latin, English, German, French and Italian. He has Included drama, general poetry, orations and other prose pieces, ancient and modern. The Editor is in hopes that no serious omissions can be found, unless it l>e those intentional ones from classics that are at everyone's command, which he has left out to make room for those more difficult of access. It will l>e noticed that he has in many cases given an extract longer than is sufficient for a single recitation he has done this advisedly with a view to afford- ing greater scope for individual requirements and individual taste. The publisher is of opinion that the Speaker will be found the most complete extant. " The Vice-Provost of Eton College has very worthily performed a task which certainly needed to be done. . . . Mr. Cornish's volume is specially suited and designed for schools which have their regular speech days ... in the upper forms of a public school, and in the library of all literary schools, it is precisely what we have needed for a long time paM."(titcationat Times. " No such comprehensive work has hitherto !>een issued, and in our opinion 1 The Public School Speaker ' has leaped at a single bound into the very foremost rank, and has become the classic of its kind." The Bookseller. An Historical Review of the Development of Greater Britain. THE GROWTH OP THE EMPIRE. By A. W. JOSE. With many Coloured and other Maps and Diagrams. Cr. 8vo. 6s. \ln the Press. A TREATISE ON MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. Based on Lectures delivered at University College, London. By G. VIVIAN POORE, M.D. With Illustrations. 8vo. 12*. net. f Just out. "... Rarely have we found a text-book more charming to read and at the same time displaying such a thorough grasp and knowledge of the subject. By means of the free employment of illustrative cases, drawn from the records of the law courts and the author's personal experience, the dry details are endowed with lively interest which is likely to imprint them on the student's memory. We thoroughly endorse this plan . . . we offer our warm congratulations to Dr. Peoreon having written one of the most readable and instructive manuals in medical jurisprudence yet published, and we feel sure that it will meet with the success which it deserves." The Lancet. "... Admiral iN- an. 1 interesting treatise . . . the reader can almost hear Dr. Poore's genial and witty voice as he turns these instructive pages. They are marked by a kind of 'golden common-sense,' which is the most valuable lesson that any medical or legal student can lay to heart ... an ideal handbook of the subject for the young student." The Spectator. KIRKES' HANDBOOK OP PHYSIOLOGY. By W. D. HALLIBURTON, M.D., F.R.S., Professor of Physiology, King's College, London. New Edition. Again thoroughly revised, with the addition of new matter and new illustrations, and certain alteration of the arrangement in deference to the wishes and advice of numerous teachers. With upwards of Six Hundred Illustrations, including some Coloured Plates. Large Cr. 8vo. 145 The Lancet says : " Every chapter seems to have been brought up to date with equal care, and the volume stands not only as the most recent but as one of the best works on physiology extant The Lancet o" ~ of the standard The Lancet of September and (the Students' number) gives to this the position ' ' rk for students. 6 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. MURRAY'S STUDENT'S MANUALS. A Series of Class-books for Advanced Scholars. FORMING A CHAIN OF HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST AGES DOWN TO MODERN TIMES. English History and Literature. "The great foundation for all useful knowledge we hold, without any doubt, to be the knowledge <>1 tin- history and literature of our own country. On this ground Mr. Murray is especially strong. We are acquainted with many admirable books on these subjects, issued by various firms of high standing, some of which, such as Mr. Green's and Mr. Brighfs, have universally recognised merits ; but for the utilit\ and i oinpli-teuess <>t tlu- course we give the first place to Mr. Murray's series." Literary Churchman. THE STUDENT'S HUME: A HISTORY OF ENGLAND, FROM THF. EARLIEST TIMES TO THE REVOLUTION IN 1688. By DAVID HUME. Incorporating the Researches of recent Historians. Revised, corrected, and continued to the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, by J. S. BREWER, M.A. With Notes, Illustrations, and 7 Coloured Maps and Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 75. fid. *** Also in Three Parts, zs. 6d. each. I. FROM B.C. 55 TO THE DEATH OF RICHARD III., A.D. 1485. II. HENRY VII. TO THE REVOLUTION, 1688. III. THE REVOLUTION TO THE TREATY OF BERLIN, 1878. *** Questions on the " Student's Hume." \zrna. zs. STUDENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OP ENG- LAND. FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VII. TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II. By HENRY HALLAM, LL.D. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENT'S MANUAL OP THE ENGLISH LAN" 0UAQE. By GEORGE P. MARSH. Crown 8vo 75. 6cl. STUDENT'S MANUAL OP ENGLISH LITERATURE. A History of English Literature of the chief English Writers, founded upon the Manual of THOMAS B. SHAW. A new Edition thoroughly revised. By A. HAMILTON THOMPSON, B.A., of St. John's Coll., Cambridge, and Univ. Extension Lecturer in English Literature. With Notes, etc. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENT'S SPECIMENS OP ENGLISH LITERA- TURE. Selected from the BEST WRITERS, and arranged Chrono- logically. By T. B. SHAW, M.A. Crown 8vo. 55. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Scripture and Church History. STUDENT'S OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY. FROM THE CREATION OF THE WORLD TO THE RETURN OF THE JEWS FROM CAPTIVITY. With an Introduction to the Books of the Old Testa- ment. By PHILIP SMITH, B.A. With 40 Maps and Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENT'S NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY. WITH AN INTRODUCTION, CONTAINING THE CONNECTION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. By PHILIP SMITH, B.A. With 30 Maps and Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. -js. 6d. STUDENT'S MANUAL OP ECCLESIASTICAL HIS- TORY. A History of the Christian Church to the Reformation. By PHILIP SMITH, B.A. 2 Vols. Crown 8 vo. 73. 6d. each. PART I. A.D. 30 1003. With Woodcuts. PART II. A.D. 1003 1614. With Woodcuts. STUDENT'S MANUAL OF ENGLISH CHURCH HISTORY. By G. G. PERRY, M.A., Canon of Lincoln. 3 Vols. 75. 6d. each. ist Period. From the Planting of the Church in Britain to the Accession of Henry VIII. A.D. 596 1509. 2nd Period. From the ACCESSION OF HENRY VIII. to the Silencing of Convocation in the EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. A.D. 1509 1717. yd Period. From the Accession of the House of Hanover to the Present Time. A.D. 17171884. POPULAR HISTORY OP THE CHURCH OP ENGLAND. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. By the RT. REV. WILLIAM BOYD CARPENTER, The Lord Bishop of Ripon. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 6s. " The title is, perhaps, hardly wide enough for the contents ; one would almost " the book a history of Christianity in England. ... He has the true judicial spirit, and is passionately eager to be entirely fair to every one. His history is impartial to the last degree. ... His book should have a very wide circulation, and can do nothing but good wherever it is read." Morning Post. THE EVOLUTION OP THE ENGLISH BIBLE. BEING AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SUCCESSIVE VERSIONS FROM 13821885. By H. W. HOARE, late of Balliol College, Oxford, now an Assistant Secretary to the Board of Education, Whitehall. With Portraits and Specimen-pages from Old Bibles. Demy 8vo. IDS. 6tl. net. " Mr. Hoare . . . has read well and widely ... We cordially commend this book for what it professes to be an amateur guide to amateur students and lovers of ' the greatest of English classics and the most venerable of national heirlooms.'" The Times. THE REFORMATION. A RELIGIOUS AND HISTORICAL SKETCH. By the REV. J. A. BABINGTON, M.A., Assistant Master at Tonbridge School, formerly Scholar of New College, Oxford. Demy 8vo. I2S. net. " This masterly essay . . . gives evidence on every page of wide reading and of a remarkable power of condensation. . . . It is a notable piece of work, one that deserves to be widely read." Daily Chronicle. 8 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Ancient History. STUDENTS ANCIENT HISTORY OP THE EAST. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia Media .Persia, Asia Minor, and Phoenicia. By PHILIP SMITH, B.A With 70 Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENT'S HISTORY OP GREECE. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ROMAN CONQUEST. With Chapters on the History of Literature and Art. By SIR VVM. SMITH, D.C.L. Thoroughly revised and in part rewritten by G. E. MARINDIN, M.A. With many new Maps and Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 7$. 6d. STUDENT'S HISTORY OP ROME. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE. With Chapters on the History of Literature and Art. By DEAN LIDDKLL. New and Revised Edition, incorporating the results of Modern Research, by P. V. M. BENECKE, M.A., Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. With Coloured and other Maps and numerous Illustrations nearly all prepared specially for this Edition. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENT'S HISTORY OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE TO THE ACCESSION OF COMMODUS, A.D. i8o. With Coloured Maps and Numerous Illustra- tions. ByJ. B. BURY, Fellow and Tutor of Trin. Coll., Dublin. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENT'S GIBBON. A HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. Abridged from the Original Work by SIR WM. SMITH, D.C.L., LL.D. A New and Revised Edition in Two Parts. Crown 8vo. 55. each. PART I. FROM THE ACCESSION OF COMMODUS TO THE DEATH OF JUSTINIAN By A. H. J. GREENIDGE, M.A., Lecturer and Late Fellow of Hertford College, Lecturer in Ancient History at Brasenose College, Oxford. PART II. FROM A.D. 565 TO THE CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE BY THE TURKS. By J. G. C. ANDERSON, M.A., late Fellow of w" e ;, , Student and Tutor of Christ Church, Oxford. With Maps and Illustrations. w iP^ 178 ^ THE TEXT OF CANON RA WLINSON'S TRANSLATION. V^, N A tes ,,?. brid S ed for the use of Students. By A. J. GRANT, MA of King's College, Cambridge ; Professor of History, PeriH " w-l g ^ Leed ^ Author of "G' in the Age of Pericles. With Map and Plans, a Vols. Crown 8vo. izs PERS IAN WARS AS TOLD MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Europe. STUDENT'S HISTORY OP MODERN EUROPE, FROM THE CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE BY THE TURKS, 1453, TO THE TREATY OF BERLIN, 1878. By RICHARD LODGE, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Brasenose College, Oxford. 4th Edition, thoroughly revised. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENT'S HISTORY OP EUROPE DURING THE MIDDLE AOES. By HENRY HALLAM, LL.D. Crown 8vo. 7S. 6d. EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. By OLIVER J. THATCHER, PH.D., and FERDINAND SCHWILL, PH.D. Large Crown 8vo. gs. This work has been written by men who have had long experience in teaching, to supply the want of a compendious History of Mediaeval Europe, from the middle of the Fourth to the close of the Fifteenth Century, which has been long felt in the universities and schools. A distinguished Professor of Modern History in one of our leading universities, to whom a copy has been sent, writes : "The book covers ground on uliirhit lias always been hard to get a suitable book for educational purposes, and, so far as I can judge 1 have as yet only examined the German History of the loth Century it is thoroughly sound and clear." A GENERAL HISTORY OP EUROPE, 350-1900. By OLIVER J. THATCHER and FERDINAND SCHWILL, Authors of "Europe in the Middle Ages." Revised and adapted to the requirements of English Colleges and Schools, by ARTHUR HASSALL, M. A. 'Christ Church, Oxford. With Bibliographies at the end of each section. With Maps, Genealogical Tables. Crown 8vo. [/ the Press. The Medieval Period. The Empire, the Church, and the Invasion of the Germans The Franks The Dismemberment of the Empire England and the Norsemen Germany and France Feudalism Growth of the Papacy Monasticism Mohammed and the Crusades Italy to 1494, etc. The Modern Period. The Reformation and Counter Reforma- tionSpain under Charles I. and Philip II. England under the Tudors The Revolt of the Netherlands The Reformation in France to the Edict of Nantes The Thirty Years' War England in the XVII. Century Ascendancy of France under Louis XIV. Rise of Prussia The French Revolution The Holy Alliance The Revolution of 1830 and 1848 France under Napoleon III. The Unification of Italy and of Germany Great Britain and Russia. France. STUDENT'S HISTORY OP PRANCE. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE FALL. OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. By W. H. JERVIS, M.A. A New Edition, thoroughly revised, and in great part re-written, by ARTHUR HASSALL, M. A., Censor of Christ Church, Oxford. With a Chapter on Ancient Gaul by F. HAVERFIELD, M.A., Student of Christ Church, Oxford. Coloured Maps, and many new Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. ?s. 6d. io MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Geography. STUDENTS MANUAL OP ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. By CANON BEVAN, M.A. 150 Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENTS MANUAL OP MODERN GEOGRAPHY. MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND DESCRIPTIVE. By CANON BEVAN, M.A. With 120 Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENTS GEOGRAPHY OP BRITISH INDIA. POLITICAL AND PHYSICAL. By GEORGE SMITH, LL.D. With Maps. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. STUDENTS ELEMENTS OP GEOLOGY. By SIR CHARLES LYELL. Thoroughly revised by PROF. J. W. JUDD- Crown 8vo. With 600 Woodcuts, gs, Law and Philosophy. STUDENTS EDITION OP AUSTIN'S JURISPRU- DENCE. Compiled from the larger work. By ROBERT CAMPBELL. Crown 8vo. izs. AN ANALYSIS OP AUSTIN'S JURISPRUDENCE. By GORDON CAMPBELL. Crown 8vo. 6s. Sir Wm. Smith's Smaller Manuals. These Works have been drawn up for the Lower Forms, at the request of several teachers, who require more elementary books than the STUDENT'S HISTORICAL MANUALS. SMALLER SCRIPTURE HISTORY OP THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENT. IN THREE DIVISIONS:-!. Old Testament History. II. Connection of Old and New Testaments. III. New Testament History to A.D. 70. Edited by SIR WM. SMITH. With Coloured Maps and 40 Illustrations. Small Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. SMALLER ANCIENT HISTORY OP THE EAST. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE CONQUEST OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT By PHILIP SMITH, B.A. With 70 Woodcuts. Small Crown 8vo. 3$. 64. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS, n Sir Wm. Smith's Smaller Manuals continued. SMALLER HISTORY OP GREECE. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ROMAN CONQUEST. By SIR WM. SMITH. With Coloured Maps, Plans, and Illustrations. Thoroughly revised by G. E. MARINDIN, M.A. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. SMALLER HISTORY OP ROME. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE. Thoroughly revised by A. H. J. GREENIDGE, M.A., Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford. With a Supplementary Chapter on the Empire to 117 A.D., by G. MIDDLETON, M.A., under the Direction of Prof. W. M. RAMSAY, M.A., D.C.L. With Coloured Map, Plans, and Illus- trations. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. The " Smaller History of Rome " has been written and arranged on the i, and with the same objer" -- "-- " " " ' -' ^ * "- k it comprises separate ch i with which it deals. SMALLER CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY. With Translations from the Ancient Poets, and Questions on the Work. By H. R. LOCKWOOD. With 90 Woodcuts. Small Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. This work has been prepared by a lady for the use of schools, and young persons of both sexes. In common with many other teachers, she has long felt the want of a consecutive account of the heathen deities, which might safely be placed in the hands of the young, and yet contain all that is generally necessary to enable them to understand the classical allusions they may meet with in prose or poetry, and to appreciate the meanings of works of art. A carefully prepared set of QUESTIONS is appended, the answers to which will be found in the corresponding pages of the volume. SMALLER MANUAL OP ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. By CANON BEVAN, M.A. With Woodcuts. Small Crown 8vo- 3 s. 6d. SMALLER HISTORY OP ENGLAND. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE YEAR 1887. Revised and enlarged. By RICHARD LODGE, M.A. With Coloured Maps and 68 Woodcuts. CrownSvo. 35 6d. SMALLER HISTORY OP ENGLISH LITERATURE. Giving a Sketch of the Lives of our Chief Writers. By JAMES ROWLEY. Small Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. The important position which the study of English literature is now taking in education has led to the publication of this w >rk, and of the accompanying volume of specimens. Both books have been undertaken at the request of many eminent teachers, and no pains have been spared to adapt them to the purpose for which they are designed as elementary works to be used in schools. SHORT SPECIMENS OP ENGLISH LITERATURE. Selected from the Chief Authors and arranged chronologically. By JAMES ROWLEY. With Notes. Small Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. While the " Smaller History of English Literature " supplies a rapid but trust- worthy sketch of the lives of our chief writers and of the successive influences which imparted to their writings their peculiar character, the present work choice examples of the works themselves, accompanied by all the expl.ui.uio:is required for their perfect explanation. The two works are thus especially designed to be used together. 12 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Mrs. Markham's Histories, Mrs. Markham's Histories are constructed on a plan which is novel and we think well chosen, and we are glad to find that they are deservedly popular, for they cannot be too strongly recom- mended." JOURNAL OF EDUCATION. HISTORY OP ENGLAND. FROM THE FIRST INVASION BY THE ROMANS TO 1878. With Conversations at the end of each Chapter. joo Woodcuts, is. 6d. HISTORY OP PRANCE. FROM THE CONQUEST OF GAOL BY JULIUS C.CSAR TO 1878. Conversations at the end of each Chapter. 70 Woodcuts. 35. 6d. HISTORY OP GERMANY. FROM ITS INVASION BY MARIUS TO iSSo. 50 Woodcuts. 35. 6J. Little Arthur's Histories. HISTORY OP ENGLAND. By LADY CALLCOTT. New and Revised Edition. Continued down to 1878. With 36 Woodcuts. i6mo. is. 6d. " I never met with a history so well adapted to the capacities of children or their entertainment, so philosophical, and written with such simplicity. "Mrs. HISTORY OP PRANCE. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. With Map and Illustrations. i6mo. 2i. 6tl. "The jaded schoolboy, surfeited with tales and the over-pressure' arising from long attention to lives and adventures, will, towards the latter part of his holiday, turn with some relief to this book, and begin feasting afresh. Those who know what Little Arthur's England' did to popularise the subject among little folks, " know what to expect in this France.' The book is capitally illustrated, and r wisely the compiler does not reject the exciting and legendary parts of the 'Schoolmaster. HISTORY OP GREECE. By A. S WALPOLE, M.A. With Map, Plans and Illustrations. Fcap 8vo. as. . [Just out. PREPARATORY GEOGRAPHY for IRISH SCHOOLS. With numerous Coloured Maps, Relief Maps, Plans, and Views of well-known Places in Illustration of Geographical Terms. By JOHN COOKE, M.A., Lecturer in Geography, Church of Ireland Training College; and Examiner to the Board of Intermediate Education. Small Crown 8vo. is. 6d. "Mr Cooke's eminent sen-ices to the literature better illustrated than in this Geography for Iris 5 M u G^oerapny is suggestive rathe f education have seldom been rish Schools. . . . Mr. Coofce her than exhaustive. He might ' h merit of charnTof awn from our own > comprehend what he sees and hears.' 1 Thtlrisk Times. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Sir Wm. Smith's Biblical Dictionaries. DICTIONARY OP THE BIBLE : COMPRISING ITS ANTIQUITIES, BIOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY, AND NATURAL HISTORY. By Various Writers. With Illustrations. 3 vols. Enlarged and revised Edition. Medium 8vo. 4 45. "The most complete, learned, and trustworthy work of the kind hitherto produced." Athtn&um. CONCISE DICTIONARY OP THE BIBLE. Condensed from the larger Work. For Families and Students. With Maps and 300 Illustrations. Medium 8vo. 2is. A Dictionary of the Bible, in some form or another, is indispensable for every family. To students in the Universities, and in the Upper Forms at Schools, to private families, and to that numerous class of persons who desire to arrive at results simply, this CONCISE DICTIONARY will, it is believed, supply all that is necessary for the elucidation and explanation of the Bible. SMALLER DICTIONARY OP THE BIBLE. Abridged from the larger Work. For Schools and Young Persons. With Maps and Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. " An invaluable sen-ice has been rendered to students in the condensation of Dr. Wm. Smith s Bible Dictionary. The work has been done as only a careful and intelligent scholar could do it, which preserves to us the essential scholarship and value of each article." British Quarterly Review. The two folloiving Works are intended to furnish a complete account of the leading Personages, the Institutions, Art, Social Life, Writings, and Controversies of the Christian Church from the time of the Apostles to the Age of Charlemagne. They commence at the period at which the "Dictionary of the Bible " leaves off, and form a continuation of it. DICTIONARY OP CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITIES. The History, Institutions, and Antiquities of the Christian Church. Edited by SIR WM. SMITH, D.C. L., and ARCHDEACON CHEETHAM, D.D. With Illustrations. 2 Vols. Medium 8vo. 3 13*. 6d. " The work before us is unusually well done. A more acceptable present for a candidate for holy orders, or a more valuable book for any library, than the Dictionary of Christian Antiquities ' could not easily be found." Saturday DICTIONARY OP CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHY, LITERA- TURE, SECTS, AND DOCTRINES. Edited by SlR WM. SMITH.D.C.L., and HENRY WAGE, D.D. 4 Vols. Medium 8vo. 6 i6s. 6d. " The value of the work arises, in the first place, from the fact that the contri- butors to these volumes have diligently eschewed mere compilation. In these volumes we welcome the most important addition that has been made for a century to the historical library of the English theological student." Times. i 4 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Classical and School Dictionaries. "I am extremely glad of the opportunity of expressing to you the strong sense of obligation which I, in common with all teachers and lovers of classical literature, feel to you for your admirable Dictionaries." Rev. Dr. HATVTREY, late Head Master of Eton College. A Complete Cyclopaedia of Classical Antiquity. By Various Writers. Edited by Sir WM. SMITH, D.C.L., LL.D. A DICTIONARY OP GREEK AND ROMAN ANTI- QUITIES. INCLUDING THE LAWS, INSTITUTIONS, DOMESTIC USAGES, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, Music, THE DRAMA, ETC. Edited by SIR WM. SMITH, LL.D., Hon. D.C.L., Oxford, Hon. Ph.D., Leipzig ; WILLIAM WAYTE, M.A., Late Fellow of King's College, Cambridge; G. E. MARINDIN, M.A., Late Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. Third Revised and Enlarged Edition. With 900 Illustrations. 2 Vols. Medium 8vo. 31$. 6d. each. A CONCISE DICTIONARY OP GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. Based on Sir Wm. Smith's larger Dictionary and Incorporating the Results of Modern Research. Edited by F. WARRE CORNISH, M.A., Vice-Provost of Eton College. With over 1,100 Illustrations taken from the best examples of Ancient Art. Medium 8vo. 2is. A SMALLER DICTIONARY OP ANTIQUITIES. Abridged from Sir Wm. Smith's larger Dictionary. With 200 Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. A DICTIONARY OP GREEK AND ROMAN BIO- GRAPHY AND MYTHOLOGY. By Various Writers. Edited by SIR WILLIAM SMITH, D.C.L., LL.D. Illustrated by 564 Engravings on Wood. In 3 Vols. Medium 8vo. 845. A CLASSICAL DICTIONARY OP MYTHOLOGY, BIOGRAPHY, AND GEOGRAPHY, compiled from Sir Wm. Smith's larger Dictionaries. In great part re-written by G. E. . MARINDIN, M.A., late Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, some | time Assistant Master at Eton College. With over 800 Woodcuts. New and thoroughly Revised Edition. 8vo. iSs. A SMALLER CLASSICAL DICTIONARY, abridged from the above Work. With 200 Woodcuts. In great part re- written by G. E. MARINDIN, M.A., some time Assistant Master at Eton College. Crown 8vo. 75. 6it. A DICTIONARY OP GREEK AND ROMAN GEO- GRAPHY. Illustrated by 534 Engravings on Wood. 2 Vols. Medium 8vo. 565. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. 15 Wm. Smith's Latin Dictionaries. "I consider Dr. "Wm. Smith's Dictionaries to have conferred a great and lasting service on the cause of classical learning in this country." Dean LIDDELL. "I have found Dr. "Wm. Smith's Latin Dictionary 'a great convenience to me. I think that he has been very judicious in what he has omitted, as well as what he has inserted." Dr. SCOTT. A COMPLETE] LATIN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY. BASED ON THE WORKS OF FORCELLINI AND FREUND. With Tables of the Roman Calendar, Measures, Weights, Money, and a DICTIONARY OF PROPER NAMES. By SIR WM. SMITH, D.C.L., and LL.D. Medium 8vo. zand Edition. i6s. "This work aims at performing Liddell and Scott's Lexicon has done for the Greek. Great attenti paid to Etymology, in which department especially this work is admitted to maintain a superiority over all existing Latin Dictionaries. A SMALLER LATIN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY. W ITH A SEPARATE DICTIONARY OF PROPER NAMES, TABLES OF ROMAN MONEYS, &c. Thoroughly revised and in great part re-written. Edited by SIR WM. SMITH and T. D. HALL, M.A. The Etymological portion by JOHN K. INGRAM, LL.D. Square izmo. 75. 6d. This edition of Dr. Smith's ' Smaller Latin-English Dictionary ' is to a great extent a new and original Work. Every article has been carefully revised. A COPIOUS AND CRITICAL ENGLISH-LATIN DIC- TIONARY. Compiled from Original Sources. By SIR WM. SMITH, D.C.L., and T. D. HALL, M.A. Medium 8vo. i6s. It has been the object of the Authors of this Work to produce a more complete and more perfect ENGLISH-LATIN DICTIONARY than yet exists, and every article has been the result of original and independent research. Each meaning is illustrated by examples from the classical writers : and those phrases are as a general rule given in both English and Latin. A SMALLER ENGLISH-LATIN DICTIONARY. Abridged from the above Work, by SIR WM. SMITH and T. D. HALL, M. A., for the use of Junior Classes. Square izmo. ys. 6d. "An English- Latin Dictionary worthy of the schot will take absolutely the first rank, and be the stand long as either tongue endures. Even a general - serve to reveal the minute pains taken to ensure its fulness and philologn and the ' work is to a large extent a dictionary of the English language, as well as an English-Latin Dictionary.' "-English Churchman. A NEW GRADUS AD PARNASSUM. AN ENGLISH-LATIN GRADUS, OR VERSE DIC- TIONARY, for Schools. By A. C. AINGER, Trinity Coll., Cam- bridge, Assistant-Master at Eton College, and the late H. G. WINTLE, M.A., Christ Church, Oxford. This Gradus is on a new plan, intended to simplify the Composition of Latin Verses by Classical Meanings, selected Epithets and Synonyms, etc. Crown 8vo. gs. 16 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Sir Wm. Smith's Educational Series. Latin Course. THE YOUNG BEGINNER'S COURSE. 2s. each. I. FIRST LATIN BOOK. Gram- mar, Easy Questions, Exercises and Vocabularies. II. SECOND LATIN BOOK. -An easy Latin Reading Book with Analysis of Sentences III. THIRD LATIN BOOK.- Ex- ercises on the Syntax, with Vocabularies. IV. FOURTH LATIN BOOK.-A Latin Vocabulary for Begin- ners, arranged according to Subjects and Etymologies. PRINCIPIA LATINA, Part I. FIRST LATIN COURSE, Grammar, Delectus, Exercises, and Vocabularies. 38th Edition. Thoroughly revised so as to meet the requirements of Modern Teachers and Scholars. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. APPENDIX TO PRINCIPIA LATINA, Part I. Containing Additional Exercises, with Examination Papers. Crown 8vo. as. 6d- PRINCIPIA LATINA, Part II. READING BOOK. An Intro- duction to Ancient Mythology, Geography. Roman Antiquities, and History. With Notes and a Dictionary. Crown 8vo. 3$. 6d. PRINCIPIA LATINA, Part III. POETRY, i. Easy Hexameters, and Pentameters. 2. Eclogse Ovidianse. 3. Prosody and Metre. 4. First Latin Verse Book. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. PRINCIPIA LATINA, Part IV. PROSE COMPOSITION. Rules of Syntax, with Examples, Explanations of Synonyms, and Exer- cises on the Syntax. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. PRINCIPIA LATINA, Part V. SHORT TALES AND ANECDOTES FROM ANCIENT HISTORY FOR TRANSLATION JNTO LATIN PROSE. With an English-Latin Vocabulary. By SIR WM. SMITH, LL.D. Revised and considerably enlarged. By T. D. HALL, M.A. 35. 6d. THE STUDENT'S LATIN GRAMMAR. FOR THE USE OF COLLEGES AND THE HIGHER FORMS IN SCHOOLS. By SIR WM. SMITH, LL.D., and T.D. HALL. Crown 8vo. 6s. SMALLER LATIN GRAMMAR. FOR THE MIDDLE AND LOWER FORMS. Crown 8vo. 3$. 6d. TRANSLATION AT SIGHT; OR, AIDS TO FACILITY IN THE TRANSLATION OF LATIN. Passages of Graduated Difficulty, carefully selected from Latin Authors, with Explanations, Notes, &c. By PROFESSOR T. D. HALL, M.A. Crown 8vo. as. A CHILD'S FIRST LATIN BOOK. COMPRISING NOUNS, PRONOUNS, AND ADJECTIVES, WITH THE VERBS. With ample and varied Practice of the easiest kind. Both old and new order of Cases given. By T. D. HALL, M.A. Enlarged Edition, including the Passive Verb. i6mo. as. *** Keys may be had by AUTHENTICATED TEACHERS an application. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. 17 Sir Wm. Smith's Greek Course. INITIA GR-aDCA, Part I. A FIRST GREEK COURSE, containing Grammar, Delectus, Exercise Book, and Vocabularies. 25th Edition. Edited and carefully revised by FRANCIS BROOKS, M.A., Lecturer in Classics at University College, Bristol, and formerly Classical Scholar of Balliol College, Oxford. Crown 8vo. 35. 64. The great object of this work, as of the " Principia Latina," is to make the study of the language as easy and simple as possible, by giving the grammatical forms only as they aVe wanted, and by enabling tl *' ' English and from English into Greek as characters and the First Declension. For the convenience of teachers the cases of the nouns, &c., are given according to the ordinary grammars as well as according to the arrangement of the Public Schools Latin Primer. APPENDIX TO INITIA GRJECA, Part I. Containing Additional Exercises, with Examination Papers and Easy Reading Lessons with the Sentences Analysed, serving as an Introduction to INITIA GR^CA, Part II. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. INITIA GR-3ECA, Part II. A READING BOOK. Containing short Tales, Anecdotes, Fables, Mythology, and Grecian History. With a Lexicon. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. INITIA GR^ECA, Part III. PROSE COMPOSITION. Containing the Rules of Syntax, with copious Examples and Exercises. Crown 8vo. 33. 6d. THE STUDENT'S GREEK GRAMMAR. FOR THE HIGHER FORMS. By PROFESSOR CURTIUS. Edited by SIR WM. SMITH, D.C.L. Crown 8vo. 6s. A SMALLER GREEK GRAMMAR. FOR THE MIDDLE AND LOWER FORMS. Abridged from the above Work. Crown 8vo. 3 s. 6d. AN ENTIRELY NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION. GREEK TESTAMENT READER. FOR USE IN SCHOOLS, comprising consecutive Extracts from the Synoptic Gospel and Passages from the Epistles of St. Paul. By THEOPHILUS D. HALL, M.A. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. Sir Wm. Smith's French Course. FRENCH PRINCIPIA, Part I. A FIRST FRENCH COURSE, containing Grammar, Delectus and Exercises, with Vocabularies and Materials for French Conversation. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. This work has been compiled at the repeated request of numerous teachers who, findingthe "Principia Latina" and " Imtia Gneca" thccasiestbooks for learning Latin and Greek, are anxious to obtain equally elementary French books on the same plan. There is an obvious gain in studying a new language on the plan with which the learner is already familiar. The main object is to enable a beginner to acquire an accurate knowledge of the chief grammatical forms, to learn their usage by constructing simple sentences assoonyis he commences the study of the uage, and to accumulate gradually a stock of words useful in conversation as as in reading. Keys may be had by AUTHENTICATED TEACHERS on application. langu well i8 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. French Course. continued. APPENDIX TO FRENCH PRINCIPIA, Part I. Containing Additional Exercises and Examination Papers. Cr. 8vo. zs. 6d. FRENCH PRINCIPIA, Part II. A READING BOOK. Containing Fables, Stories, and Anecdotes, Natural History, and Scenes from the History of France. With Grammatical Questions, Notes, and copious Etymological Dictionary. Crown 8vo. 45. 6d. FRENCH PRINCIPIA, Part III. PROSE COMPOSITION. Con- taining a Systematic Course of Exercises on the Syntax, with the Principal Rules of Syntax. Crown 8vo. 45. 6d. THE STUDENT'S FRENCH GRAMMAR: PRACTICAL AND HISTORICAL. FOR THE HIGHER FORMS. By C. HERON-WALL, with INTRODUCTION by M. LITTR Crown 8vo. 6s. A SMALLER FRENCH GRAMMAR. FOR THE MIDDLE AND LOWER FORMS. Abridged from the above Work. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. A i\EW FRENCH GRAMMAR. THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL FRENCH GRAMMAR. By L>R. W. KRISCH, sometime Teacher of Latin and Greek at the Birmingham Midland Institute, Examiner in Modern Languages to the Midland Counties' Union of Educational Institutions. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. _ FRENCH STUMBLING BLOCKS AND ENGLISH STEPPING STONES. By FRANCIS TARVER, M.A., late Senior French Master at Eton College. Fcap. 8vo. zs. 6d. Mr. Francis Tarver's skill as a teacher of French to Englishmen is well known. His thorough knowledge of both languages, and his thirty years' experience as a master at Eton, have afforded him exceptional opportunities of judging what are the difficulties, pitfalls, and stumbling-blocks which beset the path of an English- man in his study of French. Sir Wm. Smith's German Course. GERMAN PRINCIPIA, Part I. A FIRST GERMAN COURSE. Containing Grammar, Delectus, Exercises, Vocabularies and materials for German Conversation. Cr. 8vo. 35. 6d. *** The present Editim has undergone a very careful revision, andvarious improvements and additions have been introduced. This work is on the same plan as the " French Principia," and therefore requires no further description, except in one point. Differing from the ordinary grammars, all German worUs are printed in Roman, and not in the old German characters. The Roman letters are used by many modern German writers, and also in Grimm's great Dictionary and Grammar ; and it is believed that this alteration will facilitate, supposed, the acquisition of the la books continue to be printed in the both German and Roman letters. GERMAN PRINCIPIA, Part II. A READING BOOK. Containing Fables, Stories, and Anecdotes, Natural History, and Scenes from the History of Germany. With Grammatical Questions, Notes and Dictionary. Cr. 8vo. 35. 6d. *** Keys may be had by AUTHENTICATED TEACHERS on application, fell : MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. 19 German Course continued. PRACTICAL GERMAN GRAMMAR. With a Sketch of the Historical Development of the Language and its Principal Dialects. Cr. 8vo. y. 6d. Sir Wm. Smith's /fa I/an Course. ITALIAN PRINCIPIA, Part I. A FIRST ITALIAN COURSE. Containing a Grammar, Delectus, Exercise Book, with Vocabu- laries, &c. Thoroughly revised and in part re-written by C. F. COSCIA, Professor of Italian in the University of Oxford. Crown 8vo. 35. 6rf. ITALIAN PRINCIPIA, Part II. A FIRST ITALIAN READING- BOOK, containing Fables, Anecdotes, History, and Passages from the best Italian Authors, with Questions, Notes, and an Etymological Dictionary. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. English Course. PRIMARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR for Elementary Schools. With 134 Exercises and carefully graduated passing lessons. By T. D. HALL, M.A. i6mo. is. This work aims at the clearest and simplest statement possible of the first principles of English Grammar for the use of children from about eight to twelve years of age. "We douht whether any grammar of equal size could give an introduction to the English language more clear, concise, and lull than this." Watchman. SCHOOL MANUAL OP ENGLISH GRAMMAR. With Historical Introduction and copious Exercises. By SIR WM- SMITH, D.C.L., and T. D. HALL, M.A. With Appendices. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. This work has been prepared with a special view to the requirements of Schools in which English, as a liviny taagitafe, is systematically taught, and diflers from most modern grammars in its thoroughly practical character. A distingnkhin;,' feature of the book is the constant appeal for every usage to the authority of Standard English Authors. " An admirable English Grammar. We cannot give it higher praise than to say that as a school grammar it is the best in this country." English Churchman. MANUAL OP ENGLISH COMPOSITION. With Copious Illustrations and Practical Exercises. Suited equally for Schools and for Private Students of English. By T. D. HALL, M.A. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. " Certainly the most sensible and practical book upon English composition that we have lately seen. The great variety of subjects which it suggests as themes for exercising the imagination as well as the literary powers of young Itodentswiil be found a gn>l aUfetBDCe to teachers, who must often be sorely puzzled to hit upon subjects sufficiently diversified without being ridiculously beyond the scope of youth. ul experience." Saturday Review. *** Kc) r may be had by AUTHENTICATED TEACHERS on application. 20 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. Eton College Books. THE ETON LATIN GRAMMAR. For use in the Higher Forms. By FRANCIS HAY RAWLINS, M.A., Fellow of King's Coll., Cambridge, and Assistant Master at Eton College, and REV. W. R. INGE, M.A., Fellow of Hertford Coll., Oxford. Revised Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. t of compressing a great deal of matter into a short hich affli arrange space, and of avoiding much of the technical terminology which afflicts some of the readers of the Public School Grammar. It is also lucid in ar THE ETON ELEMENTARY LATIN GRAMMAR. For use in the Lower Forms. Compiled, with the sanction of the Headmaster, by A. C. AINGER, M.A. Trinity College, Cambridge, and the late H. G. WINTLE, M.A., Assistant Masters at Eton College. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. THE PREPARATORY ETON GRAMMAR. Abridged from the above Work. Crown 8vo. as. *A FIRST LATIN EXERCISE BOOK. Adapted to the Latin Grammar. By A. C. AINGER, M.A., and H. G. WINTLE, M.A. Crown 8vo. zs. 6d. " We can confidently recommend this grammar." School Guardian. " These works will have the singular advantage of combining all that is best in the oldest of our Latin grammars with what is best in what are called modern improvements. The improvements in modern scholarship are put in a simple and attractive form, so as to make their acquisition easy to the learner, and not repulsive, as in the Public School Latin Primer. It is by far the most scholarly and intelligible introduction to Latin accidence hitherto published." School Board Chronicle. OVID LESSONS : being Easy Passages selected from the Elegiac Poems of OVID, with Explanatory Notes by A. C. AINGER, M.A. and H. F. W. TATHAM, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge Assistant Masters at Eton College. Crown 8vo. as. 6d. THE ETON HORACE. The Odes, Epodes, and Carmen Sseculare. With Notes. By F. W. CORNISH, M.A. In Two Parts. With Maps. Crown 8vo. 6s. As it is considered desirable that the notes should be used only in the preparation of the lesson, and not in the class, they are bound up separate from the text. "One good feature is that the notes are printed entirely separate from the text in a separate volume. They are just those that are suited to boys at that stage." Schoolmaster. The Eton Mathematical Series. 'ETON EXERCISES IN ALGEBRA. By E. P. ROUSE and A. COCKSHOTT, Assistant Masters at Eton College. Crown 8vo. 35. ETON EXERCISES IN ARITHMETIC. By REV. T. DALTON, M.A., Assistant Master at Eton College. Crown 8vo. 35. * Keys may be obtained by AUTHENTICATED TEACHERS on application. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. 21 University Manuals. Edited by PROFESSOR KNIGHT, of St. Andrew's University. A HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY. By ARTHUR BERRY, M.A., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. With over 100 Illustrations. 6s. THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE BEAUTIFUL. Parts I. and II. By PROFESSOR KNIGHT, University of St. Andrew's. 35. 6rf. each part. CHAPTERS IN MODERN BOTANY. By PATRICK GEDDES, Professor of Botany, University College, Dundee. With Illustrations. 35. 6d. THE STUDY OF ANIMAL LIFE. By J. ARTHUR THOMSON, Regius Professor of Natural Science in the University of Aberdeen. With many Illustrations. 55. THE REALM OF NATURE: A MANUAL OF PHYSIOGRAPHY. By DR. HUGH ROBERT MILL. With 19 Coloured Maps and 68 Illustrations. 55. AN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN GEOLOGY. By R. D. ROBERTS. With Coloured Maps and Illustrations. 5 s. THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SENSES. By JOHN M'KENDRICK, Professor of Physiology in the University of Glasgow, and DR. SNODGRASS, Physiological Laboratory, Glasgow. 45. 6d. THE JACOBEAN POETS. By EDMUND GOSSE. 3 s. 6d. THE ENGLISH NOVEL. By PROFESSOR WALTER RALEIGH, Glasgow University. 35. 6d. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By C. E. MALLET, Balliol College, Oxford. 35. 6d. THE RISE OF THE BRITISH DOMINION IN INDIA. By SIR ALFRED LYALL, K.C.B. With Coloured Maps. 45. 6d. ENGLISH COLONIZATION AND EMPIRE. By A. CALDECOTT, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. Coloured Maps and Plans. 35. 6rf. OUTLINES OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. By WILLIAM RENTON. With Illustrative Diagrams. 3 s. 6d. FRENCH LITERATURE. By H. G. KEENE, Wadham College, Oxford, Fellow of the University of Calcutta. 3$. LATIN LITERATURE. By J. W. MACKAIL, Balliol College, Oxford 3 s. 6d. SHAKSPERE AND HIS PREDECESSORS IN THE ENGLISH DRAMA. By F. S. BOAS, Balliol College, Oxford. 6s. GREECE IN THE AGE OF PERICLES. By A. J. GRANT, King's College, Cambridge, and Staff Lecturer in History to the University of Cambridge. With Illustrations. 3*- 6d- 22 MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. University Manuals continued, THE ELEMENTS OP ETHICS. By JOHN H. MUIRHEAD, Balliol College, Oxford, Lecturer on Moral Science, Royal Holloway College, Examiner in Philosophy to the University of Glasgow. 35. LOGIC, INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE. By WILLIAM MINTO, late Professor of Logic and Literature, University of Aberdeen. 45. 6d. THE USE AND ABUSE OF MONEY. By W. CUNNING- HAM, D.D., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Professor of Economic Science, King's College, London. 35. HISTORY OF RELIGION. By ALLAN MENZIES, D.D., Professor of Biblical Criticism, University of St. Andrew's. 55. ELEMENTS OF PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY. By GEORGE CROOM ROBERTSON, late Grote Professor, University College, London. Edited by MRS. C. A. FOLEY RHYS DAVIDS, M.A., from Notes of Lectures delivered at the College, 1870 1892. 2 Vols. 35. 6d. each. Miscellaneous Works for the Young. EARLY CHAPTERS IN SCIENCE. A FIRST BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE OF NATURAL HISTORY, BOTANY, PHYSIOLOGY, PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. By Mrs. W. AWDRY (Wife of the Bishop of South Tokyo, Japan). Edited by W. F. BARRETT, F.R.S., Professor of Experimental Physics in the Royal College of Science for Ireland. With nearly 200 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 6s. "Deserves a warm welcome from all teach illustrations are models of clear, careful, and unconventional " It can be confidently recommended to the young as a sound and pleasantly written introduction to science." Guardian. JESOP'S FABLES. A NEW VERSION. Chiefly from the Original Sources. By REV. THOMAS JAMES. With 100 Woodcuts. Illustrations by JOHN TENNIEL. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. " This work is remarkable for the clearness and conciseness with which each tale is narrated ; and the book has been relieved of those tedious and unprofitable appendages called ' morals, 1 which used to obscure and disfigure the ancient editions of the work." The Examiner. THE BIBLE IN THE HOLY LAND. Extracted from Dean Stanley's work on Sinai and Palestine. With Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. SERMONS TO YOUNG BOYS. A NEW EDITION WITH TWO NEW SERMONS. By the Rev. F. de W. LUSHINGTON, M.A. (Late Scholar of Clare College, Cambridge, and Assistant Master at Elstree School. 2nd Edition. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. SERMONS FOR CHILDREN PREACHED IN WEST- MIKSTBR ABBEY. By DEAN STANLEY. Post 8vo. 35. 6d. J MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF SCHOOL BOOKS. 23 BOOKS for SCHOLARS and ADVANCED STUDENTS. PROGRESSIVE SCIENCE SERIES. Large 8vo, cloth extra, 6s. per volume. NOW READY. THE STUDY OF MAN : AN INTRODUCTION TO ETHNOLOGY. By PROFESSOR A. C. HADDON, D.Sc., M.A., M.R.I.A. Illustrated. THE GROUNDWORK OP SCIENCE. By ST. GEORGE MIVART, M.D., PH.D., F.R.S. EARTH SCULPTURE. By PROFESSOR GEIKIE, LL.D., F.R.S. Illustrated. RIVER DEVELOPMENT. As Illustrated by the Rivers of North America. By PROFESSOR I. C. RUSSELL. Illustrated. VOLCANOES. By PROFESSOR BON NEY, D.Sc., F.R.S. Illustrated' BACTERIA. ESPECIALLY AS THEY ARE RELATED TO THE ECONOMY E NEWMAN, M.D., F.R.S.E., D.P.H., Demonstrator of Bacteriology in King's College, London. With over 90 other Illustrations. New Edition, corrected, and with an added Chapter on Tropical Diseases, an Account of Malarial Infection by Mosquitoes, and other Subjects. A BOOK OF WHALES. By the Editor of the Series, F. E. BEDDARD, M.A., F.R.S. With 40 Illustrations by SIDNEY BERRIDGE. THE COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY of the BRAIN AND COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY. 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