the Roman divinities. At the same time and later there was a large
issue of enormous plates of copper, stamped with their full value in
silver money as a countermark.
The earliest Russian coinage begins with the princes of Kiev as early as the end of the 10th century; it shows strong Byzantine influence. The grand princes from the early 15th century struck curious little silver pieces. The coinage was modernized by Peter the Great, who introduced a regular gold coinage. The large silver and copper coins of his successors are very Russia. plentiful. Nicholas I. (1825–1855) introduced a platinum coinage of about two-fifths the value of gold.
The Christian coinages of the northern Balkan States are of great interest. They are chiefly silver grossi, showing a mixture of Byzantine and Venetian influences, The Bulgarians had a regular silver coinage from Asien I. (1186–1196) to John Sismana (1371–1395). The Servian coinage lasts from Vladislas I. (1234–1240) to the middle of the 15th century. Balkan States. There is also a coinage of the Bans of Bosnia (late 13th to 15th century). The modern coinage of the Balkan States is of interest only as a revival. The independent city of Ragusa is remarkable for the bold style of its early copper (13th century, inspired by Roman models of the 4th century) and the richness and variety of its later issues.
There is a most interesting class of coins struck during the middle ages within the limits of the present Turkish empire, the money of the crusaders and other Latin princes of the East. The multitude of states thus designated have been classed by Schlumberger, the authority on the subject, in the following order, the chief divisions of which Latin East. are here given: First group, principalities of Syria and Palestine, counts of Edessa, princes of Antioch, kings of Jerusalem, counts of Tripoli, fiefs of Jerusalem, crusaders who struck imitations of Arab coins, kings of Cyprus, lords of Rhodes, grand-masters of the order of St John at Rhodes, to which may be added the later grand-masters at Malta; second group, Latin emperors of Constantinople, Frankish princes and lords of Greece and the Archipelago whose power was due to the crusade of 1204, such as the princes of Achaia, the dukes of Athens, Neapolitan kings who struck money for their Eastern possessions, Latin lords of the Archipelago, the Genoese at Chios, the Gattilusi at Mytilene, the Genoese colonies, the Venetian colonies, the Turkoman emirs of western Asia Minor who struck Latin coins. The most important currencies are the billon and copper of the princes of Antioch (Bohemund I., 1098, to Bohemund IV., 1201–1232) and the kings of Jerusalem (Baldwin II., 1118, to Conrad, 1243), the silver and copper of the counts of Tripoli (12th and 13th centuries) and the gold imitations of Arab dinārs, the currency in that metal of the Crusaders of Palestine. These Bisantii Sarracenati, or Saracen bezants, are at first imitations of Fatimite dinars, known to have been struck by Venetian moneyers at Acre, and probably at Tyre and Tripoli also. After these coins had been current for nearly a century and a half they were forbidden on account of their Mahommedan aspect by Pope Innocent IV. The Venetians then issued gold and silver coins with the same aspect but with Christian inscriptions. The kings of Cyprus issued a really good coinage in the three metals and in billon from Guy de Lusignan (1192) to Catherina Cornaro; from 1489 to 1571 the Venetians issued coins for the island. The coinage of the order of St John begins on the conquest of the island of Rhodes (1309) and the suppression of the Templars; the earliest coins known are of Foulques de Villaret (1305–1319), and the last of the Rhodian series are of Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, the gallant defender of the island who was forced to capitulate to the Turks and sail for a new home in 1522. The coinage is of fine gold, silver, billon and copper. On the establishment of the order at Malta in 1530 it is resumed there till the capture of the island by the French at the close of the 18th century; it has little interest except as showing the wealth of the order. The other currencies of the Crusaders, notwithstanding their great historical interest, are far less remarkable numismatically; the influence of the denier tournois is, however, noticeable on the coinage of the princes of Achaia (1245–1364), and the dukes of Athens (1225–1308).
Of the money of America little need be said here. Neither the coinages of the Spanish and Portuguese dependencies, and of the states which succeeded them, nor those of the English colonies and of the United States, present much that is worthy of note. In style they all resemble those of the parent countries, but, originating in the decline of art, they are inferior in style and work. They are most remarkable in the south for the abundance of gold and silver. The chief coin is the dollar. Some coins are of historical interest, and there are a few rarities, such as the colonial money of Lord Baltimore struck for Maryland, the pine-tree coins of Massachusetts, and the hog-money of Bermuda.
IV.—Oriental Coins
Oriental coins may be best classed as ancient Persian, Arab, modern Persian and Afghan, Indian and Chinese, and other issues of the far East. The first place is held by the money of the old Persian empire, the Parthians and the Sassanians. The conquests of the Arabs introduce a new currency, carried on by the Moslem inheritors of their empire. The modern Persian and Afghan money, though of Arab origin, is distinguished by the use of the Persian language with Arabic. The Indian currencies, though Greek, Sanskrit, Arab and Persian in their inscriptions, must be grouped together on account of their mutual dependence. They rise with the Bactrian kings, whose Greek types are gradually debased by the Indo-Scythians and Guptas; these are followed by a group of currencies with Sanskrit legends; next follow the money of Arab conquerors and the great series of the Pathans of Delhi and subsidiary dynasties, with Arabic inscriptions; the main series is continued in the currency of the Moguls, who largely use Persian, and the last series is closed by local currencies mainly with Sanskrit or Arabic legends. The Chinese coinages form the source and centre of the group of the far East, which, however, includes certain exceptional issues. The order throughout is historical, each empire or kingdom being followed by the smaller states into which it broke up, and then by the larger ones which were formed by the union of these fragments.
The Persian coinage was probably originated by Darius I. about the time that he organized the empire in satrapies. The regular taxation thus introduced made a uniform coinage necessary. Avoiding the complex gold system of Croesus, which was intended to accommodate the Greek cities in commercial relation with Lydia, Darius chose two weights, the gold shekel of 8·4 grammes and the silver drachm of 5·58 grammes. One gold piece was equal to twenty silver. The gold coin was called the daric, the silver the siglos. The metal was very pure, especially that of the daric. Thus not only were the Lydian gold and silver coins of inferior weight thrown out of circulation, but the Persian gold, from its purity, became dominant, and was the chief gold currency of the ancient world so long as the empire lasted. The issuing of gold was a royal prerogative. Silver money was coined not only by the king but in the provinces by satraps, who used local types, and by tributary states. The following classes must be distinguished: (1) regal, (2) satrapal, (3) of tributary states. The art of Persian coins varies according to the locality, from the beautiful purely Greek work of the west coast of Asia Minor to the more formal style of Cilicia and the thoroughly hieratic stiffness of Phoenicia and Persia.
The regal coinage is of darics (Pl. IV. fig. 2) and subdivisions in gold and of sigli and subdivisions in silver. The obverse type is the king as an archer, the reverse an irregular oblong incuse. The darics show differences of style, and must extend through the whole period of the empire. The sigli no doubt run parallel with them. Both these denominations are uninscribed.
The satrapal coinage is very important and interesting. It belongs mainly to Cilicia. The most remarkable series is that with a bearded head wearing a tiara, with various reverses, struck apparently at Colophon, Cyzicus and Lampsacus, and in one instance bearing the name of the satrap Pharnabazus, but usually the word “king” in Greek. The coin of Colophon shows a splendid portrait, one of the finest instances of Ionian work. It probably represents Pharnabazus (see Pl. IV. fig. 1). Of other satrapal issues those of Datames, of Tiribazus and Cilician issues, struck at Tarsus, are specially noteworthy. Their inscriptions are Aramaic.
The coinages of the tributary states have been in part noticed in their geographical order.
After the fall of the empire, the generals and satraps such as Mazaeus who governed Alexander’s newly-acquired dominions issued coins from various mints, especially Babylon. The gold coins were double darics of the same types as their single predecessors. The silver coins were mainly modelled on the coins which Mazaeus had previously issued in Cilicia with the types of Baal-Taro and Lion. Some of them may have been issued as far East as Bactria and North West India. These are followed by the first native coinage, inscribed below under India.
