Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/797

NUMISMATIC SOCIETY. 679 NUMISMATICS. York City, wherc it possesses a valuable collec- tion anil a good library of liuoks on numismatics, arclucoloyy, and kindred tu])ics. NUMISMATICS (from Lat. nuinisma, no- mismii, Iriim (ik. pd/uafaa, coin, legal tender, from mfd^eiv, Huiiiizeiii, to use customarily, from v6iMt, noiiios, law, custom). The science which has for its object the studj' of coins and medals in tlipii" historical, artistic, iconographie. and economic aspects. In so far as it concerns ancient coins, numismatics is a branch of ar- chieolog;'; but as, in its broadest scope, it in- cludes the coins of all times and peoples, it is a distinct science, wider in its field than any of those branches of investigation which it serves so well to elucidate and expand. IMatkrial of the Study. Nomenclature. The tnaterial of the study is the coin (a word derived through the French coin, 'a die,' from the Latin cuneus, 'wedge'), which is, strictly speaking, a piece of metal stamjjed with a hgtil impress for public circulation. Isidorus (Oriiiiues, xvi. 17) well expresses this definition: "There are three essentials of a coin : metal, legal type, and weight. In the absence of any of these essentials, it will not be a coin." In its strict application, then, numismatics should con- fine itself to the legal metallic currencj' of gov- ernment, to the exclusion of all else. But there are many objects that bear so close a resemblance in form or in usage to actual coins, that they are naturally and inevitably included in the study. Such are medals, struck in commemora- tion of an event or a person, and not for circula- tion as money (see Medal) ; the ancient contor- niates, the use of which is not yet fully under- stood, though they may well have served as checkers in the games; the obscene spintrice; the so-called tesserw of ivory, bone, or lead; and in modern times, siege-pieces; jctons; hard times, tradesmen's, bank tokens, and paper cur- rency, not to speak of such primitive mediums of exchange as the cowry-shells of India and the wampum of the American Indians. Numismatics has an exact terminology peculiar to its own needs. That side of the coin on which the face or main device is struck is called the ohrrrse (Ger. flnuptscite, Fr. droit or avers. It. diritto), while the other side is known as the rercrsc (Ger. Riickseite or Kehrscite, Fr. revers. It. rovescio) . The characteristic device on either side, whether portrait, figure, or scene, is called the type. In describing the type, the terms "to right,' 'to left' refer to the right and left of the spectator. Besides the 'type' there is often a small figure, or adjunct (especially in ancient coins), as a mint-mark, or the like, which .serves to identify the coin more clo.sely. This is called a syntbol. The principal inscrip- .tion of either side, which may be circular, fol- lowing the line of the rim, or in one or more lines across the surface, is called the legend. That part of either surface left unoccupied by type and legend is known as the field, and is often occupied by symbols, letters, or monograms. The lower portion of the field, separated from the rest by a horizontal line, is the exergue. The term fiun is applied to the disk, or blank, of metal, ready to be coined, and hence to the coin itself regarded as a metallic disk. Thus a coin is said to be struck on a broad or narrow flan. The diameter of the flan determines the module, or measurement, of the coin. Three sys- tems are in vogue for measuring coins: (a) the so-called 'Jlionnet's scale,' a purely arbitrary method based on circles of varying diameter, used mostly in the older works, and now obsolete; (b) by fractions of the inch; this is the recog- nized usage in England; (c) by millimeters. The last is the most scientific method, and is in use on the Continent of Europe anil largely in this country as well. The weight of coins is often a vci'y important consideration, especially in determining the place of ancient coins. In England the weight is registered in troy grains. On the Continent, however, and largely in Amer- ica, it is given in grams. One giam is equal to about fifteen grains. Patina is a technical term of ancient numismatics. Copper coins that have long lain in the ground, in connection with cer- tain salts there existing, acquhc a delicate surface-oxidation, generally green, which is called patina, and adds much to the beauty of the coin. Coins so oxidized are said to be patinated. There are two ways of making coins: (a) by casting in molds, the more primitive method, after- wards mostly confined to counterfeits; (b) by striking with dies. Even in the case of struck coins, the flan is often prepared by casting. The various metals used for coinage deserve a word of elucidation. ( A ) Gold w as the standard metal of Asia Minor in the earliest times. It was rarely coined in Greece proper, but was largely minted by Alexander the Great and his immediate successors, by the Egyptian Ptolemies, in the Grseco-Baetrian Empire, and at certain West Hellenic cities, as Syracuse in Sicily and Tarentum in Italy. The Romans first coined gold for the pajTuent of their troops en- gaged in war against Hannibal in Southern Italy (B.C. 216-202). During the Republican period gold was coined only at irregular intervals and in limited quantities. But with Augustus and his successors there wereenonnous issues of gold currency, until the third century, when it became rare, until again renewed by Constantine and the later Roman and Byzantine emperors. Again, during the Dark Ages, in Europe gold fell into disuse as money, to be revived in modern times. It is now the standard in most civilized countries. (B) Eleetrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver in the proportion, roughly speaking, of 73 parts gold to 27 silver, found in the river-beds of ancient Lydia in Asia Minor, was largely coined by the kings of that country and by the Grecian cities along the neighboring coast, especially Cyzicus and Phocsea. An artificially made elee- trum was used for coins at Carthage, at Syracuse, and by some of the Gallic chiefs. Eleetrum has the color of very pale "old, whence it was some- times called 'wlnte gold {evKbs xp"'"'^') hy the Greeks, (C) I'laliniiiii was coined extensively instead of gold in Russia from 1828 to 1840. (D) Silver was the earliest, and always re- mained the standard, coinage of Greece. It was introduced into Rome n.c. 208, and was universal in ancient, as it is in modern, times. During the Middle Ages it was the standard currency, but is now replaced as such by gold in most countries, being used onl.v for subsidiary coinage. (E) Billon is a name applied to certain base coins of ancient times, having silver for a basis with a very heav;- alloy of copper, tin, or lead. Such were the denarii and antoniniani substi- tuted for silver at Rome from Caracalla (a.d.