Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/180

 NUMISMATICS

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NUMISMATICS

aro jiistifiod, wc say, in assigning some mystiral mean- ing to all those things, which may not perhaps have been very closely conceived by those who institutecl these ceremonies, but which nevertheless had an in- fluence in determining their choice why the ceremony should be performed in this particular way and riot otherwise. (For explanation of the mystical signifi- cance commonly attached to the use of numbers sec Symbolism.)

Herbert Thurston.

Numismatics (from the Greek vbfuana, "legal cur- rency ",) is (he science of coins and of medals. Every coin or medal being a product of the cultural, economic, and ])olitical cdiidit ions uniU-r which it originated, this science is divided according to the various civilized communities of niankinil. It is not only a distinct science, but also, in its respective parts, a branch of all those sciences which are concerned with the history of nations and of their culture — classical archajology, history in its narrower sense, Orientalism, etc. Prac- tically, only ancient, modern, and possibly Oriental numismatics are of importance. Furthermore, a dis- tinction should be made between numismatography, which is chiefly descrijitive, and numismatology, which views the coin from its artistic, economic, and cultural side.

The dependence of theoretical numismatics on the pursuit of coin-collecting is clearly seen in the history of the science. The earliest publications of any im- portance were written to meet the needs of collectors (e. g., the various cabinets of Taler, Groschen, and ducats, and the Miinzbelustibungen, or "coin-pas- times"), whereas the foundations for a scientific treat- ment of ancient numismatics were not supplied until 1790, by Eckhel, and for modern not until the nine- teenth century by Mader, Grote, and Lelewel. (It is worth remembering that St. Thomas Aquinas, in "De regimine principis", II, xiii, xiv, treated the subject of money and coinage, and this work was for many years the authority among canonists.) The oldest col- lection of coins of which we have certain knowledge dates back to the fifteenth century, and was made by Petrarch; his example fouml numerous imitators. Hubert Goltz, in 1556-60, vi-ii^ d thr various collec- tions of Europe, of which thvvr :ir' ^,lid In have been 950. In comparison with pri\;itc collections, which are as a rule scattered after the death of their owTiers, the collections of rulers, states, or museums, possess paramount importance, and furnish the most reliable basis for numismatic investigations. As early as 1756 Francis I of Austria in two works of great beauty, " Monnoyes en or" and " Monnoyes en argent", made know-n the treasures of his collection; and in recent years the great catalogues, especially those of the British Museum, have become the most important sources of information in this science. The needs of both collectors and theoretical students have called into being a large number of numismatic societies, as well as about 100 technical periodicals, in large part published by these societies. From the meetings of the (ierman Society of Numismatics, held from year to year in difTerent cities, there have developed in- ternational congresses: Brussels, 1892; Paris, 1900 (Records and Transactions, pubhshed by Comte de Castellaneand A. Blanchet); Rome, 1903; (Atti del congrcsso intemazionale di scienze storiche, 6 vols.); Bru.ssels, 1910.

I. Coins. — Coins may be defined as pieces of metal that serve as legal tender. The term includes ordi- nary currency, commemorative or presentation pieces stamped by public authority in accordan<!e with the e.ftablished .standard, etc., but not paper money or private coinage. To the last class we refer the English tokens which were largely circulated as a result of the insufficient supply of fractional coin about the year 1800; furthermore, the pieces called mereaux, issued,

especially by church corporations, as vouchers for money, and afterwards for\alue in general, likejf(o?!s, orcnunters, and Rrchiiiiriijxpfriiiiii/r. When each indi- viilual is no longer able to wrest from the earth his own subsistence, the neces.sity arises for sharing l:ibour and distributing its products. This is at first cfrected by barter of conunodities, which requires a universally available medium of exchange usually found in cattle (in Homer the equipment of Menelaus is valued at 9 steers; that of Glacus, at 100). Besides cattle, prim- itive men have used hides, pelts, cloth, etc., for this purpose. Soon, however, it becomes necessary to find a measure of value that can be employed universally, and for this gold, silver, and copper have been used from very early times; in comparati\'ely recent years after experimentation with many other metals, nickel has been added to these. The first stage of metallic money is reached with the weighing out of pieces of metal of any shape; but, as only the gross weight can be de- termined by this procedure, and not the degree of fine- ness (a very essential factor in the case of the precious metals), the necessity arises of certifying fineness by the stamp of public authority, and this stamp makes the lump of metal a coin. The employment of only one of the metals mentioned soon proves insufficient: it is impossible to put into circulation gold coins of sufficiently small denomination or, using the base metal, to issue coins of sufficiently high values. It is necessary, therefore, to make use of tw-o or three metals at the same time. This may be done either by employing the one precious metal as a measure of value and the other, together with copper, only as a commodity or subsidiary coin, or else by using both metals concurrently as measures of value at a ratio fixed by law (bimetalfism), a course however, which has frequently caused difficulties on account of the fluctuations in the rate of exchange of the two precious metals.

Inform, coins are usually circular, sometimes oval, and quadrangular; these last are particularly common in emergency coinage, and in Sweden had grown to an immense size and great w'eight. There are also found, especially in the Far East, coins of the most eccentric shapes. In addition to the device and inscription coins frequently bear what are called mint marks or mint-masters' marks which deserve special mention. Mint-masters and die-sinkers have in many eases been accustomed to distinguish their works by means of certain marks or letters; and the mints distinguish their respective coins either by letters, indicating the place of issue by conventional and arbitrary marks, or by some other means — sometimes scarcely perceptible to the uninitiated — such as the placing of a dot be- neath a particular letter of the inscription. In this way the various issues of coins, otherwise alike, are kept distinct.

The science of numismatics is materially advanced by finds of coins in large quantities: in addition to a knowledge of previously unknown types, such dis- coveries afford an instructive insight into the actual circulation of coins at given periods anfl the extent to which certain coinages were current beyond the con- fines of their own states, and help us to assign undated varieties, especially those of the Middle Ages, to some particular mint-master or precise period. In the study of the science, as w'ell as in the classification of coins, it is the practice to follow-, chronologically, three great eras: the ancient, medieval, and modern; geo- graphically, the different political divisions of the re- spective times. For the Greek coins, Eckhel has adopted an exemplary system which is still in use. Beginning at the Pillars of Hercules, he takes up the countries of the world, as known to the ancients, in the order of their positions around the Mediterranean : first those of Europe, then Asia as far as India, and lastly Africa from Egypt back to the Straits of Gibraltar.