Page:Pleasing art of money-catching (4).pdf/4

 worth 2s 6d) came to 1251. which at that day was a noble present for a king to give.

But besides shekels and silverlings, there were talents also, the weight of which was 75 ounces. A talent of silver contained the value of 1871. 10s. Of each of these coins there is frequent mention in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Our Saviour commanded Peter to take up the fish that first came to hand,and when he had opened its mouth he should find therein a piece of money, which he was to take and give the tax-gatherers for his Master and himself: which piece of money was called a Stator, which consisted of half-an-ounce of silver, the value of which was 2 shillings. And when the Jews came to ensnare our Saviour, about the lawfulness of paying tribute to Cæsar, he desired them to shew the tribute-money, and they shewed him a penny, of value 7d-half-penny; and that this money was coined and stamped, appeared by our Saviour's asking them, whose image and superscription was upon it? To which they answered, Cæsar. But I need not quote Scripture to prove that the Jews and Romans used to coin money, the image and superscription giving a value to it, and promoting the currency of it; for silver was coined in Rome, in the year of the world 3672, which was about 300 years before the Christian era.

History tells us that silver was first of all coined in the Isle Engina, and that in Rome it was stamped with the impression of a chariot and horses. And Janus caused brass to be coined with a face on the one side, and a ship on the other, in memory of Saturnus, who arrived there in a ship. Servius Tullius, a king of the Romans, first coined brass with the image of a sheep and an ox. And