LATER EUROPEAN] NUMISMATICS less casts of genuine farthings, and counters made in imitation of English The English medals are far more interesting for their bearing on events than as works of art. The best are almost all by foreigners, but the fine pieces of the Simons form notable exceptions. The medals of the Tudors are good in style, and show some excellent portraits, in particular those by Trezzo and Stephen H. (generally known as Stephen of Holland). There is one of Mary queen of Scots by Primavera, representing her in middle life, which is perhaps her most characteristic portrait. Elizabeth's are of historical importance, and some of them, as the Armada medals (see Pl.V. fig. 7), have a certain barbaric grandeur, being probably the work of English artists. The richer series of the Stuart period contains some medals of fine style. These include works by Warin, the Simons and the Roettiers, besides the excellent coin engravers Briot and Rawlins. The numerous badges worn by adherents of various parties during the civil war and Commonwealth have a personal and historical interest. The most curious pieces are those popular issues relating to current events, such as the socalled "Popish plot," and a certain interest attaches to medals of the exiled Stuarts. From this time there are no works deserving notice except military and naval medals, the historical interest of which makes some amends for their poverty of design and execution. The English tokens form a curious class. They were issued chiefly at the middle of the 17th century and somearc of two periods: the earlier, which are almost always of copper, what later; the later, which are mainly of copper, but also sometimes of silver, were struck during the scarcity of the royal coinage in this metal at the end of the 18th century, and during the earlier years of the 19th century. Both were chiefly coined by tradesmen and bear their names. The colonial money of England was until lately unimportant, but now (except in style) it is not unworthy of the wealth and activity of the dependencies. The "Anglo-Gallic" money struck by the English kings for their French dominions forms a peculiar class. It was begun by Henry II., who struck deniers and half-deniers for Aquitaine. Richard I. (whose name is not found on his English coinage) struck for most of the French domains, but no coins are attributed to John or Henry III. Edward I.'s coins are of billon; of Edward II. there are none. Gold was introduced before 1337, and there are fine series of gold, silver, and billon of Edward III. (see Pl. III. fig. 19) and the Black Prince. Henry, earl of Lancaster, struck silver at Bergerac (1345-1361). The succeeding kings down to Henry VI. (first reign) all issued Anglo-Gallic coins. There was a temporary revival under Henry VIII. at Tournay (1513-1519). The whole series, with the exception of the Calais coinage, is French in character. to sign the coins in Edward I.'s reign. Henry III. made an abortive attempt to introduce a gold coinage, which was successfully established by Edward III. in 1343, with the gold florin, and in 1344 with the gold noble (see Pl. III. fig. 20). (The obverse type of the noble, the king in a ship, is generally thought to refer to the victory of Sluys in 1340.) He also introduced the silver groat (4d.) and half-groat. The English coinage, both gold and silver, was now of such high quality and reputation that it (especially the silver sterling) was largely exported and imitated, chiefly in the Low Countries. The gold coinage of Edward III. is perhaps the most successful, from an artistic point of view, in the English series. Subsequent developments of the coinage now become very complicated. Edward IV. distinguished his noble by t a rose on the obverse and a sun on the reverse, and introduced a new gold coin, the angel. The Tudor period is distinguished by the splendour, variety and size of the coins; Henry VII. introduced the sovereign of 20s. (240 grains) and the shilling, and on his coins the first serious attempt at portraiture is found (see Pl. III. fig. 21). Under Henry VIII the quality of the silver money declines, being not effectually restored until the reign of Elizabeth, when an unsuccessful attempt was made to introduce a copper coinage. Private tokens came into use, but the official copper coinage does not begin until the next reign. The use of the mill, as distinct from the hammer, was begun in 1562, but it took just a century to oust the old-fashioned method. In 1613 John, Lord Harrington, obtained a patent for the issue of copper farthings, and private tradesmen's tokens were prohibited. The gold sovereign of James I., from its inscription (FACIAM EOS IN GENTEM VNAM) and the fact that it was meant to circulate on both sides of the Border, was known as the unite. The coinage of Charles I. presents great varieties owing to the civil war. The best workmanship is seen on the milled coins issued by Nicolas Briot. But the majority of the money was still hammered. The scarcity of gold in the royal treasury during the troubles induced the king to coin twenty- and ten-shilling pieces of silver, in addition to the crowns and smaller denominations. Gold three-pound pieces, or triple-unites, however, were issued from the Oxford mint. One of the most remarkable of his pieces is a crown struck at Oxford by Rawlins. It bears on the obverse the king on horseback, with a representation of the town beneath the horse, and on the reverse the heads of the "Oxford Declaration." The so-called "Juxon medal," given by Charles to Bishop Juxon on the scaffold, is really a pattern-piece by Rawlins (see Pl. V. fig. 1). Of equal interest are the siege-pieces of many castles famous in the annals of those days. They are mostly of silver, often mere pieces of plate with a stamp; but Colchester and Pontefract issued gold. The coinage of the Commonwealth is of a plainness proper to the principles of those who sanctioned it. The great Protector, however, caused money to be designed of his own bearing his head. It is not certain that this was ever sent forth, and it is therefore put in the class of patterns. Simon, the chief of English medallists, designed the coins, which are unequalled in the whole series for the vigour of the portrait (a worthy presentment of the head of Cromwell) and the beauty and fitness of every portion of the work. The finest coin produced under Charles II., and technically the best executed piece in the whole English series, is the "Petition Crown" (see Pl. V. fig. 2), a pattern by Simon, to which, however-probably The coinage of Scotland is allied to that of England, although for political reasons-the work of Jan Roettier was preferred. Maundy money was first struck in this reign, and the name generally ruder; but it seems to have been more influenced in the France. The oldest picces are silver pennies or sterlings, guinea was now applied to the 20s. piece. In 1672 a true copper early period from England, and towards its close from coinage of halfpence and farthings was introduced. Hence- resembling the contemporary English money of the reign forward there is a decline in the coinage, although skill is perceived of David I. (1124-1153). David II. after 1357 introduced a gold in the portrait of William III., whose grand features could scarcely coinage. In the 15th and 16th centuries there is an important the fine bonnet-piece of James V., and the various issues of Queen have failed to stimulate an artist to more than a common effort. coinage, both in gold and silver, not the least interesting pieces being Queen Anne's money is also worthy of note, on account of the Mary, many of which bear her portrait. The indifferent execution of the coins of Mary's reign is traceable to the disturbed state of the attempt, on Dean Swift's suggestion, to commemorate current Wales has never had a coinage of its own, properly speaking. A history on the copper coinage, which led to the issue of the famous kingdom. The Scottish coinage came to an end in 1709. farthings (see Pl. V. fig. 4). These have been the cause of an extraGood, a contemporary of Edmund (died c. 950), was ordinary delusion, to the effect that a very small number (some unique penny attributed with good reason to Howel the perhaps struck at Chester. Various English kings struck coins at Say three) of these pieces were struck, and that their value is a thousand pounds each, instead of usually some shillings. Worth-Welsh mints such as Rhuddlan, Pembroke. Scotland. Wales. The money of Ireland is more scanty and of less importance than | republic. The monetary systems of the cantonal and ecclesiasthat of Scotland. The pieces most worthy of notice are the silver tical mints were extremely complicated. This was partly due pennies of the early Danish kings, the earliest being that Ireland. of Sihtric III. (989-1029), copied from contemporary to the variety of coins, partly to the debasement practised by English pennies. The Anglo-Irish coinage begins in 1177, when John the ecclesiastical mints. Geneva had a peculiar system of her as lord of Ireland received the right of coinage. A copper coinage own. was introduced as early as the reign of Henry VI. The quality of the Irish coinage was exceedingly poor in the 16th century, especially under Elizabeth. Between 1642 and 1647 various kinds of money of necessity were issued, including the only gold Irish coin, the Inchiquin pistole. After his expulsion from England James II. issued enormous quantities of coins of necessity made of gunmetal or pewter. The latest Irish coins were the penny and halfpenny of The Isle of Man had a regular copper coinage, beginning in 1709 with pence and halfpence under the Derby family, continued by James, duke of Athol (issue of 1758), and by the English sovereigns from 1786 to 1864. The badge of the island Man. is the three-legged symbol, with the motto Quocunque jeceris stabit. 1822. Isle of and Modera Sicily. Italy and Italy, with Sicily, has peculiar features. Here the barbaric coinages were mixed with the Byzantine issues which marked the recovery of the Eastern empire, and left a lasting influence in the north at Venice, and in the south at Beneventum. Later the Arab conquest left its mark in the curious Oriental coinages of the Normans of Sicily and the emperor Frederick II., mixed after his fashion with Latin coinage. The earliest money is that of the barbarians, Ostrogoths and Lombards, and local Byzantine issues in Sicily. This is followed by the deniers of Charlemagne and his successors, supplanted by the gold currencies of the Normans and Frederick II. The age of the free cities is marked by the great coinages of Florence, Venice and Genoa, while the Angevin and Aragonese princes coined in the south, and the popes began to issue a regular currency of their own at Rome. The Italian princes of the next period coined in Savoy, and at Florence, Modena, Mantua and other cities, while Rome and the foreign rulers of the south continued their mintages, Venice and Genoa of the republics alone surviving. The Italian monetary systems have already been touched on in the introductory notice. For art the series is invaluable. First in Italy the revival influenced the coins, and in them every step of advance found its record. The Italian medals are without rivals in the works of modern times. Following the geographical order which is best suited to the Italian coinage, we first notice the money of Savoy, which is Belgium occupies the next place in our arrangement. Its coinage, which, except for the few mints operating under the Merovingians and Carolingians, does not begin until Belgium the 11th century, comprises many pieces struck by Holland, foreign rulers, and has little of an independent character in either the regal or the seignorial class. The most important coinages are those of the house of Burgundy and Charles V. and his son, and of the bishops of Liége. In character the coinage of Belgium approximates to the French on the one side, the German on the other. About 1400 the Burgundian school produced a remarkable series of medals representing Roman emperors, of which two (those of Constantine and Heraclius) have come down to us; these form a link between the late Roman medallion and the Italian medal of the Re-inferior in art to that of the rest of the country. It begins with naissance. The series of Holland is similar in character until the period of the revolt of the provinces. The Dutch dollars of the 16th to the 18th centuries had an immense circulation (see Pl. V. fig. 3). Among the early Dutch medallists must be mentioned Stephen H., generally without reason known as Stephen of Holland (working 1558-1572), whose portraits show great charm. The Dutch historical medals are of great interest, more especially those which were struck by the Protestants in commemoration of current events. There is also a remarkable series of bronze medallets or jettons, which form a continuous commentary on history during the 16th and early part of the 17th centuries. Both are interesting as largely illustrating not only local events but also those of the chief European states. Such are the pieces recording the raising of the siege of Leiden, likened to the destruction of Sennacherib's army, the assassination of William the Silent, and the discomfiture of the Armada, affording striking indications of the zeal, the piety and the confidence in the right which built up the great political structure of the Dutch republic. After this time the medals lose much of their interest. Land. The money of Switzerland illustrates the varying fortunes of this central state, and the gradual growth of the stronghold of European freedom. First we have the gold money Switzer of the Frankish kings, among whose mints Basel, Lausanne, St Maurice-en-Valais and Sitten (Sion) already appear. The silver deniers, which Charlemagne made the coinage of the empire, are issued by fewer mints; the dukes of Swabia began to strike at Zurich in the 10th century, and the empire granted during the 10th and to the 13th century the right of coinage to various ecclesiastical foundations, bishoprics and abbeys. Bern was allowed a mint by the emperor Frederick II. in 1218, and other towns and seigneurs subsequently gained the same right. The demi-bracteate appears about the middle of the 11th century, and about 1125 is superseded by the true bracteate, which lasts until about 1300. The 14th century witnessed the rise of the Swiss confederation, and by degrees the cantons struck their own money. These, together with the coins of some few sees and abbacies, form the bulk of Swiss money of the medieval and modern periods. The separate cantonal coinage, interrupted by the French occupation, was finally suppressed in 1848, when a uniform currency was adopted by the whole Umberto II. (1080); in 1720 the dukes became kings of Sardinia, and their coinage merged eventually in 1861 in that of the kingdom of Italy. Genoa is the first of the great republics. She obtained the right of coinage from Conrad II. in 1139, and struck gold coins from the time of the general origin of civic coinage in that metal; these are ducats and their divisions, and after a time their multiples also. In the 17th century there are very large silver pieces. In the money of Mantua there are fine coins of Gianfrancesco III. (1484-1519) and Vincenzo II. (1627-1628), these last splendid examples of the late Renaissance, large pieces of gold and silver; the portrait is fine, and the hound on the reverse a powerful design. The vicissitudes of the story of Milan find their record in no less than ten groups of money-Lombard regal coins, Carolingian deniers, money of the republic (12601310), next of the Visconti family (1329-1447), succeeded by the republic (1447-1450) and by the Sforza line, next of Louis XII. and Francis I. of France, of the restored Sforza, of Charles V. by Spanish right and his successors of Spain, and lastly of Austria. There are extremely fine coins of the 15th century, showing great beauty in their portraits (see Pl. III. fig. 22). The money of Florence is disappointing in its art. The Athens of the middle ages had the same reason as her prototype to preserve as faithfully as might be the types and aspect of her most famous coin, the gold florin (see Pl. III. fig. 8), and thus those who expect to see in this series the story of Italian art will be much disappointed. The silver florin was first struck in 1189. It is heavier than the denier, weighing about 27 grains, and bears the lily of Florence and the bust of St John the Baptist. These are thenceforward the leading types, the flower never changing, but the representation of the saint being varied. On the gold florin, first issued in 1252, the Baptist is represented standing, while in the contemporary silver florins he is seated. In the 14th century the arms of a moneyer appear in the field, two such officers have had the right of striking yearly, cach for six months. The coins of the duchy from 1532, in spite of their new types, are not a fine scries; the best are those of Alessandro, designed by Cellini. Venice as a mint even surpasses Florence in conservatism, and, the early style being distinctly Byzantine, this is the more striking in a great artistic city. We find Venice as an imperial mint issuing Carolingian deniers, but the doges begin to coin, placing their own names on their currency, in the 12th century. |