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DYE'S

COIN ENCYCLOPEDIA:A

COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED HISTORYOF THK

*

Coins of the World.CONTAINING A FULL ACCOUNT OFTIIF.

EARLIEST

KNOWN MEDIUMS OF EXCHANGE; DISCOVERY OK TI1K PRK.CIprr, METALS; COINS OF THE BIBLE; ANCIENT GREEK, ROMAN. AND JF.WISII COINAGE; EARLY AND MODERN COINS OF ASIA AND AFRICA; ANGLO-AMERICAN, AMERICAN COLONIAL, AND CONTINENTAL ISSUES; ANGLO-AMERICAN TOKENS, ANDTHE PATTERNPIECES,

EXPERIMENTAL

ISSUES,

AND

COINS

OF THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

TOGETHER WITH A GENERA]. HISTORY OF

MINES, MINING, MINTS, ASSAYS, ETC., ETC.

ILLUSTRATED WITH *OVER FIFTEEN HUNDRED FAC-SIMILES.

BY

JOHNMASON,

S.

DYE,)

{Founder of Dye's Counterfeit JDctector.

TO WHICHBYE.

IS

ADDED AN APPENDIX,JR.,

(NUMISMATIST,)LA'I

PRESENTING AN AUTHENTICATED STATEMENT OF THK COINAGE OF THE

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY, AT NEW ORLEANS, IN l86l, WITH COPIES OF PAPERS ON FILE IN TIIF. CONFEDERATE ARCHIVES AT WASHINGTON, AND FAC-S1MILE OF THE COINS ISSUED.

PHILADELPHIAIBIE^ .A-

:

ID

L IE

"X"

&

oo-'DMcST.

:

Xo. 66

NORTH FOURTH

1883.

Copyright,

EMMA

C.

DYE, 1883.

STACK ANNEX

PREFACE,

is

A PARAMOUNT consideration in putting a book on the market A demand, therefore, essential to success. a demand.is

Strange to say, such atry sinceits

demand has remained unmet

in this

coun-

inception in the publication, or the absence of a

publication, of a universal history, accurately illustrated, of the

coins of the world, precious metal resources, mintages, etc.

This

unoccupied

field in

the commercial and numismatic worlds,

we

trust, is intelligently

and comprehensively

filled

in the

work

which

this prefaces.

Theand

author,

years the editorfor forty

S. Dye, the founder and for thirty odd and publisher of "Dye's Counterfeit Detector" years a recognized authority on the paper and

John

precious metal currencies of the world, devoted the best years

of his

life to

compiling^ and formulating matter, corresponding

with the

"moneyandin

centres" of the world, expending large sumssimiles of coins

of money in the procuration of facoriginal

drawn fromall

many

instances almost extinct specimensit is its

culminating in a work of which

own

original

;

a work

which

will stand for all ages, a

monument of

the past, and a

criterion for the present.

Shortly before the closing pages were given to the printer,the author, then in the eventide of a long and eventfulpeacefully "gathered to his fathers," and thenecessarily suspended.(3)

life,

was

work on

the book

4

PREFACE.

Whendite facts

the merits of such an elaborate compilation of recon-

and

only to the

on a subject of such vast importance, not money-changer and antiquarian, but to the generalfigures,

reader, were

made known

to the undersigned publishers, they

assumed the responsibility of completing the publication andgivingitit

to the public at the advertised price, notwithstanding

contains

some

five

hundred more pages than was originallyencountered in the publication

intended.

To

realize

the

difficulties

of so elaborate and comprehensive a work as the present one, both in the matter of text and illustration, it is necessary tostate that true copies

of the original coins are indispensable to the

correctness of history in the matter of illustrating a nation's

coinage; and the searchcabinetsis

among

the various public and privatefruitless in results.

often laborious

and sometimes

fac similes and would have discouraged many sort, numismatic writers possessing less energy and ambition thanis

Again ; the

collation of material explanatory of the

a task of no ordinary

the author

who devoted

so

much

of his valuable time to a

work of which

fate prevented

the full accomplishment.

In

connection with the national and other coinages herein presented, full details are given of the various national mints,

with an exhaustive resume on mines, mining and assays of the precious metals; thus tracing the world's coinages from theirorigin to their completion as public circulating

mediums of

exchange.

In the combination and condensation of numismaticthe text and illustrations,it

matter, both inthis

we

fully believe

work has

neither compeer nor rival,

being the only com-

bined illustrated history of the world's coinage and precious

metal resources extant.

The work

has undergone a strict censorship at the hands of

PREFACE.

5

the most accomplished and critical numismatists of this and

other

cities.

We are

especially indebted to Dr.

Edward Marisand

and E. Mason,

Jr., for laborious research

and valuable addenda.

This, together with the author's well-known discerninganalytical

assuring the reader that the accuracy of the

mind and scope of comprehension, warrant us in work can be relied

upon with a maximum degree of certainty.

BRADLEY & COMPANY.Philadelphia, 1883.

CONTENTS.PREFACE

THE ORIGIN OF MONY THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEYANCIENT COINAGESBRITISH COLONIAL COINAGES UNITED STATES COINAGE. THEFUGIOS

AMERICAN AND OTHER GOLDCOINS OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES:

3 7 14 4M 115 247 257

ABYSSYNIA ARABIA

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

.'

A USTRIABOLIVIA BRAZIL

BELGIUM

CENTRAL AMERICACHILI

CHINA

DENMARK ANDECUADOR FRANCE

POSSESSIONS

GERMAN EMPIRE GREAT BRITAIN AND POSSESSIONS GREECE HOLLANDITALY JAPAN MEXICO

ORWAY PARAGUAY PERU POLAND PORTUGALIf

RUSSIA SPAIN

SWEDENSWITZERLAND

TURKEYUNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA

URUGUAY VENEZUELAUNITED STATES OF AMERICA APPENDIX COINAGE OF THE "SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY."(6)

481 482 484 488 512 525 532 545 556 566 585 60S 609 640 759 877 883 902 968 978 989 993 994 1002 1003 1008 1018 1032 1037 1045 1055 1061 1062 1065 1150

CURRENT COINS OF THE WORLD,AND THEIR PRESENT EXCHANGEABLE"

VALUES.19 Hall Street,

Tabulated for "Dye's

Com

Encyelopzdia

by

ZIMMERMAN & FORSHAT,DEALERS IN

Sew

fork,

Bullion, Specie,

and Foreign Bank Notes. Railroad Stocks, Bonds, and Mining Stocks bought and sold strictly on commission for cash or on margin.

JANUARY,

1BB3.

UNITED STATES.Gold.California Quintuple Eagle

BKITISH COLONIES.Gold.$53.55 20.0010.00

Double EagleEagle .... Half Eagle$t! Dollars Ihree n ?arte

ur * nd ia 9 J[> Oi.eMohur, E. India H alf Sovereign'

ne

,

,,:

E

sle

5.00 a s 3.00'

Newfoundland,^Sierra Leone Co.

J?' 1 ? 7.08 2.41 1.95

OneDollarCalifornia Gold Georgia Gold 22 carat.

i.oofine

Silver. Doi

98 94j

One

Dollar 1791 1 hree Guilders

$0.80 8075

Bechtler Doll Bechtler, Rutherford Bechder, 5, C. Rutherford

.Q5

2.40 4.75

r>ov.o^o CanadaIj

Q,-ITT/Silver.

Silver.Mutilated Silver, per oz Standard Dollar Trade Dollar$i 02

;

!

99% 99%50 25

I

Canada, Canada, Canada, Canada, Canada,

50 cents 25 cents ... 20 cents10 cents

$0.48 2419

09}^

scentsIn lots

@ 97^0.Gold'

04^per Doll.

HalfDollar Quarter Dollar Iwenty Cents

BRAZIL AND PORTUGAL.Crown,

2010

S^L: KalfDime1 hree

Cents

05 03

fc.75

Moidore

*JSilver.$0.60.40

ENGLAND._ _. Five Sovereigns.

Gold.$24.25 4.832.41 10.25 5.12

Brazil 1,000 Reis, R do 2i000 Reii

640 Reis, Portugal ei s ' d 96

OneSovere.snHalf Sovereign

Cruzadoj

go 45

DoubleGuinea

One GuineaHalfGuinea Third Guinea

i

SPAIN. _Gold'

2-56^ OI ,. O! 1.70 ^ J 1? V,Half Doubloon1 )!

,

^ 5 56'

...

j

Silver.

Four Piastres$1.171.17

7.78 ^.89

CrownCrown, Anne Crown, 1662

HalfCrown

11758.58 .58 .47 .23

^;--: Half Pistole Quarter Pistole25 Pesetas

P' s

3-91.90

054.76

TwoOne

Half Crown, George II Half Crown, VictoriaShilling, or Shillingi

Silver.Spanish Dollar Half Spanish Dollar Spanish Quarters, new Five Pescins Twenty Reals Ten Reals},

S.oo.40 .20.85 .85 .40 .18

Florin

Sixpence Four Pence

.n.07 .05 .04 4.75

ThreePence

Two

Pence Per^J

Pistareen

i

Half

Pist.-

reen

09

(0

Current Coins if the World,

FRANCE.Gold.

Curr-ent Coins of theFive Lire

World.

.

Two Doppia96 Livres

.96'

Silver.

$6-25 15.00

One Ruble One and a half RubleOne-half Ruble

#0.66.99

Silver.Five LireLire. One Lire One-half Lire

33.09 .07 .05

Two

$0.93 34 '7.08 .08 .04

Kopecs 20 Kopecs 15 Kopecs 10 Kopecs25

Ten SoUeUFive Solidi. ... Twenty Grani.

Five Zlot

TwoZlot

3 .50 .20

Testoon

Scudo Half Scudo

GREECE..90 -45 .90

CrownFive Paul Ten Paul Silver Lion....Florin

Gold.Twenty DrachmsSilver.Five Drachms$0.90 $3-44

45.90 .90 .37

SWITZERLAND.Silver.Five Francs Two Francs

TURKEY.$-93.36 .18 .80

Gold.TenPiastres

One Franc Crown Half Crown Quarter CrownHalfFlorin

$0.43

Silver.

.40 .20

Twenty

TwoOne

18

Piastres Piastres Piastre

go. 80 .08

04

HOLLAND.Gold.TenGuilders ---- . ................... Five Guilders ........................$3.961.95

BELGIUM.(Gold, Silver

and Currtncy same as France.)

Silver.Three Guilders .....................2

INDIAN STATES.Gold.MohurSilver.$7-io

|i.io.93 .37 .90

Guilders ......................... One Guilder ........................ Rix Dollar ..........................

M

SWEDEN, NORWAY, AND DENMARK.Gold. Twenty Kronors .................... Ten Kronors .......................Ducat ............................. Silver.$5-^52.632. 20

One Rupee HalfRupee Quarter RupeeQuarter Pagoda

$0-3618.09 .30

JAPAN.Gold.One Yen Two Yen Five Yen Twenty YenSilver.Five Sen.04.

One-quarter Kronor .................. 06 One-tenth Kroner .................... 02

One Kroner .......................... 25 One-half Kroner ...................... 12%

Specie Dollar (called in) ............. $0-85 One Rigsdaler (called in) ............. 42

-95

1.90 4.75 19.50

RUSSIA AND POLAND.Gold.Fix Rubles, Platina .................. Si ve Rubles, Gold$4-6o -,3.90

Ten Sen Twenty Sen.

.

.09 .18

Fifty

Sen

One Yne

45.90

FICTITIOUS

AND INTRINSIC VALUES.and theintrinsic values of uncurrent

Fictitious values, or approximate values, of rare coins, coins, will be found under national headings.

F AC-SIMILE OF THE DOLLAR OF

1804.

TRADITIONS OF THE 1804 DOLLAR,THEREno authentic "

Tradition, history of the 1804 dollar. " in its regard. The writer of this thousand-tongued was told by an old bank cashier in Salem, Mass., at one time the most extensive tea importing place on this continent, that the scarcity of the 1804 dollar was owing to the sinking of a China-bound vessel having on board almost the entire mintage of 1804 dollars, " shipped in lieu of the Spanish milled dollars," intrinsically more valuable. He believed there were not more than eight genuine 1804 dollars extant, and certainly not more than ten. Owing to the fiscal year ending in midsummer, it is claimed by some that the report entered on the register of the mint in 1805 included the mintage of dollars of the months of 1804 subsequent to the fiscal report and entry of that year. Others claim that old dies were sometimes used in years subsequent to the date they bore. Others, still, claim that many of the 1 804 dollars offered for sale arc "re-strikes." This, however, is not likely, as it would imply surreptitious work on the part of employes of the mint which could The rarity of the piece and the almost fabunot be substantiated.is

however,

is

it are patent facts. One piece has brought auction seven hundred and fifty dollars, but twelve and even fifteen hundred have been offered with no takers, and it would be safe to offer $2,000, as all the originals are believed to be in the hands of collectors who hold them above price. There are, howThis writer was shown ever, many counterfeits and altered dates. an 1801 dollar with the final figure altered into a 4, and to an eye not familiar with the dissimilarities of the two issues the piece

lous prices offered forat

looked like a veritable 1804 dollar.

The publishers make this special notice of this coin because it is the most notable, and commands the first place and highest priceofall

American(4)

silver coins.

THE ORIGIN

OF MONEY.

The wants of

the primitive

man were

few, the simple, im.

perative, constantly renewing demands of nature, supplied from time to time by immediate personal exertion. Barbarism, knowing no right but might, fails to conceive the idea of

property.

Savages are improvident, and consider theft a vir-

tue, yet make it a point of honor to defend their own possessions. The aboriginal condition of man was a state of war after an equal fight for spoil and in defense of possession, when;

stealing

was found

impossible, the fact of property

was recog-

nized and an exchange of goods suggested. Eude agriculture and rough hunting were the earliest industry, robbery the first

form of speculative enterprise, and war the prelude to commerce and civilization.

The original tra-e that of relative value.

was barter; the

first

question thenthis,

is

In the discussion of

two

consid-

erations at once present themselves: first, the desirability of each commodity, its utility in the support of life, or its capacityto afford gratification to the owner second, the cost of production according to the time, labor and good fortune of the holder of the stock in trade. In this way was decided the;

quantity of any article to be given for a certain quantity of another so many fish for so much game, this way or that, as the parties concerned could agree under the circumstances.;

The particulars of a bargain of this kind were well remembered and the rates of exchange quoted and referred to when-

A

(7)

8

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

ever another trade was attempted, and so after awhile a kind of rough, uncertain varying market price was established.

was found, however, that the fish varied both in size and quality, and were much more abundant at one time than another. The same was also true of wild fruits, while with the game the same irregularities were found, with additionalIt

trouble in dividing it into equal portions. As barter extended during the first advance from barbarism an inconvenience wasin estimating and measuring all articles by one another, and after a time a standard both of quantity and value wasfelt

found necessary and sought

for.

There was an attempt

to

select as the basis of valuation certain things naturally uniform in character and in relation to the possibilities of pro-

duction, while of universal use, capable of preservation, and hence acceptable and wanted at all times by everybody. The South Sea Islanders, when discovered by white men,

used cocoanuts as a standard of value.awhile, the nuts werefruits,

better fitted to

they could be kept the purpose than fish

As

game and other

perishable articles of food, besides as

they grew somewhat of a size there was no trouble aboutseparating them into equivalent parts yet as the nuts decayed after a short time and were of limited use, they were a very;

imperfect measure of an exceedingly small amount of property and the poor facility of a petty trade.

The appetite for food could be readily and cheaply satisfied, and when no one was hungry no one would labor, no onecared to trade.

But the savage had an instinct almost as strong as hunger in a natural love of dress and personal ornament, a taste which grew by exercise and constantly becamemore and more expensive,fication.

refined

and fastidious through

grati-

Every person desired ornament, every one needed at least, especially in severe climates, a covering to the dress, body of some kind or other. Skins or peltries, both of beastsand birds, being used as clothing, and being portable and durable, became articles of traffic, in general uniform demand at a fixed rate, and for these reasons were adopted iu many places

THE ORIGIN OF MONEY.as a

9

measure of value, a medium of exchange, a sort of curSome of these hides were large and heavy and actually worn as blankets, but they were less convenient for a general tender in trade than finer, smaller, more valuable As civilipeltries and furs, whose use was more ornamental. zation began to dawn, garments were made, at first rudely from skins or leather, or in more advanced tribes of more or less perfect fabrics of bark or even of cloth woven from threads of natural fibre. At the same stage of human progress, industrial tools of different descriptions, and also weapons of war, were much improved in character and degree of finish, and such things at different places and times, were commonly used as a unit or integer of comparative valuation, and tendered in payment as special consideration, passing freely from hand torency or money.like standard money, for value received. All these goods and articles, made at first for personal use, or for that of members of the manufacturer's family, were after

hand

a time, produced expressly for sale; that is, to be disposed of in barter for various commodities. Goods thus produced, were kept in store until the occasion was found for their transfer;

thus industry, providence and thrift became manifest, and wealth accumulated while trade increased, property was re;

cognized and received public protection. Articles of primitive manufacture used as ornaments, were not of course made with the same stability as those intended for practical use, and ornaments used merely as articles of trade were less thoroughly done than others equally all kinds of goods made use of for trading purposes alone were made inferior in quality, and in time were produced the mere show, resemblance and representation of the thing it was assumed they;

were.

As it was found that all commodities except mere spontaneous products of the earth were the fruit of labor, various articles, ornaments in particular, came to be valued somewhat inproportion to the amount of labor expended upon them, almost To the regardless of the practical usefulness of such things.

10

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

rational industry which accumulated articles of use or representations of them for purposes of traffic, an addition was

presently

made of labor employed

in producing representations

of no use, but so rare as to cost much trouble to discover, or so elaborately and perhaps beautifully finished, as to show a great amount of work had been done upon them.

of

itself, articles

these things became signs, symbols and evidences of labor done, and as labor alone produced wealth, these things, though essentially worthless, were regarded as actual value, esteemedso

Thus

property, and extensively used as equivalents in trade. Small kinds of rare and beautiful shells called " cowries,"

much

when carefully cleaned andin

some

places and accepted

polished, were very much esteemed at an approximate standard and

established rate, for all sorts of goods. portable and precious, these "cowries"

Being imperishable, became a popular and

convenient form of property, and in course of time acquired " by common consent the character of a customary tender in of all dues." payment

In the infancy of the human race, during the pastoral pewhen commerce was yet undeveloped, cattle were a most important medium of exchange and standard of values. Salt also was largely used among certain tribes, for the same purriod,

pose.

The

people

who

the

sea,

and drew upon

it

lived along the coast, made a bank of in various ways for more than one

How long these primitive methods of trade cannot be determined but new inventions became continued, inevitable as mankind progressed to higher conditions of life.form of currency.;

The grand step in this matter was taken when men acquired the art of working ores and extracting the metals, which were When the presently cast or wrought into the form of money.smelting of ores and the separation of metals first began, is unknown, yet there have been discoveries made in Egypt,

whichof

indicate that iron

common manufactureTo

and gold must have been an article there, some 3426 years before the

Christian era.insure accuracy and to give the warrant of responsibility

THE ORIGIN OF MONEY.;

11

to coinages of precious metals, the authority to stamp money has been placed and vested in the various governments but

has been seen that emperors and other potentates were quite as apt at fraud as private parties, and millions on millions ofit

coins have been circulated, bearing the stamp of a great power indicating a certain considerable value, when in truth theless bit

wretched piece was no better than a counterfeit, a mere worthof brass or even cheaper composition.

basket, a tub, a nicely made wand, a strong light chain, or an ingot of metal, each and all have their natural value as such, each for some use to which they are adapted ; but the basket is very much more valuable if it hold just a bushel,

A

the tub if it contains just a gallon, the wand if it measures a yard, the chain if just a rod long, and the lump of metal if it weigh just a pound. In the same way coined pieces of moneyintrinsic

of various denominations have a special value aside from their worth as bullion, on account of the facility with

which they may be reckoned and

their convenience as exact measures of value generally exchangeable for all other goods, that is to say, their special value as money. The act of minting and stamping confers this extra or

money value upon abut asit

coin,

which to a certain extent":

is

natural

;

(or government) can fix the value of a coinage," irredeemable money has at different times been made of cloth, of leather, of paper, of iron and other cheap metals and compositions.

has been assumed that

The king

Money has

three values

:

first,

the intrinsic value, that of;

the material of which the piece is composed second, the ar bitrary, nominal or pretended value, the denomination soughtto be given itthird, the representative or

what

it

will

by the government which struck or minted it commercial value, measured by bring in other money, or its power to purchase;

general merchandise.

The

Chinese,

who have no

currency of their

own but

small

cast brass coins called cash, of little intrinsic value, are in the habit of stamping ingots or bars of silver and gold with their

12

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

supposed degree of purily, when these masses of metal aredollar, if it contains a dollar's passed currently by weight. worth of gold, is simply an ingot, an object of universal barter and exchange, its value is intrinsic, its coinage simply de-

A

noting its purity and weight, it will sell for no more as money than as bullion. silver dollar, nominally a hundred cents,

A

eighty-five cents worth of silver, its addiand popularity being derived from the act of At the same time a coinage, its convenience as currency. paper dollar, issued by the United States Treasury or one of

contains but

some

tional value

the National Banks guaranteed by the Government, though intrinsically quite worthless, represents the good faith and

honor of a great nation, and, suchpaper dollar passes current,because far more convenient.

is

the nature of money, thesilver,

more popular than gold or

The subject of money, of the most practical importance, commands the most constant attention of the man of business,is

rian,

the fascinating study of the numismatologist and antiquawhile one of the profound problems which concern finan-

and statesmen. In this last aspect the matter has been immense discussion for some years, both in this and Europe. The interests involved are vast, and country some of the measures proposed are very radical. In the United States, especially, much has been done to enlighten the people upon questions of finance, and great improvements haveciers

the theme of

been made in the currency. The present system of National Banks here commands the attention and praise of transatlanticfinanciers

and statesmen.

Meantime,

many most

earnest and

thoughtful persons are sanguine of still further simplification, and promise for the future an "American Money" more stable

than gold, as economical as paper, perfectly convenient, everywhere current and superior to anything yet developed. As there has been monetary reform in the past, so therewill doubtless be financial progress of some kind in the time To make the inevitable advance, without shock and to come.

danger of destructive disturbance^ there must be great

intelli-

THE ORIGIN OF MONEY,gence

13

forward, for the the items of this younger class, perhaps, prefatory writing, which, however, is but a crude statement, a very hasty, imperfect survey of a vast field yet it exhibits

among

the people

;

to help that

we put

instruction of the

;

broad principles in a plain manner, must suggest tnought, and will doubtless with many, induce as is most desirable, a more

thorough study of the succeeding pages.

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS

OF MONEY.

MONEYcally the

(from the Latin or Italian word moneta\ is practiname of anything received by common consent, at a

stated value, in general exchange. MONEY OF ACCOUNT is an ideal unit of value.

CURRENCY is money putin circulation as cash.*

to use, a

medium of exchange kept

The

first

and most imperative need of man, has been de-

clared to be association with his fellows, and of this, money is the recognized instrument, the medium of commerce,' a custo-

mary equivalent,ment of alldebts.

and.

when

so ordained, a legal tender in pay-

The primitive forms of money were articles of barter, some of which, by use as the means and measure of trade, in time " " acquired a special value in exchange," in excess of that valuein use" originally belonging to them.'of

Thus was

established

an artificial standard valuation, continually growing more and more abstract, until there was conceived an ideal money*

According to the

strict

nomenclature of the science of

political econo-

my, the use of the word money is limited to mean a metallic circulation of a medium of exchange, conventional measures of value, whether immediate like gold and silver, or substituting like Treasury notes, bank bills and their analogies, being designated by the generic term Currency. Nevertheless, great authors have varied in terms, and the scope and purpose of the present writing it seems may be better served by the use of words and phrases as here defined.

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.

15

of account, in which, the familiar name of some common artistandard of traffic (though perhaps long cle, once made the superseded), became the denominational unit of arithmetical

monetary

calculation.full

Without a

comprehension of moneys of account, an un-

derstanding of the true nature of money, in all its forms, is Money of account may, or may not, have a maimpossible. The unit of value, however derived or terial representative.expressed, becomes fixed in" the mind, is "committed to the memories of a whole nation," and comes to be, in relation tovaluation, that which leagues, miles, feet and inches, are to distance ; which degrees, minutes and seconds, are to angles ; what a scale of proportion is to a geographical map, an architectural, or

other plan.

Money

of account,

is

in fact, an ideal

and "arbitrary scale of equal

parts, invented for

measuring the

respective value of things vendable." The use of money of account, cannot be mechanical, but is mental only a matter of arithmetic. The money of account;

of the bank of Venice, which remained the same for five hundred years, had no coins to correspond -with it; it was merely

an

idea,

and

yet, the value

of

all

coins and commodities,

was

expressed in

and by

it.

A money of account is a language, in

values or prices may be expressed, and by means of which, the relative value of commodities may be stated. It is something every one carries in his mind, as he does his

which,

all

knowledge of words or of arithmetic, and in so doing, he

is

quite independent of thoughts of coinage or circulating notes. Montesquieu noted among the natives of the coast of Africa,in the 18th century, an ideal

money, which

is

described as a

money of denominated macoute, which was subdivided into account, was This detenths, designated by a word which signified pieces. nomination of value, according to later information, had itsorigin in the macoute, a piece of cloth, or fabricated stuff of the country, which had been used as an article of .barter.

"sign of value without money."

The

unit of this

Mungo

Park,

who

traveled in Africa from 1795 to 1797 and

16

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

perished on his journey there, begun in 1805, stated, that when the Mandingoes, of the western coast of Africa between

10 and 14 N. and Ion. 6 and 10 West, including the sources of the Senegal and Niger rivers, began trade with Europeans, the article which was most valued by them, was iron,lat.

on account of its great utility in making instruments of war and tools for the pursuits of peace. Thus iron soon became a standard of payment, and as the metal was supplied in bars,there was, in the manner already described, presently established a money of account. So any article, or any quantity of a commodity, supposed to be worth as much as a bar of iron,

was denominated "a

bar,"

and accounts were kept and trade

regulated accordingly. When the different South Sea islands were discovered, at various periods from A. D. 1511 to 1770 and thereafter, thenatives accepted

thing which was

offered

from the Europeans, beads or any gaudy them but they soon discovered the;

superior value of iron in various forms, and then exchanged their products for axes, hammers, nails and similar things.

Axes were after a time 'found so useful, they would sell anything they had for them, and axes became the basis of a money of account, the value of all other things being reckoned in "axes," that is to say, calculated by comparison with that ofthese highly-prized tools.

Axes were then

the

money of

ac-

count of this people. According to Dr. Heinrich Barth, an enterprising German explorer, a native of the city of Hamburg, who traveled in

Northern Africa

in

1845 and in Central Africa alone from 1851

to 1856, the ancient standard of the

commerce of Barnoo,

Central Africa, was the pound of copper, which the people of The use of the pound of copper as a that country called roil.

medium of exchange, was abandoned in Barnoo long ago, but the name roll still remained, as the unit of a money of account,in which, the cost of commodities

Although and other goods, with Spanish and Austrian dollars in silver, were used as money,cotton .cloth,shirts,

was reckoned.

cowry

shells,

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONET.the value of themall,

17

was expressed

in roth.

The

Chinese,

conducted their trade on the basis of like oilier people, barter, yet they have had a coinage of metal from almost prefirst

historic eras.as

This coinage was used by merchants, as earlybut the husbandmen and

common people, still in kind. To facilitate this barter, a great by exchange The names of national market was established 2737 B. C.2853 B.C.,

traded

the early Chinese coins, such as "Merchandise Money," "Merchandise Cloth," and the like, with their forms, in rude resemblance of garments, knives, or other things of most common use, show this currency was preceded by a more or lessdefinitely conceived money of account, originating in the same manner as in the examples already given, of more moderndate.

The

history of every country, or tribe, which has in-

dependently made its progress from barbarism to even partial civilization, could be made to furnish some illustration of this

method.

For the article of money itself, as currently passing from hand to hand, in the course of trade^ very dissimilar things and materials have been used. Some idea of the very earliest forms of money, may be had from the preceding pages upon The Origin of Money. The mere barbarian in his nakedness, tendered fruits, or the products of the chase. lie who had oecome a little more advanced, would offer the hide or peltry in which he had learned to wrap himself, selling sometimes, as may be imagined, his clothes for food, or grown more prudent,

be provided with a dressed hide for the particular purof barter. To meet in any satisfactory degree, the repose quirements of commerce, money should be of uniform value,

divisible

when made

The less the bulk of money, except exceedingly small, the greater its convenience. Cattle, which were used as money in ancient Greece, about 1384 B. C. to 1184 B. C., and afterwards, and in Rome, someand portable.600 B.

and for some generations after, fluctuated but little under ordinary circumstances, being always in. demand for use and for food, and always costing about the sameC.,

in value,

B

18

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPEDIA.labor to produce.

amount ofand when

They could be

readily counted,

fully grown, and in good condition, were of somelike the same respective or average value. Though a thing and unwieldly consideration, flocks and herds were bulky readily transferred and could be driven from point to point at

the pleasure of the receiver. The poet Ilomer, between 1000 B. C. and 800 B. C., refers to cattle as a medium of exchange, stating that the armor of Diomede, one of his heroes of pre-

ceding ages, cost only nine oxen, while that of Glaucus cost a hundred oxen. From the Latin word pecus, signifying catderived another term pecunia, or pecuniarius, and from the French pecuniaire, and the English pecuniary, dethis, 1. Eclating to money. 2. Consisting of money. fined to meantle, is:

In Britain, at the time of the Norman Conquest, there were two kinds of money in use. These were described as "living

The living money, consisted of slaves and cattle, and were generally transferred with the land upon which they lived and labored. Dead money, consisted

money" and dead money.

of coined metals, or of metals in quantity. Under the lioman Ccesars, land was made money, an arrangement possible only in a state of high political civilizaprivileges of property were maintained, records and respect for the laws enforced. The ancient preserved, Russians, before, and under Ruric the Varangian chief, called to the throne A. D. 862, in common with some other barbaric or semi-barbaric people, used the skins of wild animals as money. The same was done by the North American Indians when in their aboriginal condition, and subsequently by the English and Dutch colonies. Early in the settlement of the central part of the United States, the pioneers in Illinois and some other places, had a currency of deer skins and peltries of the raccoon. A similar form of money, probably existed in prehistoric times in the Chinese empire, for at the beginning of the period Yum ew, there was a money of account, represented by "valuable skins," termed P/u'-Pi\ an account of which is given in the description of Chinese money in thistion,

where the

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.work.

19

These skins were made to represent a value of $644,00 United States money, being elaborately figured and highly ornamented, suggesting crudely, the idea of a Treasury note or Government bond, seeming to partake somewhat, of the naSalt has been used as money in the tu-re of each of them.African nation of Abyssinia, and salted and dried codfish, were made to serve the same purpose in Ireland and Newfoundland. In the English- American colony of Massachusetts, about A. D.1635, Indian corn, beans, wheat, barley, rye, peas, boards, codhorses, sheep, swine, goats, asses, lead bullets, and a general barter currency were used, in common with a limitedfish,

amount of copper,

and gold coin as money, all circuIn China, some 1400 or lating together, according to law. more years B. C., the shell of the cowry, of the small variety denominated Cyprse moneta, was hoarded as money by the In some parts of India, miserly, and no doubt passed current. and in the Indian islands and Africa, these same cowry shells have long been used in the place of small coin. In 1851, it is stated, more than a thousand tons of cowry shells, were shipped from India to Liverpool, England, to be exported to the African coast, in exchange for palm oil. In Bengal, about a century ago, 2500 cowries were reckoned at one rupee of the value of from forty-six to fifty cents. In 1875, 3200 cowries were to be had for the rupee. The author of "The Coins of the Jews," Mr. Madden, writes that: "In the British West India Islands, pins, a slice ofsilver

bread, a pinch of snuff, a

dram of whisky, and

in the central

part of South America soap, chocolate, cocoa-nuts, eggs, etc., were current articles used as money. Adam Smith states,

was regarded as money, in some of the English "West India colonies. At the great International fair held annually at Nizhini Novgorod in Russia, the price of tea has tothat sugar

be decided and made known, before the prices of other commodities are established and advertised. In this manner, tea is made the standard of value, by which all exchanges of merchand.se arc regulated.

In A. D. 1662, the accounts of the

20

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

New Netherlands, Dutch colonies in America, were kept in beaver skins and Indian shell beads. In Virginia, about thebeginning of the 17th century, and for some time thereafter, tobacco was ured as money, and even when coin came morefreely into use, large transactions were generally settled by the transfer of receipts issued for tobacco deposited in the public warehouses. Thus these valuable documents, always redeema-

ble in tobacco, which was money, passed from for value received, just as a Treasury note orcirculates.

hand to hand

Bank

bill

now

One of the most remarkable of the primitive forms of money was the currency of the AlyonJcin or Aljonquin North American Indians, which from time immemorial to a late date in the last century, was used by the natives of the Atlantic coast, and by the Hodensaunee Konoshion, or Iriquois Confederacommonly called "The Five Nations," or as later organized, "The Six Nations," and by other interior tribes, westward to the Mississippi. This currency consisted of beads made from various shells, varieties of the Buccinum and others, and was called by the Dutch colonists in America Zewant, bytion,

the French Porcelaine^ and generallylish settlers as

known among

the Eng-

Wam2)um. The Indians themselves called their money Sewan, of which there were two kinds. The first and most valuable, was of a dark violet, purple color, and was made from the dark part ofshells of the

common round

hard-shelled clam,

Venus Mer-

cenaria.

in

In 1628, Roger "Williams, the founder of religious liberty Rhode Island, a man of great truthfulness, kind hearted,

and very intimate and influential with the Indians of New England, gave the following account of their current money: u lt is of two kinds. white, which they make of the stem or stock of the periwinkle after all the shell is broken off. Of this kind, six of the small beads are current, with the English penny. The other kind is the purple, which is made of the shell of a fish, which is called Hens-poquakock ; and of this

THE PRIMITIVE FORM8 OF MONEY.description three are equal to an English penny."

21In-

The

dian word Hens-poquahock, being almost unpronounceable by Englishmen, was rendered through corruption of language as "Pequonuck" or "Poquonuck," and also by variation of dialect as

"Quahaug" or Quohaug." The Indians used no salt in their cookery, and

preserved

and fish by drying and smoking; at the seashore, between the Delaware and Massachusetts bays, they dug, boiled, strung and dried clams, which were used to season their insipid fare. The shells of the Quahaug, as the round is still called in New England, after being emptied and clam their contents saved for food, were broken in pieces, to secure the black or purple "eye" of the shell. From this the dark purple beads were made, which were called Suckauhock, or Suckanhock, by the Indians. From around the mouth of Delaware bay, northward, along the coast of New Jersey, Long Island and New England, are to be found numerous heaps or small mounds of shell, all in a fragmentary condition, and lacking the dark portion. The completely broken state of the shell, distinguishes the shell heaps of Indian origin, from the numerous small piles of more or less perfect shells, created through the bivalve consuming tendencies of the more modern "palefaces" from Europe. The second and much less valuable sort of the Sewan, was white, being made in most cases from the stem of the shell of the periwinkle Littorince, This white kind of the Sewan was called Wampum, a word derived from an Indian, Alyonkin or Algonquin root signifying white. This name was varied by the Indians, according to the forms into which the beads were wrought, but by the whites at random, indiftheir meatsferently, appearing as wampam, wampampege, wampampeage^ or peage, in the same public colonial document. The vicinity of Ilackensack, N. J., and the shore of Long Island, N. Y.,

was the great center for the manufacture of these shell beads. Long Island was called by the Indians Sewan-hacky (sewanland), and the circulating medium there issued was very ex.-

22

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

tensively used as money among all races upon the eastern part of the North American continent. Another famous place of manufacture, was at Cape May Point, New Jersey, at the

mouth of Delawareshells,

bay.first

In making these beads, the Indians

broke the

different

so as to secure the portion they desired, and then by chipping the fragments of shell with a sharp chisel of flint,

they formed them into cylinders a little larger than the stem of a common clay pipe, and as long as the nature of the material would admit. Through the center of the cylinders, and

on a

line with their length, a small hole was bored, about the sixteenth of an inch in diameter. This hole was required to

run straight from end to end, and to be round and smoothternally.

in-

The Indians knew nothing of iron and steel and therefore made all their tools of wood and of stones such as flint, quartz, and obsidian, a kind of natural glass, of volcanic origin. Of these they not only made axes, spear heads, arrow tips, andsimilar things, but also formed knives, so keen that they were used to skin and dress game, or even as razors, to crop and trim their hair. Of such material was the drill originally

used upon the shell beads. This drill was operated by means of a bow in precisely the same way drills made of steel are

now

civilized mechanics.

used in certain cases by jewelers, watchmakers and other "With such drills the Indians not only

bored beads and short cylinders from various colored shells, but also manufactured from steatite or soap stone, thin tubes as large as a man's finger and six or eight inches long.

Whether they had anything outside finish of such work is

like the turning lathe for the

uncertain, but relics have been of what must have been a potfound in the Southern States The Indians were very ter's wheel of the aboriginal time.

accurate of sight, and

exceedingly steady of nerve.

when exempt from the curse of rum, The squaws, especially the oldfrom their hands came the

women, were verybeads,

industrious, and

and the

articles

of clothing, upon which they were used

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.as ornaments.

23

The Indian women were not

deficient in the

keen-sighted dexterity peculiar to their race, but the manufacture of shell beads by the means they used, must have taxedto the

utmost their

skill

and patience.

The drilling was the most difficult part of the operation; when this was successfully accomplished, the cylinders were ground into a true form by rubbing them on sharp grittedand then carved into globular or semi-cylindrical beads, which were carefully finished and nicely polished. Sometimes much larger pieces, of an ornamental character, were made from large fine shells, bored in the same way as the These have been found as long and big as soap-stone tubes. the forefinger of a full-grown man. For such, the Indians were willing to pay four or six good well-dressed deer skins. They were very constant and steady in their estimate of thestones,

value of their currency, yet at one time paid Massachusetts

two hundred fathom of the same, an amount which even if a\\Wampum, must have been worth a thousand Massachusettssilver shillings.

The work upon which Wampum was used as an ornament, was often quite artistic and handsome. Aside from their color, the Indians criticised the beads as to form and finish, the usages of aboriginal commerce requiring that they should be of uniform size and regular shape, smoothly bored in the cenWhen a quantity of beads had been made, they were ter. strung upon threads or strings, made from the sinews of thedeer, or

woven

into various kinds of belts.

To

test

the shell

beads, the Indians drew the strings of Sewan deftly across their noses; if they found them smooth, uniform, and well strung,

they passed for full value. The imperfect beads, or those worn and abraded by use, were refused or accepted at a large discount.

In making payments of Sewan; small amounts were countedin loose beads, one of the violet purple Suckauhock, being conIn sidered equal in value, to two of the white Wampum.

making

large payments the reckoning

was by the fathom of

24

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

strung Wampum or Suckauhock, the same being measured by the spread arms of an Indian. fair fathom of Suckauhock was worth tea shillings, and one of Wampum five shillings.

A

of the North American Indian was a true money, though of savage origin. The Suckauhock served the same purpose for which gold coin is used, while the Wampum, less

The Sewan

was as currency, of the nature of silver. The units of value were the beads, which counted one by one, measuredin value, in strings by the fathom, or tendered in quantity as wrought into belts, effectively represented a money of account, which was for an unknown time, the comparatively accurate measure

of value for a very considerable amount of commerce. The Sewan was not used as money alone, but as an ornacles

ment, for which it was wrought in various forms upon artiof Indian clothing, and also used for ear-rings and neckIt

laces, armlets, bracelets, belts, etc.

was used in

all treaties

public occasions, a string or belt of the vari-colored beads being given to bind each article of a compact, or treaty,all

and on

and a broad "treaty belt," called by the Indians Wampumpayue or Wampumpeye, being delivered as a solemn ratification of the whole.

On

these treaty belts, elaborate figures

were wrought, in beads of different colors, the form and design of which, was not arbitrary, but systematic, and arranged so as to form a record of an event, or the terms of a contract, in hieroglyphs and designs that could be read. The Indian was so convenient, that in the urgency of their cirmoney cumstances, the Dutch, French, and English American colonies, adopted it as a medium of exchange, and in one case as a money of account, for in 1662, the records of the New Netherlands colony "were kept in Wampum and beaver skins." In 1637, it was ordered in Massachusetts, that Wampampeye should pass "six a penny," for any sum under twelvcpenc.e; of which, and subsequent legislation upon the same subject, an account may be found in this work, under the head of thelands accepted

The New NetherColonial Silver Coinage of Massachusetts. Sewan in trade, the better sort being as current

7777?

PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.In 1640,

25

as silver for a long time. goe six a penny" in

Wampum

was voted "tothe cur-

New

Haven.

The Sewan was

rency of

New

Netherlands in 1641.

At New Amsterdam,

now New York city, "four beads of good black, well strung wampum, or eight of the white," were reckoned of the valueof one Stuyver, a Dutch coin worth about a cent. In 1650, "there being at present no other specie," /Sewan was made law-

white beads of "commercial Sewau," or four black and six white "of the the rate ordered "to goe" in base strung," for one Sluyver

fully current, at the rate of three black or six

New

Haven.

By

this

financial arrangement,is

the drain of

have been checked. England The Dutch Commissary Hudde, of Fort Nassau, a Dutch trading post on Delaware bay, now Gloucester, New Jersey, com"specie" intosaid to

New

plained in 1648, that the Indians made trade too much against the New Netherlands Company, which he represented, as theyinvariably, when paid for furs, selected very long-armed Indians to measure the fathoms of strung beads required. Josslyn, an early writer of Indian history, declared that the

wrought so cunningly that "neither Jew their work. However, the Dutch at Albany, N. Y., by use of lathes, drills and turning tools, made and sold a great deal of a very superior kind of Sewan in their extensive trade with the Five Nations or Iriquois Confederation. There were at one time, sixty or seventy shops in Albany, where Sewan was made, and the Indians "the place of stringing called the town Laaphanackiny i. f., Sewan was also made in other places by poor Wampum" As late as 1756, Jacob Spicer, a merchant of Cape people. New Jersey, advertised that he was ready to buy WamMay, pum (Suckauhocli\ and offered a reward of five pounds, to the person who should manufacture the most of this article. The merchant secured a quantity of the Suclcauliucl', and beforemakers of

Wampumcould

nor Devil

counterfeit"

sending it off' to a market, at Albany, weighed a shot bag full of silver coin, pud counted the same shot bag full of the Indiancurrency, and found the latter most valuable by ten per cent.

26

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPEDIA.

These imitations of the Indian currency, being made with the superior tools of civilized men, were generally an improvement upon the original. They were not as has been statedcounterfeits, in the sense in

which that word

is

properly used

to describe base or illegal coinages which reproduce the appearance of the authorized metallic currency of a nation. Any

Indian

who could

of the clam, and good beads, could without offence start a mint on his own responsibility, and go on making any form of Indian money without hindrance, so long as there was no lack of material or any refusal to labor. The making of shell beads was merely a form of industry, and when the whites introduced machinery in aid of the art, the Indian was very ready to accept the improved product; he grew rapidly rich for a time in Se-

find the shells of the periwinkle, or dig those who had a squaw skillful enough to make

wan

but presently, as

may be

surmised, found himself suf-

fering, in his peculiar way, all the evils which follow a superabundant inflation of the currency of any people. Just as the

Indian had a natural right to make beads, so the spirit of the law allows any citizen of the United States to make coins of any material the prohibition is against trespass upon what is like atrade mark, the form and design of legalized coin. To counterfeit or imitate these, as a whole or in part, in any metal, is felony.

The Narragansett and Pequod tribes of Indians, inhabitants of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, who, as well as the Long Island Indians, were able to produce Scwan ontheir shores, kept themselves rich and powerful by the use of The Cape it, until long after their contact with white men.lar advantages,

Lenni-Lennape tribe, held simiand the accumulated refuse of their work, shows they were not careless of their opportunities. The In-

May

Indians, the Delaware, or

dians of

Long Island owed at last their enslavement or severe subjugation by the Mohawks, to their facility for makingbeads; being cruelly overrun, robbed, and compelled to pay their plunderers, conquerers and taskmasters, a heavy annual tribute of Sewan.

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.The most primitive forms of money of whichthere

27is

any evidence on the American continent, have been exhumed from aboriginal graves and mounds in the Ohio and Misbeing the custom of the pre-traditional mound builders, as well as the red Indian proper, his successor, to bury the treasures of the dead in the grave with them.sissippi valleys;it

The specimens of money found with the bones ofrigines,

the

Abo-

were composed of lignite,

coal, bone, shell, terra cotta,

mica, pearl, carnelian, chalcedony, agate, quartz, jasper, lilyencrinite and native gold, silver, copper, lead and iron, all fashioned into forms manifesting a considerable degree of skill

rudimentary lines of art. In 1838, a great quantity of Lignite and Coal money, was found in a small oblong oval mound, on the banks of the Miami river, in Ohio the largest of which was about an inch in diameter, the size of the old cent of the United States, but much thicker than that copperin the;

coin.

holes.

Some of these The faces of

pieces were perforated with sixteen small others were inscribed with from five to

eight parallel lines, and on one specimen the lines were crossed,

forming diamond-shaped figures. This lignite and coal money, when brought to the surface, soon crumbled to disintegration, and the signs of inscriptions upon it were too indistinct to beof value to the archeologist. part of the specimens of Bone

money were strange indeed were about the same size as the pieces They of lignite and coal just described, and were wrought out of the interior and exterior tables of the human skull; also of the bones of the thigh, the shoulder blades and the knee-pan ofin their material.

A

human

subjects probably relics of enemies slain in battle or of prisoners subsequently offered in sacrifice, or tortured to death, relics of superstition, or symbols of revenge, a senti

ment which was esteemed an exalted virtue among North American Indians, and also, probably, by the mound builders

who

held the land before them.

Some

of this bone

money

was made from the tusks and

ribs of the gigantic mastadon,

28

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

the enameled portions of the teeth of the alligator, and from the bones of the gar and the catfish.Pieces of Shellfresh water clam,

money may be found

mound; they were made ofcolors

different shells,

in every aboriginal from that of the

up to that of the huge Sea Conch. Their were quite various, and they made beautiful samples of aboriginal work. They were generally about the size of the coal and bone money already noted, with eccentric lines carved upon them, and in some cases bearing figures. Some pieces of the shell money were found as large as two inches and ahalf in diameter.

The Terra- Cotta money was formed from clay, tempered with bone dust, and also from ferruginous matter. Some of its varieties were of a beautiful red color. The devices upon were numerous, and generally on one side, but these piecesoccasionally

upon both.

They

consisted;

of

birds,all,

frogs,

snakes, and many other curious figures heart and the extended hand.

but,

above

of the

The emblem of an open hand has been used by various from prehistoric times in w idely separated parts of the It was known in India, is found on the old monuments earth.racesr

may be traced to Phoenecia, and is inscribed on the architecture and gigantic idols of the ancient Mexicyclopeau The Quadran, an ancient Roman coin, bore the figure cans.of Egypt, of an open hand; it was a symbol of primitive Christianity; the mound-building Indians made use of it, as is shown bytheir relics,

and the wild

tribes of

North America

still

stamp

the open hand upon their tanned buffalo skins and the coverings of their habitations. The open hand was adopted by the primitive Christians as a symbol of the first person of theTrinity, having from time immemorial, been used as an emblem, as an ideographic sign, or as a hieroglyph, to denote life,

power, impartation, providence and the like attributes of Divine character. The open hand has in the same way been borne upon military standards, as the ensign of an assumedheaven-derived political authority.

Among

the Dacota tribe

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.

29

of Indians, the impress of an open hand upon the garments or the sides of the wigwam of an Indian, is a mark of honor duehis virility and courage; when struck in red, it signifies that he has suffered a wound from the enemy and when in black,;

shows that he has taken the life of an enemy. The meaning of the open hand upon the pieces of money taken from Indian graves, and from aboriginal mounds, may not be deit

yet the wide-spread use of this emblem is significant and probably indicates former intercourse and a measurable comfined,

munity of ideas between the ancient races and nations who employed it in Asia and Europe and the Aboriginies of America. The hand, in one or another form and degree of extension, was very anciently a symbol and gesture of the phallicsystem, the type of reproductive powers of generation derived from the Infinite life. Either from adoption of a foreign symbol, or perhaps by natural suggestion and selection of such an

image, the Indian may, in expression of a similar sense, have used the open hand as the hieroglyph of his totem, significant of the name of his ancestor, his supposed guardian spirit, andthat of his tribe.It

would be a prolonged and complex labor;

to follow the subject of this symbol through all its far-reaching ramifications and correspondences its suggestions are of overwhelming interest to the antiquarian, to the ethnologist and

the student of religion the topic is, however, but one of the many of like nature which present themselves to whoever intelligently undertakes the researches of the numismatologist.;

The Stone money

occurs in great quantities in the aboriginal

mounds. The pieces were composed of carnelian, jasper, agate, quartz and chalcedony also of common sandstones and slate. The size of the stone money varied from half an inch to eight;

inches in diameter, being inished,

many instances very highly poland occasionally figured over with hieroglyphics and other devices. Some of the pieces bore the ancient rock alphabet of sixteen right and acute-angled single strokes used bythe Pela?gi, the supposed aboriginal inhabitants of Western Asia, the first known people of the Greek peninsula.

30

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.Encrinite

The Lilyties.

money was

also found in great quanti-

This animal petrifaction is formed of long-jointed stems, composed of calcareous divisions or plates closely fitting each other they are generally found separated, and it is these di;

visions of the stem

which are denominated

fairy stones or St.

In this wonderful result of nature, the Aborigines had a money properly fashioned and beautifully ornamented, without labor in design or workmanship, it beingCuthbert's beads.

a natural, round piece, bearing a star surrounded by many fine From the care with which it was preserved, they must rays.

have valued it highly. The Lead and Iron money was also found in large quantities in and about the small mounds in the valley of the MisThe pieces were variously ornamented, some with sissippi. dots and lines, and others with an arc surmounted by a short,stubby cross. The Egyptians used this hieroglyph to denote life, and in the Coptic churches it was frequently substitutedfor the Cross.

How the Aborigines of America, the ancient and the Copts came to use this emblem in common, Egyptians will perhaps remain a secret forever.contain large in one grave at Grave Creek Mound, sixty pieces quantities of this copper money, beads, or sections of small copper tubes,

Of

the Copper money, the aboriginal

mounds

were exhumed.

These copper beads, or money, resemble open

or unsoldered oblong tubes, half an inch to two inches in length, with no inscription or design whatever.Silver money found in Perry County, Ohio, was a cirof irregular shape, and in diameter about three-fourths of an inch. It bore a device of waving, parallel lines, about fourcle

The

in

number. On some pieces were rude designs of human and birds, as well as snakes and other reptiles. Specimens of Gold money were occasionally found in the form of small lumps or balls, slightly flattened, and irregular on their edges. Several have been found in Louisiana and In 1845, a mound was opened at Old Fort RosaMississippi. near Natchez, and one of these gold balls, slightlv flattened, lie,figures

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.

31

weighed upwards of two pennyweights. A similar specimen of very fine gold was found in Boss County, Ohio, lying in the palrn of the hand of a skeleton. Another gold piece was found in Perry County, Ohio the face of it bore two figures roughly shaped a man and a bird, besides four footprints of;

the

latter.

The Hebrews who had noof the Maccabees,

coin of their

own

until the timeC.,

who

ruled in Judea from 166 to 63 B.

had a jewel money a currency of precious stones, a very portable form of wealth, of which the diamond is to-day thecostly example.

Though almost everything of valueall cases

has, as

where a proper currency has been established, men have been compelled, by what seem irresistible reasons, to value money composed of metals, above all other mediums of exchange or commodities whatever. Different metals have been used as money, of which iron among the Mandingoes of Africa, copper among those of Barnoo, in the center of the same continent, with lead, iron, copper, silver, and gold, among the former inhabitants of North America, have already been noticed. The metals were first, used in various forms as articles of barter, but gradually assumed the character of a general medium of exchange. In an age when the only wealth of importance was cattle, the almost imperishable and ever useful products of the mine, came to be highly esteemed on account of the facility with which they could be accumulated and preserved. The primitive forms of metallic money were rude bars, without any stamp or coinage, like those from which the Mandingoesherein described, been used as money, yet in

derived their

money of

account, as has been herein described.

"Iron was the common instrument of commerce among theancient Spartans, about 830 B. C., copper among the ancient Romans, about 753 B. C., and gold and silver among all rich

and commercial nations."

Timaeus, an ancient historian, as reported by Pliny (Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. 33, cap. 3), wrote that till the time of Servius Tullius, about 550 B. C., the Romans

had no coined money, but instead made use of unstamped bars

32

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

of copper, to purchase whatever they had occasion for. Rude unstamped ingots of good copper, or bronze, generally spoken of as brass, were long current money among the ancient Ro-

mans.

These ingots were somewhat of the form of a brick, and were cast to weigh an as, a libra, or pondo, a Roman pound

each,

and were denominated by either of these three Latin words, whicn signify a pound. The as, libra, or pondo, was the Roman money of account a pound of copper, as with thenegroes of Barnoo. The British money of account, the pound sterling, in the time of Edward I, surnamed Longshanks, king

lish

of England from A. D. 1271 to A. D. 1307, signified aa Eng"Tower" pound of silver, of standard (sterling) fineness

Tower pound " was so named, because the money was weighed at the Tower of London. It was somewhat heaver than the Roman as, and less than the pound of Troyes. The French money of account, the livre, in the time of Charlemagne, A. D. 768 to A. D. 814, signified a pound Troyes weight of silver of standard fineness. The fair heldor purity.

This

"

at that epoch, at Troyes, in

Champaign of France, was

fre-

quented by representatives of all the nations of Europe, hence the weights and measures of so famous an international market were widely known and extensively used. The Troyes pound

was introduced as the standard weight of the British mint, in A. D. 1517, the eighteenth year of Henry the VIII, and as the "pound Troy" is now used in general for weighing the precious metals, jewels, drugs and other of the more valuable commodities. The shilling was originally a name for a weight;

an old English law of the time of Henry III, fixes the weiyht of a loaf of bread, at "eleven shillings and fourpence." History fails to inform us when gold and silver were first used as

money.In the Hebrew Scriptures, Gen. XIII, 2, we read that Abrareturned from Egypt, some 2000 years B. C., " very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." In Gen. XVII, 12, we find the expression "He that is born in the house or bought with

ham

:

money

of any stranger."

In Gen.

XXIII

it is

recorded that

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.Sarah, the wife offield in

33

Abraham, being dead, he bought from EphMachpelah as a burial place for her, and that he " to Ephron the silver which he had named in the weighed audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver,ron acurrentcurrent

money with the merchant." It is to be observed, this money was weighed, not counted, being pieces of sil-

ver supposed to be cut to certain weights, such as shekels and talents, but unstamped, as was the practice in that age.there

Before the introduction of coin into Greece, about 800 B. C., was a money current there which consisted of "spits"

or "skewers," of which six formed a drachm, or drachma, which word signified a handful. This money is supposed to have been a kind of nails of iron. The drachma was the unit of the Grecian money of account, and it, and the divisions and subdivisions of the same, were subsequently represented by

In certain parts of Africa, purchases are made from the negroes for strings of beads of various kinds, or coils of brass wire, which they use as money and for ornaments. One color of beads, or one kind of wire, will pass freely and others be refused, much according to the fancy or conceit ofsilver coins.

the natives.

in the gulf of Guinea, the British traders paid out copper in the form of open rings some three inches or more across, made of round copper rods, some half

At Bonny,

an inch in diameter. These rings were so forged that when the open ends were brought in contact, they fitted end to end by a chamfer, forming an armlet, or anklet, in complete circular form.

They were shipped from England in casks, but the negroes clasped for security on wooden poles, or among linked into chains, when not worn upon the person of theowner. This copper ring money is of comparatively recent use at Bonny, and has proved a great convenience in the commerce of the blacks of the coast with the sable nations of theinterior.

Adam

Smith

states,

that about

A. D. 1776,

in a

certain

town of

workmenale-house, c

Scotland, Great Britain, it was customary for to carry nails as money to the bake-shop and the

34

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA.One of the most entirely primitive forms of record is the to make which unlettered men mark numbers, quantities

tally,

stick.

and events, by cutting notches or "scores" on a convenient Hence, an account is sometimes spoken of as a score.prehistoric times the accounts of the

Saxon kings of were kept upon such notched sticks, which under the England name of "Exchequer tallies" were kept in use by the English Exchequer until A. D. 1783, and are remarkable in connection with the subjects of money and finance. For many years before the disuse of the tallies noted, the English Exchequer checked its accounts by them in the following manner store of hazel, ash, or willow wands was kept for the use of the Treasury ; when thoroughly seasoned and prepared, they were inscribed on the one side with notches, and on the other with Koman numerals, both the notches and the numerals being made to record and signify exactly the same sum of:

From

A

money, in any amount which the business of the Treasury reit to make a promise of payment. Tlie date of the deposit or credit, and that when payment would fall due, and the name of the person having the claim upon the Treasury, was also inscribed upon the tally. Thequired

Deputy Chancellor of the Exchequer then split the tally stick, by use of a knife and a mallet, through its middle in such a

waythe

as to divide the checks, so that each piece bore a half of

numerals, and a half of each one of the notches. One part of the wand was then given to the creditor of the Exchequer, and the other half stored in the vaults of thetally differed in breadth and one stood for a penny, another for a shilling, a pound, twenty pounds, one hundred pounds, a thousand pounds, and so on, according to their dimensions, the notches I)eing read as easily and accurately as the Roman or any other kind of numerals which could have been used for the same

Roman

Treasury.

The notches on the;

manner of cutting

purpose.

When the obligation of the Treasury, of which the tally was an acknowledgment, became payable, he who held the

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONET.it at tally in possession, presented

35

the

office

of the Exchequer

and demanded his money, as figured thereon. Then the piece of the tally presented was matched with the corresponding found to fit and form the compart in the Treasury, and being the money was paid and the reunited halves of record,plete

the tally storedsettlement.

away

in proof of together, for ready reference

In 169V, while the old metallic currency of England and the realm, was being wholly recoined and brought up to standard weight, the scarcity of currency caused extreme embarrasment The credit to both the government and the Bank of England. of the government and that of the bank sunk very low, andin the crisis, the king's Exchequer made an issue of Exchequer of thoutallies, for various sums to the amount of hundreds

sands of pounds sterling. These public securities, evidences of indebtedness on the part of the government, circulated as money, of which they were certainly an unique variety. Unfortunately the currency of Exchequer tallies soon depreciated to some forty per cent, of their nominal value ; meantime the bold expedibank's bills were at 20 per centum discount.

A

ent was used.

capital to the amount to take 80 per centum of flde same in 1,000,000, offering the discredited Exchequer tallies, and in Treasury orders of no more value. The consequence was, the government was

The bank

advertised

new

of

relieved of 800,000 outstanding promises to pay, which became due the bank, which was an easy creditor of the king and those who bought stock in the bank were made responsible;

for its business.

Atfor

the union of England and Scotland, a store of hazel rodstallies

Exchequer

was sent

to Edinburgh, but

were never

made use of

these tallies being abolished by act of Parliament (Geo. JII, C. 82, 1783), the great quansity of them which had accumulated in the Treasury, storedthere.

The use of

there generation after generation, were ordered to be destroyed (4 and 5 "Will. IV. C. 15). The destruction of the Houses of Parliament by fire, in 1834, is supposed to have

36

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPEDIA.

been caused by the overheating of the flues of the furnaces in which the old Exchequer tallies were being burned. Such was the end of that form of money. Troublesome and cum-

brous as

it

was, the

wooden Exchequer

tally, for all its

sim-

plicity, seems to have been a more reliable check upon forgery and fraud, than any of the more elaborate and convenient de-

made use of in England. Ancient and extensive as the use of money has been, in all its numerous forms and varied materials, it for the most part merely represented a value, property which had been created by human industry and preserved by the organic action ofvices since

In fact, however convenient money has been found, and however primitive the forms of the same, there is somesociety.

thing

still

more

essential, in a formless consideration,

the true

original value, expressed only by the free tender of equivalent service. Commodities of any and all kinds, derive their value

from the fact, that they can be made directly or indito sustain, improve,, or comfort human existence. rectly Human Life is the one priceless incomparable possession ; life is sustained and made better by industry. Labor helps tosolely

any form, is the single absolute primitive conuniversal tender, perpetual equivalent and sole sideration^ This rule is fundamental, and all forms of creator of wealth.live;

service in

government, every scheme of finance attempted in ignorance or defiance of the natural law involved, must first become an engine for the enslavement and oppression of the people, and finally be reorganized with more intelligencesociety, each plan of

and justice, or perish by righteous rebellion in the convulsionsof bloody revolution.

been found possible, and even tolerably convenient, to supply the wants of a vast and dense population, to develop a high degree of social order, to support an elaborately magnificent System of religion, and thoroughly conduct, over imIt has

comprehensive and painswithout any but the rudest taking imperial government, currency, the most primitive method of exchange.territories, in peace or war, aall

mense

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONEY.lation of

37

Ancient Egypt, "the land of monuments," contained a popufrom five to eight millions, a people who founded

most enduring institutions, with imperial dynasties, continuing one after another for thousands of years in succession a most;

industrious and skillful nation, supreme in architecture, grand in sculpture, remarkable in painting, and practised in vocal and instrumental music, scientific, philosophical and profound.

on an extensive most advantageous position for the great traffic which enriched their country with slaves, cattle, gerns, valuable metals and rare obThe rich products of India and Arabia, jects of curiosity. after age, passed through Egypt on the road to Europe. age Under the earlier dynasties, the chief occupation of the nation was the rearing of cattle, the cultivation of various kinds ofly religious.

The

early Egyptians carried

commerce with neighboring

nations, having a

and the development of architecture. a wealthy and luxurious people, indulging in banquets, fishing, fowling, and hunting for pleasure, and exercising themselves at a variety of games of mingled chance and dexterity. The nobility lived in splendor and power, each one of their establishments containing all thegrain,

The Egyptians became

officials, artificers

-and facilities necessary, completely organized for its regular maintenance. Art was cultivated in such and philosophy developed, there they gathered places, science

the wonders and wealth of many strange lands, and arranging them in museums, collected rare animals of foreign nativity, which were also kept for ostentatious exhibition. How all this was done, without money, is not evident, but

such seems to have been the case, unless perhaps certain rings of gold of given weight, may possibly have formed a sort of currency; the precious metals were mentioned by pounds mna, and by ounces kat. "Money, in the form of coin, wasfirst

introduced into Egypt by the Persians," when that nation made the conquest of the land of the Nile, under the lead of their most bloody and ferocious tyrant Cambyses, some 529 to 522 B. C. The Persians held the country of Egypt till the

38fell

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPEDIA.of their king Darius III, 336 to 329 B.C.,

by which time

many nations. The Toltecs and Aztecs, cotemporaneous tribes of the Nahualtec or ancient Mexican nation, the earliest known people of thiscontinent, and their successors, supposed to have been settled in Mexico from A.D. 1200 or earlier, the ruins of whose

the use of coin had been

made common

in

architecture and

monuments

are evidence of

immense popula-

tions, endless industry, complete organization and high civilization, almost of enlightenment, seem to have left no relic

which could be considered the proof of any varied and extensive coinage. In their traffic, this race used the bean of the cacao nut

(Theolroma

cacao), a

bag of which of certain

size,

was sup-

posed to represent eight thousand units of their money of account. They also used feathers, the quills of which werefilled

with a quantity of gold dust, which represented four hundred units of value. Besides, there was an Aztec copper coin, of a form somewhat like a crucifix, or like the letter T. By such exceedingly simple means, the whole business of the ancient Mexicans and their descendants or successors seems to have been very successfully managed. The Aymaras, the earliest known inhabitants of the Andine valleys of south-eastern Peru and north-western Bolivia (a race who claimed descent from the Collayuas, who at a very remote period were said to have emigrated from the north),constituted the sacred island in the great lake Titicaca, the center of their government, the site of wonderful -temples

dedicated to their religion. Though distinct in language from the more modern Quichuas, the race of Indians governed by

the Peruvian Incas, the

Aymaras resembled them

in physical

form and features. To the Aymaras, the people of the Incas were indebted for a part of their religious rites and the knowledge of the arts. The Aymaras were successful tillers of the soil they built vast temples of Cyclopean masonry, and other edifices they wrought with skill in gold and silver they were proficient in sculpture and painting, and some; ; ;

THE PRIMITIVE FORMS OF MONET.;

39

what versed in the science of astronomy. Their poetry and religion were spiritualistic their priests were bound to celiOf the bacy, and the dead were held in religious veneration.Pre-Incarial era of Peruvian history, the age of the Aymaras, comparatively little is to be known, yet the abiding remnants

of their civilization attest the superiority of the race. Their Cyclopean architecture was copied by the Incas, and the senti-

ments of their philosophy were reverenced by the generations

which followed them.

The religion of the Aymaras was a pure Theism. The name of God with them was Pachacamac ; that is to say, "The Creator of the world" an invisible and mysterious The vast ruins of Tia Huanacu, 12,930 feet above the Deity.level of the sea, situated in a region which is generally a frozen desert, at an altitude where the air is so rare as to be hurtful

human constitution, are the remains of the capital of Aymara government the sacred city of their religion. The Aymaras were succeeded by the Quichuas, who madeto the

the

themselves the dominant race in Peru under the government of the Incas. The origin of the name of Peru is unknown;

Manco Capac, the

first Incn, is

government about A.D. cheerful and energetic people.

reputed to have come into the 1062. The Quichiuts were a gay,

They were a

nation of indus-

trious workers, labor being enforced upon all, that each might be provided for and the commonwealth preserved. The public

the

industry was divided for three objects. The people worked first part of their time, upon lands, the produce of which was set apart and devoted to the support of their religion, the

worship of the Infinite Creative Life, which they coasidered symbolized in the form and functions of the Sun. The secondpart of the time, the people tilled their own fields, or were otherwise employed for their own support, and the rest of the days were spent in labor for the Incas or upon public works.

assiduous cultivators of the land; In dian corn and other grains raised in the vicinity of the temples at Titicaca, were sent as sacred presents to all parts of the

The Quichuas were

,40

DYE'S COIN ENCYCLOPEDIA.

great empire. The Inca, though regarded as an embodiment of divinity himself, a "child of the sun," tilled the ground, giving an example of labor, in honor of agriculture. "When

the time came for the service of the Inca, the people labored all together and in great style, with gladness. They dressed

themselves upon such occasions in their best clothes and went to the temples and sang hymns, at the rising of the sun. Theyreceived rations

when

in the public service,

and the season

was made a

patriotic feast

and

festival.

Under the wise sway

of the Incas, the Quichuas rose rapidly in civilization and be came skilled in many of the arts. They spun and wove the

and alpaca, they worked the mines of gold and silver and created a wonderful system of publicfleeces of the llama, vicuna,

improvements.

and silver found in Peru by the were taken from the mines by Indian inSpanish invaders, dustry and skill, and represented the accumulations of centustores of gold

The immense

among a people who used the precious metals only for purposes of ornament and decoration. The cotmtry of Peru still contains vast mineral and other natural wealth, but the energy and cheerful patience of the Quichua miners is unries

common amongamount of silver

the present population of the country. The bullion produced by the Peruvians from 1630

to 1303, has been carefully estimated at $1,232,000,000.

After

the independence of Peru from Spain, the production of the precious metals decreased. In 1859, Peru is said to have exported but $1,000,000 worth of gold and silver, including thevalue ofabroad.jewelry, and other similar articles sent Subsequently, the amount of precious metals minedall plate,

in Peru increased to an average of $5,300,000 a year, and in 1873, the quantity of silver bullion raised was valued at$-5,000,000.

Owing to the introduction of modern machinery and the construction of railroads by Englishmen and citizens of the United States, the yield of silver may still be much enlarged and perhaps even rival tne treasure which excited the cruel cupidity of Pizarro and his avaricious associates.

The houses of the Quichuas were

built of adobes or sun-

dried brick, and were planned with gables, niches, arches and Their temples were of these brick, or of similar features.

If stone was used, the blocks were cut and finished with an accuracy and smoothness that cannot be surpassed.stone.

Peru, which to-day has an actual population of about two and a half millions, under the Incas was the happy home of thirtymillions.

To provide

for these multitudes, vast tracts of arid,

desert lands

were redeemed and made productive by irrigathe water for this purpose being obtained by a wise and tion, extended system of azequias and aqueducts, and also by excavating until water was found. Some of the canals and aqueducts connected with this system of public water works were between four and five hundred miles long. In the grand days

of the great Inca Capac Huyana, a national road twenty feet wide and between fifteen hundred and two thousand miles long crossed his territories. To complete this work, which was for foot passengers and pack llamas only, the people having no hordes, galleries were cut for leagues in the solid rock, rivers were crossed by suspension bridges formed of plaited osiers, which it was death to destroy precipices were ascended by massive stairways cut in the stone, and the valleys were crossed at a level on causeways of solid masonry. The road bed was of broad flags of freestone, many of which still remain where they were laid, to attest the thoroughness of the work of which they formed a part. Over this road, from station to station built beside the way, the ru