The Republican journal., 1871-03-16
VOLUME IL.
knowledge by the Fireside.

ANCIENT CONS Money consists of
whatever is used in exchange tor some
thing else. AS soon as mankind ncreas-
Ell IN numbers, they commenced to ex-
change one article for another in trade
This was done first by using some sub
stance OF great value and small IN bulk
At a very early period metallic exchanges
were made by weight-the giver of the
money weighing out 50 many pieces of
gold or silver At later period actual
CONS having certain weight and guar
anteed by government with the stamp or
seal of State was made the medium of
exchange. At what period silver and gold
were used is not known. Nearly 2O00
years before the Christian era, Abraham
silver and gold. The shape Of silver and
gold among the Egyptians appears to
have been that OF ring, with an opening
on one side to form Il chain when nee
essay This sort of money passed by
weight, Thus Abraham weighed four
hundred shekels of money to the mer-
chant. The Jews never had had any
other mode of using coin than by weight
50 long as they were an Independent ma
ton. Furthermore it may be new idea
to many that they never used gold as Il
com. Silver and copper We're their sole
medium. You never hear them talking
about shekels Of gold in any of their
writings
Among the Egyptians and Assyrians
the coin was frequently in the shape OF ii
sheep or 4 Lamb, possibly Of the value of
these animals. 1t has been supposed that
the change from weight to coin repre-
senting given value was first made by
the Romans. The pound weight was
stamped with the image of an OK. Hence
our word pecUtnary is derived from the
Latin word pecNnta, signifying money.
which IN turn was derived from the word
pecN signitying cattle. Thus an immense
stride WAS made in civilization when a
real value was given to 4 coin guaranteed
by the seal of State, so as to avoid the
necessity of weighing it every time 4
transaction was made The earliest coins
We're exceedingly rude in character
They were not perfectly round as you now
see them A die was formed, over which
the coin was placed, and then it was
struck with a punch which stamped the
coin on one side, and left q rude dent on
the other After while, die was made
on the end of the punch so that both sides
were stamped.
Alexander l. King Of Macedonia, is the
first who had his name stamped on coin.
The Athenians made the owl their type
This gave rise to the anecdote of the
Athenian miser, the root of whose house
was said to be infested with vast num-
ber OF owls, in allusion to money OF the
we'll known Athcnian type being conceal
ed there.
The Romans carried on the coming of
money to a high degree of perfection.
Each State and sometimes a single city
was authorized to issue its own coins.
Every coin was brief history of the age
in which it was struck. The skill OF the
artisan. the composition Of the coin, the
history Of the people, and the name OF the
ruling monarch We're frequently told on
the same coin. Ii is probable that almost
the only portraits We have of the ancients
arc what may be seen on ancient coins
that have come down to us. 1t is very
singular that when they could stamp on
copper, silver and gold the names Of
kings, that the art of printing was not
known till within less than five hundred
years. An immense number of ancient
coins are preserved inmuseums in Europe.
They are valuable records of past history.
They are in fact printed books, on whose
surfaces are stamped the records of Il past
age 1t is said that ancient Roman coins
are still in circulation in Spain. They have
become worn smooth and thin by time,
Maine Farmer