River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-04-12
Curious Facts About Precious
Metals

From paper by DIR. FL. A. Hagen, OF
the Agassz mus sum at Cambridge,
Mass, we take the following:
"The newspaper tales of the treasures
of Oriental princes contain sometimes
enormous accounts of precious metals
and jewelry. But even the highest
numbers given to-day reach scarcely
the treasure mentioned by ancient
authorities King Cresus presented to
the temple in Delphi PA talents, nearly
81 900 900 of gold; Phidias used for the
statue of Minerva in the Parthenon forty
talents; and in the treasury of Ptolemai-
us Philadelphus 10000 talents of gold,
about $3,000,0oO. Verres during his
short pretorship in Sicily, appropriated
more than 100000 of costly objects
simply by what he called confscation.
About the mines of precious metals and
their production before Christ nothing
is sufficiently known. But the immense
amount of money coined iii those times,
the costly treasures and implements re-
ported to have been in existence, war
rant the supposition of their wealth.
The first gold coins, stamped only
on one side, belong to ASIA Minor, and
the slater from Phoxaia, with the seal,
and emblem of the state, dated 600years
before Christ. 1t was followed by the
Persian gold coins of Darius. Both
seem to have been made of gold washed
out of the alluyial layers of the Pactolus
river. The money of Greece as origin
ally of silver. The money of the Ro-
mans was at first copper, later silver;
gold coins appear not before Sylla, Pom
peius and Caesar, mostly coined for the
triumphal honors Of those men. Later,
in the time of the emper0rs, large num-
bers of gold coins appear
"a greater amount Of gold and silver
In coins or ware is hidden in the ground
in uncertain war times, and afterward
forgotten or not found. In Germany,
the construction Of roads and railways
brought many such treasures tothe light,
which, according 10 the date ofthe coins,
had been several hundred years in the
ground. In eastern Prussia alone, dur
ING the first half Of this century, were
found about one hundred pounds of
golden Arabic or Kufic coins, which
must have been hidden twelve hundred
wears and more, which proves that the
tradeway in those times passed through
Prussia. The well-knoWn Hildeshelm
silver found in 1867, near the battlefield
Of Arminius and Varus, has brought to
light extremely tasteful silver vessels
after twelve centuries.
'Iron or earthen pots, filed with coins
during the thirty yea rs war are, by
no means rare The discoveries, by
SchIiemann in Troy and Mycen@, and
similar findings in italy, are many CEN
turtles older. In Italy, such findings
contained sometimes 10000 coins, but
curiously enough, till now no hidden
treasure is discovered which antedates
the time Of SylIa. More than $1,000
denares are quoted by Mommsen in
about a dozen different findings. The
treasure hidden during the first and sec
ond century after Christ contains very
large numbers of gold coins, and con-
trasts obviously with the small amount
during the next century. The visitor at
the Copenhagen museum will remember
the heavy solid Roman gold pieces found
in the northern peat swamps.
The treasures of the Roman Cath
ole churches and monasteries contain
still, in some countries, an immense
amount'of precious metals, which may
be considered as lost forever to circuia-
ton, except in extreme calamlties.