Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-04
Fact. About rrec,om. ue,n,..

From paper by DIR. III. A. Hagen.
The newspaper tales OF the treasures OF ORR
entail princes contain sometimes enormous ac-
counts of precious metals and jewelry But
even the highest numbers given to-day reach
scarcely the treasure mentioned by ancient au-
thorities. King Cr9sus presented to the
temple In Delphi ga talents. nearly g. 600 600
of gold; Phidias used for the statue OF MI
nerya In the Parthenon forty talents: and in the
treasury OF Ptolemaius Philadelphus were
100000 talents OF gold about $4,000 900
Nerres. during his short pratorship in Sicily
appropriated more than S6oJO.Ooo OF costly
objects simply by what he called confsca-
ton. About the mines OF precious metals ane
their production before Christ nothing is
sufficiently known. But the immense amount
of money coined I'm those times the costly trea-
sures and implements reported TO have been liz
existence, warrant the suppositon OF their
wealth. The first gold coins. stamped only or
one side, belong to Asia Minor. and the slater
from Phoxaia. with the seal the emblem of the
state. dates GOO years before Christ. IL was fol-
lowed by the Persian gold coins of Darius Both
seem to have been made of gold washed out OF
the aliuvial layers of the Pactolus river. The
money OF Greece was originally OF silver The
money OF the Romans was at first copper
later silver; gold coins appear not before Sylla.
Pompeius and Caesar. mostly coined for ths
trumphal honors Of those men. Later. in the
time OF the emperors, large numbers of gold
A greater amount Of gold and silver in coins
or ware Is hidden in the ground in uncertain
war times, and aiterward forgotten or not found
In Germany, the construction OF roads and rail.
ways brought many such treasures 10 the light
which, according TO the date of the coins. had
been several hundred years In the ground. liz
eastern Prussia alone, during the first half of
thls century, were found about one hundred
pounds Of golden Arabic or kufic coins which
must have been hidden twelve hundred years or
more. which proves that the tradeway I'm those
times passed through Prussia The well known
Hlldeshem silver found in 1867. near the battle
ned OF Arminius and Yarus has brought to
light extremely tasteful silver vessels after
twelve centuries.
Iron or earthen p6ts filed with coins during
the Thirty Years War, are by no means rare
The discoveries by Schliemann I'm Troy and Nv
cen9, and similar findings in Italy, are many
centuries older. In Italy such findings con-
tanned sometimes 80, 600 coins; but curiouslv
enough, till row no hidden treasure IL discover
ed which antedates the time of Sylla More than
$4,000 denares are quoted by Mommsen in about
dozen different findings. The treasure hidden
during the first and second centuries after Christ
contains very large numbers OF gold coins and
contrast obviously with the small amounts dur
ing the next century. The visitor at the Co
penhagen museum will remember the heavy
solid Roman gold pieces found in the northern
peat swamps.
The treasures of the Roman Catholic churches
and monasteries contain still. I'm some countries,
an imoense amount OF precious metals which
may be considered as lost forever TO circulation,
except In extreme calamities.