The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-03-09

A CHAT WIN NEW YORK NuMIsNATIcIAS
AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL.

A CHAT WITH A NEW YORK NuMIsNATIcIAS
AND ARcH&oroGIsT.
Ith,ak, saws the New York correspond
cut OF the Chicago Tribune that there IL
only one numismatletan In this country ct
present. l refer.to CASTOR Fcuardent, OF
LAFAYETTE place, who Il so skilled IN know
ledge OF COINS, In classical archaeology and
in ANTIQUARIAN lore OF all sorts, that others
are scarcely 10 bc mentioned in comparison.
He Il descended from long line 81 az
cbaologists, aud has made antique remains.
ruins. and statues the study OF his life.
He Is pretty well known now rs the Ne
mesis a hi CeSrola. met Mr.. Fcuordent
YESTERDAY, and causally asked few ques-
lions about coins.
.sTbe highest priced modern coin,' he
said. ais the United States silver dollar OF
1904. There are believe only two in ex-
fstancc. and these change hands ut the rate
Of about Ell 600 apiece. A few years ago
some officer OF the mint found the old die
of this rare dollar, and struck OIL some SIX
~ of them. lie was found out and the
dollars were destroyed and the die
broke. A five-soyercign gold piece OF
King Charles I. recently sold in England
for 81 600, but that was fancy price, ana
hardly to be maintained. In London
$4,000 has been paid for rare copper coin
of the Roman Emperor Geta. l myself
sold TO Louis Napoleon the most valuable
ooin i'm the world. When first heard OF
this 1 was at dinner with some gentlemen
in London. One OF them told me about
ragged stroller who had that day ofleret 10
sell TO him a SPLENDID gold coin from Gen.
trail Asia nearly as large a. the palm OF ms
hand. He sent him of as moli1tebank
M nm ~ a in
fred nv imagination in n way that all col
Iectors will understand. i hastily excused
myself, called cab, and went out 10 the
suburbs to a wretched quarter where |
knew these Indian traders were wont to
eongregatc. | searched some hours be-
fore | found the man from Bokhara, and
got him out OF his squalid bed. We went
into a room alone, and there. removing his
outer clothing. the tawny man drew from
his arm n sweaty bag, and from the bag
he brought forth the most magnificent coin
had ever seen. 1t was obviously gem
nine antique, stamped by King Eucratldes
Of India. one OF the successors OF AleNan-
der the Great. ] was much excited, but
storye TO appear cool. On the diverse was
IN engraved head OF the king, on the re-
verse fine relief Of Castor and POlluX.
IL bore the date about 1875 Il. &. lie said
the coin had at first been found by seven
men, but they got into deadly feud ever
IL and five were slain. lie and n friend were
the only survivors. He put an eXtrayagant
price on IL. but / refused TO pay it. At
last offered him Ct, 000-about S5,000-and
gave him only ten minutes to consider the
proposition. After that | told him that 1
should take off 500 each minute from my
offer. Before the ten minutes were up the
coin was mine. ] carried IL to France and
showed il to the Emperor Napoleon. lie
offered me $4,000 for II, and accepted 1t as
a command that so rare a treasure should
never leave France. Ii may now be seen
In Paris among the antique trophies, nom
ored by being placed in case all by itself
beneath the eye OF the sentinel. III Is the
finest coin in the world"
.Wben were the first coins struck"
"About eight hundred years before
Christ. the Lydia. Before that time the
commerce OF the world was done entirely
by barter-exchaneing one thing for
another. The Egyptians never had any
coins till these great kings came, after the
death OF Alexander. They used rings for
money. These are the Oldest Egyptian
MONEYS found. The oldest money was
somewhat like il; why, this is it,"
NJ. Feuardent led the way to case
where some hund reds or thousands of
coins we're displayed. The oldest money
looked like a bu ,kshot that had been tlltten-
ed against a stone wall On one side was
a slight depression, where the metal bad
received the dab OF piece Of iron while
hot. A century or two later came the art
OF engraving coins, which rose to a high
point under the Roman republic.
ais il true" i asked. "that the older a
coin Is the rarer it isi"
cit is not only not true, but 1t is almost
the reverse OF the truth. Some OF the
Oldest coins in the world are very common.
Remember that the earth was the bank of
the ancients. Whenever they wanted TO
be sure OF keeping money they secretly hid
ii in the ground. The general OF an en-
camped Roman army buried his treasure
along came the Goths and swept them away
and the money was lost. to be recovered by
some curious or accidental deliver hundreds
or thousands OF years later. Remember,
too. that not only the nations coined, but
the cities and towns, and that they coined
not once or twice, but constantly at short
intervals. The Emperor Marius reignod
only three days, but his coin~ are still
common. Copper coins of Constantine the
Great were found not many years ago
buried in n huge heap in Germany. There
was pleas high as a man-cOrds OF them,
suppose AID they are now 50 common
that that copper piece brings only one
cent.
"The best coins ever cast are those OF
about the year 400 H.. c. Noble bas-reiefs
OF uhe time Of Phidias then appear, making
the finest imaginable monuments OF the nu-
mismatc art. Some people say OF these
pieces, How well these are struck for such
an early period!' This betokens ignorance
OF gross afIectation. So far from depreca-
ting criticism, the coins OF those times
have never since been equalled or approach
ed rs works of art. The counterfeiter
seems to have appeared by the side OF the
first official engraycr. Almost every an
Client coin had its counterfeit, and Of some
there are more counterfeit than genuine
coins"
Cremation orr the Continent.