Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-10-27
RARE OLD COINS.
TIE REMARKABLE COLLECTION OF
 A CHICAGO NUMISMATlST.

American Pieces of Great Historical Value.
 A Queen Anne Farthing-English Coins
 That Bring High Prices-Uncoined Sym
 bols of Value.
 ''Here," said Mir. George P. Avery, "are four silver dollars. The date of one is 1795. The first silver dollar of the United States government had only been issued the year before. This is dated 1796 and this i1799, and here's one dated 1901.
 If that date were 1S04," said Mir. Avery, ''the coin would be worth $2,000 or more. And here is Queen Anne farthing."
 There was time when farthings of Queen Anne were among the rarest of coins. It was the general belief that in the reign of Queen Anne there were but three farthings coined, and that in the coinage of the third farthing the die broke One of these were preserved in the kings museum q great curiosity; the second was in the British museum; the third fell into the hands of an Irish gentle man named Millar. There are some English coins which fetch high prices. A gold penny of Henry III sold in 1859 for S650; a quarter forin of Edward III for S7l0; crown piece of Henry VIII for S700 Probably the largest price ever paid for an English coin was a e5 piece presented by King Charles 1 on the scaffold to Bishop Juxon, bearing the motto, "Florent concordia regna." It was pattern piece" never published. The British museum having refused it for S4O0, it passed into the hands of Mir. Cobb, at whose sale it was bought for S1 900 for Longmans, the London publishers.
 ''What do you think of this coin 2" asks MT. Avery.
 It is an old coin, bearing in Greek charac- ters the name of Lysimachus. If it is gen uine 1t is about as ancient coin can be. There is hardly anything known to numis- | matists before the silver coins of Alexander I, king of Macedon, whose reign extended to the year 454 B. C.; and Lysimachus, king of Thrace, was one of the inheritors of the empire of Alexander the Great. His are almost the first coins on which the regal portrait ap- pears. In Lord Northwick.s collection te- tradrachm of Lysimachus sold for S750. RARE OLD ROMAN PIECES,
 %'And here." says MT. Avery, "are three Roman pieces; one of Julius Cesar, one of Augustus, and one of Agrippa." |. There is no reason to doubt the authen- ticity of MT. Avery's specimens. Concerning other Roman coins which be has he is moro than doubtful.
 And from these specimens of ancient coins MT. Avery passes to his modest collection. Every country is represented The United States, as in honor bound, stands first Here is half dime of 1792. It has upon it's ob- verse a female bust emblematic of Liberty. This is supposed to represent Martha Wash ington. The coin is said to have been struck from Washington's private plate. It was not generally circulated,s ,s Here is a half eagle of 1SO0 This is exactly similar to the half eagle of 1901, which has entirely disappeared. It was in 1901 that the Bey of Tripoli declared war against the United States. Ships of Al giers, Tunis, Tripon and Morocco captured American vessels and reduced their crews and passengers to slavery Capt Bainbridge was sent to the Mediterranean to protect American commerce. HisSspurser was pro vided with all the half eagles of that years coinage. They were never seen again. So, at least, runs the legend.
 The dollars of 1886 and 1888 are both rare The former has twenty-six stars in the field, the twenty-sixth being Michigan, which was then applying for admission into the Union. The latter is a pattern" piece, and circulated | mostly among members of congress. The nickel cent of 1856 sells at high premium. | "In God We Trust" first appears on bronze two cent piece ill 1866.
 | "And this, says MT. Avery, lis a curious half dollar. The liberty cap is on one side, the eagle with the words Half dol' upon the other The mint offered me S1O for it. It is unique.
 ''That Is Benton Mint Drop as they were called. This is a Franklin penny, with the motto "A Penny Saved Is Penny | Earned The other is q Jackson penny marked Roman Firmness'; the Constitution l as I understand it. and I take the responsi- bility,'"
 UNCOINED SYMBOLS OF VALUE
 In m adjoining bag lie various uncoined symbols of value. Here are the silver Jumps, bullet shaped, called 'tekal," current in Siam; and the white cowrie shells used in Africa and the rings of gold and silver which are common currency of Nubia; and the pieces of iron, named 'Hashhash," like semi circular knives used in Kordofan; and bits of coarse cotton, called "Fredgat," which are equivalent to sixty pieces of "hashhash"; and the beads and blocks of salt used in Abyssinia; and the fish hook money, made of pieces of silver wire, still current in China.
 "Don't overlook this tenpenny bank token,' says MT. Avery. Ut is Irish"
 The Irish coins mostly resemble the En- glish. Those of Henry VIII have the arms of England and the Irish harp crowned between the initials of Henry and his queens. Then comes the Ormonde money, having its weight stamped in Irish numerals. But the most re- markeble Irish coins are the pieces named | 'gun money" struck out of cannon melted down by James II before the last struggle for
  his forfeited throne There is also a crown in white metal with the king on horseback. This last is scare, but specimens of the ''gun money" are common.
 "Here," continues MT. Avery, ''is speci- men of the constitutional currency of France Itis sou of 17o2, showing the head of Louis XVI, with the inscription La loi, le roi, la nation"
 It is of bell metal, made during the Revo- lution from the bells of demolished churches, It jingles out of the bag with five franc piece of Napoleon, Empereur" and "Dieu protege la FraAce' on the edge; and a piece of five lire marked "Napoleone imperatore re," with ''Dio protege Italia"' on the edge The Italian coins show the Conqueror in the flush of his conquests; the French coin brings him under the shadow of Waterloo In the one ho is serene and proud; in the other his face is full of care.
 Always Stolen to Spend.
 ) In commenting on the recent forgery case and the S103 900 which was made out of bogus : mortgages, prominent member of the Pro duce Exchanee Dointed out the very curious