Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-06-14


roriaus as to whether Octayia's de-
tested rival escaped the c0uquer0r's
grasp by poison % man or % serT ent.
The piece IS a medallion, the size Of
an An srican half dollar and contains
1856 grains Of silver. 1t Is a fine sped
men, ncbly mlnted, and perfect in
every detail The reverse IS the god
dess OF peace, standing, and holding
the cistl. or basket, and the clduceus,
or rod OF Mercury. the whole surround
cd by a laurel wreath The one un-
graceful feature Of this side Of the
coin is the figure Of peace, who dis
plays remaIk cable resemblance To
c.othes-pin
The diverse OI tLe medallion is a
remarkably tue imprint Of the face Of
Bomes Hrst emperor. The Inscription,
Caesar Imperator, defender III the
liberties OF the Roman People reads
like an uublushiug sarcasm, lu III the
recollection comes Of Juat advice which
Maecends proposed 10 AgrIppa's,
Rome can eXls. no longer without a
monarch, and Of tie consequent r-sO-
luton ~ Ovid's banisher 10 leave TO
4 republic It's form vi soy rumeut,
Wltlg iureuehiug himself with its sub
stance
one Of the most artistic pieces, and
a very rare one, TOO, IS coin Of
Syracuse, minted about 4Ij b. l.. This
coin belongs to Tie time known among
HumisIuatists as the period 81 finest
ART extending from the it-e Of
Syracuse to the accession OF Alexander
the Great Tie art Of engraving coins
Reached tueu the highest point OF ex-
gellpuce Il has ever attained, either in
ancient or modern times. The types
are characterized by iutensil! of -ac-
ton, perfect symmetry OF Proportion,
elegance D. composition, finish Ot exc
cution, aud richness of oruamentJtiou
The triumph Of art may be apr lated
when tie visitor remembers that all
these coins were hrst nodded in the
form Of a bullet and then placed be-
tween two dies and pounded into
shape 10y hand
The specimen at the mint bears on
the diverse the head of ArethusI, be-
loved Of Alpheus, graudIy srdck in
high reief and surrounded by dot
ted circle, Modern artists, iu marble
or IN oil, might strive FOR years and
accomplish nothing so severely beau
uiful, 50 proudly chaste, so -raudly
calm. The reverse is a Mars, bearded
ana heImeted The piece contains
about as much silver as "a la.f dollar
ana has strange and significant
mark. Some keen. heavy weapon,
swung by powerful arm, has struck
the edge ana shOrJu the thick silver
through a. if it were soitest lead.
For an Mr. Mcclure knows. the
mighty stroke may have been dealt
ere the tyrdur Diguysius fled from
Syracuse to Cor.uth, there 10 instruct
SOOTHING >hoolboys and win iu A mems
bis fatal pr,ze of poetry at the feast
of Bacchus, or the sword of The sol
der Of Mar-ellu>, as it struck down
Archimedes ere he could finish his
problem. ut the taking of the city q
century afterwards, may have bitten
....f...7 g.. M. .7r,,..,f,,. ,,.,.t, l.t. -,
.t,,... rl.aI
The coin that has puzzled al tie
mint expert, is ID gold piece. worth In
rfnsi.allv about -. They believe fl
is Bactrian p.e.e. for the tus.rip-
riou corresponds exactly to flat of
coin described In .Iionpers Dcscrin.
rfon H. Medailles Antiques. Greruues
Is Romaines. The ANNOYING thing
about is that the Insc-lption is par.
fectIy plain. and vet can not he read.
Miouuet. who is an authority. gives
a fac-simile of this very legend IN lis
work. ana duhS it eau uncertain Ian
guagp.
As coin ami as specimen of
Greek art. the niece bears evidence of
having been struck about $50 b. G.
The purely mechanical portion IS far
niece. but from am artistic view uofnt
the ROYAL head which tho diverse
bears indicates at least over century
of decadance from high ideals The
,- = ~ 4s