The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-25
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Was TheiV 0ViaiH neligtsus. tsmmsrria
~ ttegety Ometal7

Fspm NJ saturday Hsusv
Al humismailsts hsve been ihtefnsiai IN mo
dise ttsaionthaf has hem IN proffrss dufua mo
last lHH ~ nfteeu Years oIusFfuina me shaf4ls
ter ~ The hfet ~ prs asuef aliv representations
NJ Ahimsla, ie-s ne 1entlf nutii devices ~
humsn figures that afs ~ DO soon m iha
pfmHivs eain ne ~ Asla Minor ani ufeets
Y VI man tbnufles have hrrH prevalent fuf
shsif %stpianstion. fbs one hss been ufasi w
~ Cuftius snd ~ iett he otHsf nv Prot
HhiasAy Tho former srhrni Niii go n0ihina
hut fpll siNus emhiems IN thrae stfanee Hfrhaib
Representations ~ hoHsta AMI 0ihHf thiHss
n hoila that ne state wish@i ~ dcdicatS
~ nancy Nv ~ tuirisfr sIt ~ ]apiirss, that
The siaa ~ Ighcsus The awi ~ Athens. ihs
lion ~ Nlletus, Tho tortoise " Rama nfe VII
alike sacfei tyres, referring ~ tho Worship
~ Artemts NJ Athena tpoli1 W. Arhfodltsi
that II Tho primitive artist engraved Tho NJ.
tribute rather than the d'ity on Tho coin,
" va mplv hecauar he waa conscious NJ his
inability 10 produce m adequate represents.
tion NJ N" city'a patron ot patfonoaa ~ the
confined space ~ n half inch die Whom art
improved and die sinkcfa became skilful,
tho dritira Themselves hogan 10 10 portfayed;
In the coinage ~ tho NTH aud later centuries
tho gods head normally appears IN onc slda
of IN" piece, tho emblem that was originally
tho eolc type IL rrlcaat'i ~ other II
has even been suggested ,.|. q r,Ht mlnts
were established IN temple : cory for
which tho evidence IL most lnconclu-ive.
The one inscription which does undoubtedly
establish the existence ~ n temple coinage
Ia on n piece 80 late that no argument as %
primitive practice can hc drawn from IL.
But setting aside this addition To the theory
OF tho purely religious nature Of early coin
types, II cannot be disputed that much can
be urged In favor Of the view. Mr.. George
Macd onald while granting that the archaic
figures are often representations of the em-
blems Of the gods. produces Il non-religlouS
reason for their appearance.
The other modern theory a. Ia the origin
OF coin types has been vigorously set forth by
Prof, RidRway. who denies the religious in
terpretation OF the devices. and secs In them
indications Of the exchange value of the print
tive pieces. The standard currency Of most
every one knows how the Latin pecunia de-
rives from pecus. i Is a tempting notion. 70
suppose that the first coins were intended
to be equivalent TO the OK, or other unit Of
exchange prevalent in the country where the
new device OF metal money had been intro
duced. Many, early coins, bear the represent
and other objects which we know to have been
used as standards of value. Most of the early
like bronze pieces, displays such types. Pol
lux tells us that Bons. the primitive OK unit,
was originally used as an equivalent word
for the slater. the primitive coin unit: when
in archaic religious or legal formula an OK
vas mentioned, later generations paid or
contribution. But 1t would be dan gerous
to press this view far. or we should have to
adopt the absurd hypothesis that the value
unit OF Teos had once been the griffin, or that
OF Miletus the lion. since these are the first
representations found, on their c~oinages. both
of which go back to the very first days Of the
invention OF money,
Mr.. Macdonald rejects both these accepted
views in favor of the simple theory that the
early coin type merely reproduces the State
seal OF the issuing state, The community
the piece by sealing it with the device which
It habitually appended to documents, weights
In the cities of medieval Europe, many States
used religious emblems as their coat Of arms,
but others used commercial types and others
the city name, without any religious or other
ancient with things modern. Athens used
Athene's owl, or Ephesus the stag of Artemis,
uses the red cross with st. PaulS sword In
the canton, or Venice uses the lion. of st. Mark.
Cyrene the silphium plant as purely COM
mercial devices. illustrating the chief indus
try Of the city as much as Bristol shows the
castle and ship, Canada the beaver or Iceland
the stock-fsh in its shield. But quite distinct
from each of these we get tho punning type.
Trapezus showed a table on It's coins, Ancona
now gives us an OK fording a river, Bern a
bear or Munich a monk. II seems to us that
this lucid. simple, yet many sided explana-
ton of the early coin types is absolutely con-
elusive. 1t leaves, us with, many religious
emblems, such as the one school Of common
tators pointed out, and many commercial
the type Of the coin is only religious or com-
mercial at second hand, so to speak. II re-
produced the State seal and the device Of
tendencies which prevailed among the early
choosers OF a municipal device, or might even
be settled by mere canting heraldry.