Of Nerva, the Fisci Judaici calutunia sublata, on the remission of the poll tax of two drachms for the rebuilding of the Capitol, and the Vehiculatione Italian remissa, on the remission of the impressment of means of transport for the army of Italy, are singular. Trajan has a numerous series, with the types of Dacia Capta, the Danubius, the Arabia adquisita, A.D. 105, the Armenia and Mesopotamia in potestatem reducta—the Via, Aqua, Trajana, and Basilica Ulpia. Rare, but un interesting are those of Plotina Marciana, A.D. 114, and Matidia. Hadrian, A.D. 117-138 has an interesting series of the personifications of the provinces which he visited. Those of Sabina are rare, and of Aelius Caesar has largo brass with Panonia ; Antoniuus Pius, the Provinces—the sow with thirty pigs, the Mars Pendens; of .Aleandria, Fanstina, and M. Aurelius, the types are uninteresting ; so are those of Faustina II., Annius Venus, and L. Venus, and Lucilla. The large brass of Commodus record his attempt to call Rome the Colonia Antonina Commodiana, and his assumption of the title of Hercules; Crispina, his wife, has types of the conjugal gods, and Pertinax pieces dedicated to Janus and the Mind. Didius Julian, Manlia Scantilla and Didia Clara are rare. Pescennius Niger struck only aurei, and denarii in Antioch. Clodius Albinus was killed for assuming the title of imperator on his coins. Severus has types referring to the war in Britain. Caracalla, difficult to distinguish from Elagabulus, has only his Circus. Plautilla and Geta struck in 2nd brass only. Maerinue, Diadumenianus are common; of Elagabalus, Sol Elagabalus, his eponymous god, are alone interesting. The types of his wives, Cornelia Paula, Aquilla Severe, Annia Faustina, and Julia Scemias, and Meese, are unimportant. Of the numerous types of Alexander Severus, one refers to his restoration of the coinage. Maximinus and Maximus are unimportant. Those of the elder Gordian and Pupienus and Balbinus are of great rarity, but of Gordian III. none are remark able; but those of his wife are of the greatest rarity. The coins of Philip I., II., are chiefly remarkable for the commemoration of the Smculares, and the figures of the rare animals seen in the Circus ou that occasion. His wife, Otacilia, is rare in gold.
Trajan Decius bears Pannonia ; Pacatiauus, Etruscilla, and Heren nius Etruscus, are rare : the large brass of Trebonian Gallus have Juno Martialis. The gold and brass of tEmiliau, of Volusian, the silver, and small brass of Cornelia Supera, and brass medallions of Valerian are rare. Mariniana, Pallienus, Salouina and Saloninus are common and uninteresting. The Gallic usurper, Posthumus, has some peculiar types of Hercules. After his reign, with the exception of one type of Aurelian, the large brass disappears ; some of the later pieces are the aurei of Magna Urbica, and of Julian II. Diocletian reformed and issued numerous pieces in all metals. Maximian 1. is common, but the aurei of Carausius and Allectus, A.D. 287-93, are of a rarity almost unique, and struck in the mint of London. Under Constan tine Chlorus Severus, Maximin II., Maxentius, Licinius and Con stantine the type became monotonous, and Constantine, A.D. 306, 307, has a long series, some referring to the building of Constantinople and Rome, and others with the monogram of Christ.
From the time of Constantius and his family the reverses become more uniform. The Emperor assumed the title of D. N. or Dominus nester; the types of the reverse are principally Victories hifiding wreaths, legionaries with ensigns with Gloria Exereitus and a horseman spearing a fallen enemy, the Felix temporis reparatio, while the Caesars are represented as the Princeps Jnventutis, and the vote quin quinalia, decennalia, and vicennalia and a few other ordinary types. Of Constantine H. are 3rd brass with victories of Constans I. Victor omnium gentium and the Bononia Oceanensis or Boulogne-sur-Mer, with a galley, referring to his expedition to England. Constantius is common. Nepotiauus, A.D. 350, is found only in 2nd brass, Vetranio at the same date, has an agues with the Labarum and Hoc signo victor erns. Magnentius, Decentius, and Constantius Gallus
are uninteresting. The reverse of Julian III., 360, abound with the Isis Pharia and Deus Serapis. There is an unique solidus of his wife Helena. The types of Jovian, Valentinian I., Valens, Proco pius, Gratian, Valentiniau II., Theodosius, Flacilla, Maximus, Victor, Arcadius, Honorius, Coustantius Placidia, and Jovianus are not remarkable. Of Priscus Attains, A.D. 409, there is a unique medallion with Rome and " Iuvicta Roma reterna ;" and the emperors with Reipublkas nati," Theodosius II., Eudoxia, Johannes, Valeutinian 1II., and his successors till Romulus A.D. 475, offer no interest. In the Byzantine series the reverses of Justin I. have the names of Theodoric and Athalaric ; those of Justinian are uninteresting. The portraits of the emperors wear embroidered dresses, the dalmaticum, with crowns on their heads, and globes and crosses iu their hands ; and crosses on steps for the reverses of the solidi commence. A series of Gothic kings commence with Theodoric, A.D. 489, and end with Baducla, A.D. 552, the last with the reverses of Floreas Semper and Felix Ticinus ; and of Vandal monarchs, Gunthamund, Gelimar, and Theode bert offer no great interest. From the time of Justinian the copper pieces have on the reverse the numerals of the follis, its subdivisions, the year of the reign, the place where minted ; the inscriptions are in cursive Latin and Greek. Johannes Zimisces, A.D. 969, placed the full faced image of Christ, the Virgin, and the Holy Sepulchre on his coins. The num/ scyphati commence with Constantine XI. and the series ends, A.D. 1443, with a doubtful coin of Constantine XIV. or Palmologus.
The prevalence of forgery at an early period is shown by the severity of the laws of Solon which punished the crime by death ; and by the fraud of Polycrates, who paid the Spartans with coins of lead plated with gold. Plated Greek coins in silver of the earliest period, as the didrachms of Themistocles, in Magnesia, and the incuse coins of Magna Ormcia of the 7th century, B.C., and gold darics, electrum staters, and tetradrachms of cities and kings have been found. So numerous aro the false consular and imperial denarii, that they seem to have issued from the public mint, and so extensive was the evil, that public grati tude erected statues to N. Gratidianus, who had passed a law against the practice, severely punished by the Lex Cornelia. Plautus, and Martial mentions nigri, base plumbei or lead coins made of this metal covered with a thick plate of other metal and then struck from a die. The false silver and gold are detected by having wrong reverses, blundered legends and types, and defective weight. The emperors, especially those who paid large donativcs to the troops, appeared to have issued plated coins ?tuna sulmerati, or pelliculati, and Caracalla is expressly stated to have done so. It is supposed that the coins with dentated edges, the scrrati, were struck, to prevent this fraud ; but the forgers imitated even these. These forgeries began to be collected as rarities in the days of Pliny, and these ancient forgeries are no less prized by collectors than those iu purest metal. During the middle period of the Empire the forgers used flat circular moulds of fine clay moulded from true coins, each counter having an obverse on one aide and a reverse on the other, stacked them in vertical ronleaux, luted them all in a triangular mass, and poured in the fluid billon or potin. Crucibles, moulds, and other tools of these ancient " smashers " have been found in England, France, and Germany, and Egypt. The forgers continued their operations notwithstanding the severity of the laws, which condemned freedmen who committed the offence to the beasts, and slaves to a torturing death ; and Constantino punished false ing as high treason with the penalty of confiscation, exile, or death, and reduced the thickness of the coins so that it might ring and pre. vent plating.