After the fall of the Roman Empire the separation of Europe into various small states gave rise to a currency like the autonomous coins of Greece. It is not possible to give a detailed account of the nunie roue types found in the modern series which has existed in Europe for the last 1400 years. The first French dynasty, the Merovingian, issued sous d'or, (solidus), derai-sous (semis), and tiers sons, trientea, st ruck by the great lords or moneyers, with their names and that of the mint, and imitating the coins of Anastaslus. Under the Carlovingian dynasty deniers of silver were introduced, and the sons d'or almost abandoned, and Charlemagne introduced his name in a sonogram on the coins, A.D. S64. The dissolution of the empire of Charlemagne gm° rise to the Italian and German series. During the commence ment of the Capets the denier tournois with a Tower and Pariaiis,inul ()boles Here chiefly in circulation. The royal portrait did not appear till Louis XII., and Anne of Brittany first placed the millesime or date of the Christian era on the currency in 147S. Besides the regal coins, the barons, bishops, and monasteries issued their own currency: but these were gradually suppressed by the crowu. In the series there are a few bracteates, or thin coins of a leaf of gold or silver, struck in relief on one side and hollow on the other, and Issued by religious houses, and natreamix, tokens, which under some circumstances were used for coin. The coins of Germany follow the French style ; but the art is not so good. The early coins of Bohemia resemble the Anglo-Saxon : later ones have St. Wenceelas. Those of Hungary commencing with the Ilth century, A.D., have the effigy of the monarchs. The coins of Poland commence with Boleslas the Great, imitate the Anglo-Saxon types, and have the portrait of the monarch. The early currency of Russia consisted of furs and coins ; gold coins do not begin till the 10th century, A.D. They are imitated from the Byzantine currency ; the silver, called dengu, begin with the 14th century, are of oblong shape with the prince on horse back, Samson and the lion, Arabic legends; • copper commences about the 15th century, and Peter the Great introduced the usual European types in the 18th century. In Italy the coins of the Gothic were suc ceeded by the Lombard kings, and those of the dykes of Benevento and Salerno, the Norman princes of the kingdoms of the two Sicilies, all imitated from the Byzantine currency ; and the currency of Charle magne, who forced the tributaries to adopt his monogram on the coins. At Rome, from the 11th to the 14th century, the currency was issued by the Senate till Innocent IV. regained the power; bnt as early as the 13th century the Pope coined in the Logationa. From the 9th to the 11th century the prelates of 3Ianheim, Aquileia, and Ascoli struck their own coins. A series of coins of Venice, comprising sequins and gaztttas commence with the 12th century and terminate in the 19th, having for their normal type the Doge receiving the gonfalone, or standard from St. Mark. From the 12th to 14th century the Republic of Genoa and other free towns struck coins. Malta, given in 1551 to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, has a series with the arms and effigies of the Grand Masters.
The modern coins of Spain commence with the Visigoths, who entered it in A.D. 531, who struck a series of gold solidi imitated from the Byzantine, with their heads and those of the emperor on the reverse. The double heads disappear about A.D. 650, and give place to profile portraits, the monogram of the king's name, and the crown. The coma struck by the 3Insinilman princes belong to the Oriental series. The kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and Majorca follow the usual mediaeval types. The coins of Great Britain and Ireland have been already described [Cons] ; the early pieces of Denmark, com mencing with Ilarthaenut, A D. 1036, resemble them. But from the
end of the 10th to the 12th century numerous brute:gra were issued, many by ecclesiastics; and crosses are the normal type from the middle of the 13th century, and crowns after 1280. In Sweden, the early types of the Ilth century copy the Anglo-Saxon ; but from the end of the 11th to the 14th century a great number of bracteates, and small pieces with the initials of the king's name, were in circulation. From 1365 the coins bear the arms of Sweden and the three crowns. The coins of Norway commence at the same time as those of Sweden, but are leas interesting. Of the Crusaders, there are large bronze coins commencing with Tancred, 1110, and continuing with the various princes and nobles established in Greece and the East to the 15th century. The general series of types in the dark ages are imitations of the Byzantine—crosses, portreita, figures of saints, and heraldic emblems. The various changes and different values of modern coin belong rather to money than numismatics. Altliongli, in reality, mediieval coins are much rarer than the Greek and Roman, they are less prized by amateurs, and few cabinets of them have been formed.
The Oriental coins comprise those struck in the East by the itlohatn. medians; these coins are flat thin pieces, like the later Byzantine pieces, and are called clirrhenut They commence with the Ommiali race of khalifs, the earliest being the gold dinars of the 78th and the dirheins of the 79th year of the Hegira. Both sides are covered with inscriptions in the centre surrounded by a legend, the whole recording the Pro fession of the Faith, varied by extracts from the Koran, the name of the city and year in which they were struck. The coins of Seljuks have the sun In Leo ; the Turkoman Ortokites and Atabegs, portraits and devices rudely copied from Byzantine and other sources. The :timbale Bahrites have occasionally a lion, in addition to their legends.
The Norman kings of Sicily have mediaeval types with Arabic legends.
The later Turkish are distinguished by the tograie or complicated signa ture of the sultan. Some of the Persian have animals. as a fish, cock, camel, deer, and ox, in addition to inscriptions. The Paten dynasty, the kings of Jannpur, have inscriptions only. Of the Moguls of Ilindusten there is a fine series of gold mohure, having on their obverse the twelve signs of the zodiac, struck by Jehangr in 1611. Of the sultans of Mysore, the most remarkable are the copper coins of Tippoo Seib, with an elephant. The earliest Hindu coins are those of the Gupta line, representing Brahminical deities. The coins of Southern India, Nepal, Assam, and Itangpur, have legends only. Of Ten:merlin, there are large octagonal and circular tin coins, impressed on one side with a dragon and phmnix. The coins of China and Indo-China consist principally of the tsien or cash ; but at the earliest period in China, copper knives (taou) and cloth-shaped pieces (poo) were in use. The cash have the value from A.D. 120, and the imperial name from A.D. 457 ; four characters, two meaning money, from a.e. 618. Under the Mogul and Manchou dynasty they have the name of the mint in Manchou on the reverse. Thera are only silver dollars of 1683, struck on the conquest of Formosa. The coins of Japan are flat gold plates called *bang and kobang, and submultiples, the square ikeboo ; the silver coins are that rectangular pieces—monme, gins, and nandiogiuns ; the semi cash like the Chinese, from 1636. The coins of the Coma date from 1116 ; of Anuam, 1428; of Cochin, and Tunkin from 1740; of Java, from the 13th century, with Buddhistic figures to imitate the Chinese. Of Siam there are bent pieces of silver, stamped at the bend with ornaments.