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Show I (; Chance to See AH Ksods of Money. . I I 4 ! BY TABU AN ZEBBE. j Chlof o the Souvenir Chin Department at ; Iho Loulolanu Purchase Exposition . , ST. LOUIS, April 30. In tho various ji numismatic exhibits at tho Louisiana Purchase, exposition is presented an fi l abridged history or the divisions, rov- ' ! . ernmento, people, languages, customs, J !l I art, architecture and commercialism of : tho civilized world from tho eighth cent- j fury before Christ to the present day, I j; . representing Uirce perlodw oC time un- I dent, medieval and' modern and the S ! i twenty-eight most progressive- centuries I ' of man, L . Tho specimens oC carjy metal mediums I ) i o excliance shown by Oriental countries Mi nro from a remote past, regarding which I there are- no record's as to the authenv J 1 ticlty of timo othor than they aretedato ! i by centuries tho earliest known money j , to which tho coinage or' today traces its origin. 1 I Tho archa2olOGlst In his research haa I brought to light that which is not only i accepted: as having been tho currency of I a time and people far removed from tho I ' period of barter, which preceded tho 1 ' , earliest coins thoso of Uio ancient I Greeks and Lydlany but they link the lands of tho now widely separated di- visions of tho globo and contributes to I confirming tho once contiguity of tho two great hemispheres. Specimens havo ' , been found In the mounds that skirt tho waters of the Mississippi and within tho bounds of tho Loulsana territory, coinciding coin-ciding in shapo and ornament with the relics exhumed from tho sepulchral repositories re-positories of tho ancient Egyptians and i . Etruscans. This aboriginal "money" ia found in many various forms-, inscriptions inscrip-tions and materials. The best authenticated authenti-cated epecimena approach regular chapes and a similarity of ornament, and are of ttone, coal, lignite, bone, shell, chalcedony, mica and Jasper, with a very few in- gold and silver, i ' ! Earliest Specimens. I' Tho earliest preserved specimens of ' what is known to have been tho early money of the Orient, particularly that I 1 of the Celestial Empire, Is particularly t Interesting. Some are rudely fashioned i r from metai bearing undecipherable ln- I , scriptions and In the shape of raor ,v blades, keys, spades and other imple- i ments. Many are accepted aa tho pro- 1 ducts of more than, thirty centuries ago, and all are sufficiently perfect to indicate indi-cate tat they had their origin centuries ' before. A characteristic of this Oriental currency, which is moro than 3000 years old. ia that all were made with am opening open-ing or hole, and evidence that It takes moro than time to eradicate or change I the customs of China. Thirty centuries ' ago 'they carried their money strung on 6trlnga and In continuation of that custom cus-tom tho minor coinage of tho Chinese ir.- t-l y-rt rtf trtrlnv rrllor1 " 1q H' made with a hole In it for carrying con- veniences. H, The "money" of the aborigines and of the Orient, which lack data, is not of Hi particular interest to the numismatist. The earliest specimens that command the serious consideration of the collector , and students are classed as "ancient coins," to whoso origin the present coin-age coin-age of enlightened man is unintcrrupt-edly unintcrrupt-edly traced. 1 From about 700 B. C. the precious metals gold and sliver are found In Hfl attempted circular shapes, but tho prim- y ltive coinago meUi6ds did not permit ; regularity as to form, weight or inscrip- tlon. To particularize on the noto-worthy noto-worthy ancient and medieval coins that , are shown would be to follow and refer to the divisions and subdivisions of the ' globe during these periods. Coins of Greece. Hl Among tho most interesting are the H' " gold and Bilver coins of Greece in Asia ' Minor, bearing animal devices and no ' inscriptions, and' crudely fashioned, and which lead a few centuries later to a perfection in metal stamping, that is to-HJ to-HJ day In many respects a lost art. Later- ' day methods do not approach them In H' certain details of perfection. The carl- H lest copper coins, those of the Roman Republic, developed from the square-H. square-H. ehaped "As" to a series of metal money, Hii approach in art those of Greece. They tell the tales of ancient cities. The portraits of the long list of Cae- sars are preserved on the coins of their time. The Celtic "ring money" and that H) i of the ancient Egyptians and Persians, the incused coins of Sybarls and the H' cup-shaped money' of the Byzantine; the H' Jewish shekel and "widows mite," with their Biblical associations, are all shown Hi1 at tho "World's fair and are interesting 1 money specimens of antiquity. Later money oddities are those of early Brit-alu, Brit-alu, shaped as lings and bracelets and conveniently carried as articles of per-sonal per-sonal adornment, i None will more depict a fallacy than tho "plate money" ot Sweden. These arc plates of thick, cheap metal', wclgh-ing wclgh-ing several pounds, and in size up to ten inches square, of a stamped value of from one to ten "dollars." This was the Hn extremity of an attempt to popularizo H,( " base metals for currency, and was re- pudlated by its own people. The bullet money, "tlcals," of Slam, ' ; the cobb money of Mexico and' the sect- t-d coins of many countries are of intcr-Ri intcr-Ri est to the World'.? fair visitor, as is also the square and diamond shaped coins of I moro recent periods. The papal coins are' particularly Interesting, not on ac-Hj ac-Hj count of tliclr excellence of production, I but because they tell the story of church Hl. and state for eleven centuries. H1 Oblong Ingots. Interest will be found in tho oblong .ingots and vessel-shaped gold money of Japan and China. A coin of ancient 1 Philadelphia, the Greek City of Love, Is fihown for comparison with the new pro-H- ducts of modern Philadelphia, the homo of United States coinage Hi An exhibit of coins always attracts H' because it is money, but the study im- parts a knovledge of man In the day of their Issue. The art of coinage is por-Hj por-Hj trayed from the hammer and die to tho Hj crucible and mold, and from the screw press to the powerful stamping ma-1 ma-1 chines. H Of "ye moneycr of olden days" nono seemed to have commanded the specific attention as those thus favored by early H. Britain. To be "coiner to the King" i i was to enjoy the greatest of privileges H; I' and thoso commanding It are pictured ( ? In jestures of citreme delight, likened ' by historians unto that of the King's H Hlstorj' and science acknowledge their H indebtedness to tho stamped me Oil cur-' ) rency that has survived the destroying H-t agencies of centuries. That which has H'j i been preserved for modern times has Hij i proved invaluable in establishing or con- i ilrming epochs of the past, of which k there are no other accepted records. Tho H't Intrinsic worth of a collective exhibit of J the coins of the world would be very J considerable, but the great rarity or Hj uniqueness of many specimens have Hl ' !' multiplied their value a thousandfold. Hj k At tho Louisiana Purchase exposition, , j nation vies with nation in presenting its H; J ti-easures." Archaeology welds jvell each link in its chain of co-operative research, re-search, and history present its pages, omitting naught worthy of record. 'In doing this the numismatic treasures of tho world form a part and are contributed contrib-uted to by the students of the science of numismatology who toko pride in exhibiting ex-hibiting their prized possessions. While (hero will bo a number of coin exhibits, they will largely present the metal money of modern times. Tho money of antiquity js shown In many different displays by tjhe respective countries whose dominions, If not continuous from the scenes of tho products, are successors succes-sors to tho lands, religion or language, and tho "money" of tho aborigines la found la- tho division of archaeology. |