Records of Roman history, from Cnus Pompeius to Tiberius Constantinus, as exhibited on the Roman coins (Volume I)

The title I have placed on the first page of this work may to some appear rather pretentious, and of greater import than is warranted by the subject matter. I trust that I shall be able in a few words, - for the extent to which these volumes have run will not bear the addition of a lengthy Introduction, - to justify the choice I have made.

My experience in Roman Coins was very limited when I made the observa tion - that probably every one has made and will make under similar circumstances - namely, that, starting with the rude and heavy As, and following the series of Coins leading up to the fine types that commence with the reign of Augustus, thence tracing the series down again to the small and badly-executed Coins which make their appearance in the time of Gallienus, we have, from an artistic point of view, an epitome of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. With but few wants, and those of the simplest character, and confined almost entirely to the necessities of eating, drinking, and fighting, - for the latter was a necessity to him, and the element of his greatness, -the early Roman was well content if the treasury coffers were filled with that primitive description of money the As. When luxury had increased the number of his wants, the polished Roman of the time of Augustus found in the money of his day a more ready and convenient means of satisfying his manifold exigencies than if the pristine system of barter had still prevailed. Advancing onward to the latter days of the Empire, the reck less and feverish haste in converting material into negotiable forms, or, as it may be expressed, the turning of principal into interest regardless of the future and of its claims, is clearly shown by the slovenly and careless execution of the Coinage; while the immense numbers still existing of the Small Brass, which then became the principal medium of circulation, points with equal distinctness to the loss of that simplicity of life which characterised the Roman under the Consuls.

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