by the fact that they were melted down under the type of Alexander.  Next were some coins of the tyrants of Sicily; of Gelo (B.C. 491), of Helo (B.C. 478), and of Dionysius (B.C. 404).  Specimens of the former two are still preserved in modern cabinets.  Gold coin was by no means plenty in Greece, until Philip of Macedon put the mines of Thrace into full operation, about B.C. 300.  There are only about a dozen Greek coins in existence, three of which are in the British Museum; and of the latter, two are staters, of the weight of one hundred and twenty-nine grains each.  About B.C. 207, a gold coin was struck off at Rome called “aureus,” four specimens of which are in the institution before alluded to.  Its weight was one hundred and twenty-four grains.

Gold coins were issued in France by Clovis, A.D. 489.  About the same time, they were issued in Spain by Amalric, the Gothic king; in both countries they were called “trientes.”  The “mouton,” worth about nine dollars, was issued in 1156.  Gold coins were first issued in England in 1257, in the shape of a “penny,” of the value of twenty pence; only two specimens have come down to us. “Florins” were next issued in 1334, of the value of six shillings.  The “noble” followed next of the value of six shillings and eight pence; being stamped with a rose, it was called the “rose noble.” “Angels” appeared in 1465, of the same value as the latter.  The “royal” followed next in 1466, of the value of ten shillings.  Then come for the first time the “sovereign,” in 1489, of the value of twenty shillings.  The “crown” followed in 1527, of the value of ten shillings. “Units” and “lions,” were issued in 1603; the “laurel” 1633, and “exurgats,” in 1642; all of the value of twenty shillings.  The “guinea,” of the value of twenty-one shillings, was issued in 1663, of Guinea gold.  In 1773 all gold coins, except the guinea, were called in and forbidden to be circulated.  The present sovereign was issued in 1817.  The United States “half eagle” was issued in 1793.

Gold, to the amount of $2,171,000,000, was obtained from the surface and mines of the earth from the earliest times to the commencement of the Christian era; from the date of the latter event, to the discovery of America, $3,842,374,000 was obtained; from the date of the latter event to the close of 1847 an addition of $3,056,000,000 was obtained; the triple discovery of the California mines in 1848, the Australian in 1851, and the New Zealand in 1861, has added, to the close of 1884, $5,558,626,000; making a grand total of $14,628,000,000, of which $5,818,626,000 has been obtained since 1843.  The average loss by abrasion of coin is estimated by Professor Bowen at one-twentieth of one per cent. per annum, and the loss by consumption in the arts, and by fire and shipwreck, at $4,000,000 per annum.  A cubic inch of gold is worth, at 3L 17s. 10 1-2d., or $18.96 per ounce., $193; a cubic foot, $333,504; and a cubic yard, $9,004,608.