10 Museum NOTES

and finished by winning a principality, that of Antioch, which he held till his death in
1111, and which lasted as a Christian province till the Light of the Cross was extin-
guished in the blood of the hosts slain at the battle of Tiberias in 1187, and western
influence was dead in Palestine until General Allenby once more led a Christian army
through the gates of the Holy City.

The next coin illustrated bears the King’s head and a Latin inscription, which, m
English, reads, “James II., by the Grace of God.” The reverse has the rest of the title,
“King of Great Britain, France and Ireland,’ a crown superimposed on two sceptres
saltire, dividing J—R., the date, August, 1689, and the value in pence, XII. It bears
witness to the death of a dynasty, and, consequently, to the coming constitutional
changes which make these years one of the most notable periods in English History.
The king was to be no longer “King by Divine Right,’ and the rights of the people
against the crown were to be secured by legislative safeguards. When James II. fled
from the country on the landing of the Prince of Orange, the King of France supplied
him with a few troops, and he invaded Ireland. ‘To replenish his military chest, he
melted some cannon and made brass crowns, half-crowns, shillings and sixpences, which
had the peculiarity of bearing the month of coinage and of growing progressively
smaller during their period of issue. These are known as “Gun-money,” and had to pass
at par wherever his troops had control. After the battle of the Boyne, of course they
had no value, and William III., so that the holders should not suffer total loss, author-
ized them to pass as coppers for amounts varying from twopence to one farthing accord-
ing to size.

The last coin shown is simply a curiosity, being a Greek “lepton,” which word is
translated “mite” in the New Testament. The Romans issued no money of this size
at that time, but the older Greek coins circulated until they were worn out, and this
was the smallest known at that period.

I would like to mention here that the Museum collection of Canadians, which should
be as complete as possible, is very small, and many of the coins are in poor condition.
Considering that most of the Canadian series are common, even in good condition, [
think something should be done to remedy this. The Canadian series is a fairly large
one, and a collection of the common coins alone would be very representative. But
there are two which a British Columbian Museum should certainly not be without.
During the sixties a mint was started at New Westminster to coin British Columbian
gold, and got as far as striking ten and twenty dollar pieces—ten of each. Unfortunately,
too much red tape was used in the project; the scheme died, the dies were destroyed and
these twenty were all that were ever struck. It is too much to hope to secure any of
these, but the British Museum possesses one of each, and I understand they supply
clectrotype copies of coins in their collection. These copies are made in two halves,
so that they can never be sold as genuine, and also to enable both sides to be exhibited.

Soe
SOE