a piece of metal in the form of coin, intending to convey to posterity the portrait of some great person, or the memory of some illustrious action.

The parts of a medal are the two sides, one of which is called the face or head, and the other the reverse. On each side is the area, or field, which makes the middle of the medal; the rim, or border; and the exergue: and one the two sides are distinguished the type or the figure represented, and the legend or inscription.

As to the antiquity of medals, the Greek are certainly the most ancient; for long before the building of Rome the Greeks had beautiful money in gold, silver, and copper. This plainly appears from several genuine medals of Macedon, older than Philip and Alexander; from Greek medals with the names of several magistrates prior to the Macedonian empire; to which we may add some Sicilian coins of still greater antiquity. As the Greek medals are the most ancient, so are they the most beautiful; they have a design, accuracy, force, and delicacy, that expresses even the muscles and veins, and are struck with such exquisite art, as the Romans could never come up to. Those struck when Rome was governed by consuls, are the most ancient among the Romans: but the copper and silver medals do not go beyond the 484th year of Rome, nor the gold beyond the year 546. Among the imperial medals, we distinguish between the upper and lower empire: the first commenced under Julius Caesar, and ended A.D. about 260; the lower empire includes near 1200 years, and ends at the taking of Constantinople. It is the custom, however, to account all the imperial medals till the time of the Paleologi, among the antique; though we have none of any considerable beauty later than the time of Heraclius, who died in 641. The Gothic medals make part of the imperial ones. Modern medals are those struck within these 300 years. There are no true Hebrew medals, except a few shekels of copper and silver, but none of gold; though there is mention made of one in the king of Denmark's cabinet.

There was formerly no difference between money and medals. An old Roman had his purse full of the same pieces that we now preserve in cabinets. As soon as an emperor had done anything remarkable, as gaining a victory, giving up a tax, or the like, it was immediately stamped on a coin, and became current throughout his whole dominions. This was a pretty device to spread abroad the virtues of an emperor, and make his actions circulate; and thus a fresh coin was a kind of gazette, that published the latest news of the empire.

Several of our modern coins have the legend round the edges: but the ancients were too wise to register their exploits on so nice a surface. As to the figures upon medals, the Romans always appear in the proper dress of their country, so that we may observe the little variations of the mode in the drapery of the medal: they would have thought it ridiculous to have drawn an emperor of Rome in a Grecian cloak or a Phrygian mitre. On the contrary, we often see a king of England or France dressed up like a Julius Caesar, as if they had a mind to pass themselves upon posterity for Roman Roman emperors. Nothing is more usual than to see allusions to Roman customs and ceremonies on the medals of our own nation; nay, they very often carry the figure of an heathen god. If posterity take its notions of us from our medals, they must fancy that one of our kings paid a great devotion to Minerva, another to Apollo, &c., or, at least, that our whole religion was a mixture of paganism and Christianity. Had the old Romans been guilty of the same extravagance, there would have been so great a confusion in their antiquities, that their coins would not have had half the use we now find in them.

The use of medals is very considerable; they give a very great light into history, in confirming such passages as are true in old authors, in reconciling such as are told in different manners, and in recording such as have been omitted. In this case a cabinet of medals is a body of history. It was, indeed, the best way in the world to perpetuate the memory of great actions, thus to coin out the life of an emperor, and to put every exploit into the mint. It was a kind of printing before the art was invented; and they have this advantage over books, that they tell their story quicker, and sum up a whole volume in twenty or thirty reverses: thus Mr Vaillant, out of a small collection of medals, has given us a chronicle of the kings of Syria. They are indeed the best epitomes in the world, and let us see, with one cast of the eye, the substance of above an hundred pages. Another use of medals is, that they not only show the actions of an emperor, but at the same time mark out the year in which they were performed; for as every exploit has its date set to it, a series of an emperor's coins is his whole life digested into annals. A medallist, upon the first naming of an emperor, will immediately tell his age, family, and life. To remember where he enters in the succession, he only considers in what part of the cabinet he lies; and by running over in his thoughts such a particular drawer, will give an account of all the remarkable parts of his reign. Nor are medals of less use in architecture, painting, poetry, &c. A cabinet of medals is a collection of pictures in miniature, and by them the plans of many of the most considerable buildings of antiquity are preserved.

Impression of Medals. A very easy and elegant way of taking the impressions of medals and coins, not generally known, is thus directed by Dr Shaw: Melt a little sealing-glue made with brandy, and pour it thinly over the medals, so as to cover its whole surface: let it remain on for a day or two, till it is thoroughly dry and hardened; and then taking it off, it will be fine, clear, and hard, as a piece of Muffcovy glass, and will have a very elegant impression of the coin.

Another easy method is as follows: Take a perfect and sharp impression, in the finest black sealing-wax, of the coin or medal you desire. Cut away the wax round the edges of the impression; then with a preparation of gum-water, of the colour you would have the picture, spread the paint upon the wax-impression with a small hair pencil, observing to work it into all the sinking or hollow places, these being the rising parts of the medal; and the colour must be carefully taken from the other parts with a wet finger. Then take a piece of very thin post-paper, a little larger than the medal, and moisten it quite through. Place it on the wax impression; and on the back of the paper lay three or four pieces of thick woolen cloth or flannel, of about the same size. The impression, with its coverings, should be placed between two smooth iron plates, about two inches square, and one tenth of an inch thick. These must be carefully put into a small press, made of two plates of iron, about five inches and a half long, one inch and a half wide, and half an inch in thickness, having a couple of long male-screws running through them, with a turning female-screw on each, to force the plates together. These being brought evenly together, by means of the screws, will take off a true and fair picture of the medal; which, if any deficiencies should appear, may easily be repaired with a hair pencil, or pen, dipped in the colour made use of.

If a relievo only be desired, nothing is necessary, but to take a piece of card, or white paste-board, well soaked in water; then placing it on the wax-mould, without any colouring, and letting it remain in the press for a few minutes, a good figure will be obtained.

This method of taking off medals, &c., is convenient, and seems much more so than the several inventions usually practised in sulphur, plaster of Paris, paper, &c., wherein a mould must be formed, either of clay, horn, plaster, or other materials, which requires a good deal of time and trouble.