Joseph, an eminent numismatist, was born in 1684 at Marli-le-Roi, near Versailles, and received his education at Paris. His proficiency as a linguist procured for him employment in connection with the navy. At first he was engaged in the navy office in making extracts and translations from English, Spanish, and Italian. Then his merits came to be better appreciated; and the successive offices in the navy of one of the commissioners, commissioner-general, and first clerk were conferred upon him. But it was not until he had retired from public service in 1745 that the great business of Pellerin's life commenced. He then set himself to read, interpret, and classify a great variety of coins which he had collected. In doing this, it was his good fortune to light upon a plan which may be said to have given a definite form to the science of numismatics. Instead of following the arbitrary modes of preceding numismatists, he arranged his coins according to the geographical position of their countries. His system was explained and illustrated in his Recueils de Médailles de Rois, Peuples, et Villes, in 10 vols. 4to, Paris, 1762-78. A supplemental volume, entitled Additions, &c., was published shortly before his death in 1782.