The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal Numismatic Society

POLLUX' ACCOUNT OF ANCIENT COINS. 283
OF THE KINDS AND DIVISIONS OF COINS; THE TALENT,
THE MlNA, THE STATER, THE DRACHM, THE PENTE-
CONTADRACHM, THE PfiNTADRACHM AND THEIR D IVI-
SIONS.
(51.) It will be worth while to say a few words about
coins also. As regards bankers you have already heard,
as well as about spurious and stamped coin, and there is
nothing to prevent us from defining
the kinds and divi-
sions of coins. For Plato 1 mentions an art and a
business of money-changing. (52.) If the talent is the
largest denomination 2 of gold and silver money, Demos-
thenes' expression, "pentecontatalent," 3 too, would in this
case be fitting. And it is easy to increase and to diminish
the sum according to the established measure ;
for we can
speak of a hecatontalent, 4 as suggested by the form just
mentioned, and a decatalent, and so with every number,
greater and smaller, where such a course is not hindered
by difficulty in pronunciation or harshness to the ear.
5 The talent was also a name for a weight, whence we find
in Aristophanes "But will they judge of music by the
talent? " 6 and in Homer " And then the Father stretched
1
Sophistes, 223, B.
2
I.e. the largest unit of account which has a special name.
3 This word does not seem to be found in our text of Demos-
thenes.
4 The adjective 'E/caTovTaXavros occurs in the Knights, line
442 ; SeKaraAavTos is used by Aristophanes, Aeschines, and
others.
5 This bare statement is somewhat misleading ; of course the
talent as a weight is much the older use, but at a later time,
as has happened in the case of our English pound, the word
talent was applied specially to a certain weight of silver, and so
became a measure of value. The older use was never, however,
abandoned.
6 Pollux seems to be quoting incorrectly from memory the
line of the Frogs (1. 797). Kai yap raAai/TO) /U.OVO-IKT; OTaOp.rj