The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

322 NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.all that such catalogues should be. A brief introduction,relating to the history of the collection and its contents,is followed by a detailed catalogue. In this we are pleasedto note the fullness and accuracy of the descriptions ;notonly are metal, size, and weight recorded, but we are alsotold whether the piece is struck or cast. All importantvarieties are illustrated in the collotype plates. The catalogueis followed by a commentary and a biographical index ofmedallists. The only detail we miss is an index of inscriptions.The medals begin with the year 1700, so thatartistically the collection is not of the highest mark ;indeedthose of Charles III, owing to the monstrous profile of theking, have the distinction of being among the ugliest productionsof the medallic art. But in other respects there ismuch of historical interest ; and, in any case, we have herea book which covers very fully a subject for which a workof reference was sadly lacking. The learned author, towhom students of Spanish numismatics of all periods oweso much, has laid them under a fresh debt of gratitude.G. F. H.Le Monete del Eeame delle Due Sicilie da Carlo d'Angib aVittorio Emanuele II. Da Memmo Cagiati. Atlante-Prezzario. Parte I (Zecca di Napoli). 40 Tavole.Napoli, Tip. Melfi & Joele. Price 50 lire.THE indefatigable author, to whom all students of thecoinage of Naples and Sicily are under so heavy an obligation,has now produced a work which will be of the utmostservice to all collectors, as well as to dealers. The volumeconsists of a collection of the illustrations which the authorhas used for his well-known work on the same subject,arranged on plates, with the approximate market pricesappended. Our only criticism of so eminently practical anduseful a compilation is that, being printed only on one sideof the paper, it is twice as bulky as, and presumably a gooddeal more expensive than, it need have been.G. F. H.