Breves which I have purchased from France Alexandre de Rhodes in the third part of his Voyages ch 13. Speaks of Monsieur de Boulaye which hath published Vn tres beau liure de ses voyages ou il faut voir ec autant de fidelite Yanaquillus Faber in his notes on the sixth book of Lucretius c. 1. saith Lambertus Massiliensis hath left a little Book De Peregrinatione Aegyptiaca printed at Paris which he undertook 1626. que de nettete d'esprit la Conduite qu' il a monstree sans des Royaumes si differents He hath travelled over saith he the greatest part of Europe Asia and Africa I have seen that French Book also There is Alex. Geraldini Itinerarium ad regiones sub Aquinoctiali in sixteen Books There are also Relations of Divers Curious Voyages by Monsieur Thevenot There are also the Republicks of several nations in little portable books in three Tomes and Relation Du voyage de l'Eveque de Breyte per la Turquie la Perse les Indes c. jusques au Royaume de Siam autres lieux par M. de Bourges Prestre c. Both mentioned in the Philosophical Transactions I have mustered up these several Itineraries and Voyages both because I have perused most if not all of them except the two last when I was about my great book of Geography though it be not yet printed And because I suppose Travellers may hereby furnish themselves with the best writers of those parts of the world whether they intend to go either to instruct them about those places before they go or to carry with them Who ever since the beginning of things and men hath been so often by royal imployment sent Embassador to so many Princes so distant in place so different in rites as Sir Robert Sherlie There are the three English Brothers and Sir Robert Sherley his Embassy into Poland both Printed See Finets Observat page 136 137. 172 173 174 to 177. Two Emperours Rodolph and Ferdinand two Popes Clement and Paul twice the King of Spain twice the Polonian the Muscovite also have given him Audience And twice also though not the least for a born subject to be Embassador to his Soveraign his Majesty hath heard his Embassage from the remote Persian Purchas his Pilgrims part 2. l. 10. c. 10. Dr. Nicholas Wotton Uncle to Sir Henry Wotton was Privy-Counceller to four successive Soveraignes Viz. King Henry the 8th Edward the 6th Queen Mary Queen Elizabeth He was nine times Embassadour for the Crown of England to the Emperour the Kings of France and Spain and other Princes Camdens Hist of Q. Elizabeth Some have instanced in several English Embassadours how well they have acquitted themselves but I shall single out one as very deserving The Appendix to the History of Mr. Medes life Sir Thomas Rowe after many Ambassages to almost all the Princes and States in Christendome all which were managed with admirable Dexterity Success and Satisfaction was last of all Ambassador Extraordinary to Ferdinand the third Emperour of Germany who gave him this Character I have met with many Gallant Persons of many Nations but I scarce ever met with an Ambassador till now Bishop Bedell was Chaplain to Sir Henry Wotton at Venice Dr. Featly to Sir Thomas Edmonds in France Dr. John Burgesse to Sir Horatio Vere in Germany Mr. Boyle in his Preface to his Experiments touching Cold commends Captain James his Voyages it being scarce and not to be met with in Purchas's Tomes having been written some years after they were finished and his Voyages published by the last Kings command He stiles him in his Book that Ingenuous Navigator He being bred in the University and acquainted with the Mathematicks He commends also Mr. Ligon of the Barbado's Neither of these two have I seen and stiles him ingenious Mr. Ligon But enough if not too much of this Geographers who write of the four parts of the Earth are as large in Europe as in the other three Asia Africa and America To which one part all learning seemeth now to be in a manner confined which within this hundred or two hundred years hath produced so many able men of all professions Divines Lawyers Physicians and Philosophers Papists and Protestants Bolton in his Nero Caesar c. 29. sect 1. speaking of ancient Rome saith The wonder of the feat did not grow from the greatness only but from the innumerable ornaments of publick and private works erected for use delight and glory dispersed over all the fourteen wards or regions thereof Temples Forums Libraries Therms Aquaducts Theaters Amphitheaters Circi Porticus Arches Columns Statues Palaces and the rest whose bare names scarce remaining do fill up Volums with their inventories The best Circuit a Traveller can take is to go through Holland towards Germany thereby to satisfie his curiosity by degrees for Germany will afford more satisfaction than the Low-Countries France more then Germany Italy more then France Gerbiers subsidium Peregrinantibus Paris Rome and Constantinople are the Court of the World Venice Geneva and Lisbon the City Provence Andaluzia and Italy the Garden Africk and America the Desart and Wilderness Flecknoes Relation of twenty years Travels Letter 22. Johnson in his Relation of the most famous Kingdoms l. 1. of Travel adviseth a Traveller to take heed of the Pride of Spain Dr. Hall thinks Italy a dangerous place for Youth Vrsin in a Gratulatory Epistle to a friend returned out of Italy addes Ex cloaca diabolorum Necesse est peregriâ—aturam habere duos saccos patientiae unum pecuniae alterum Commenii Praxis Senicae par 5. Actus 4. Sâ—ena 1. the Poyson of Italy the Treason of France and the drink of Flanders Those who have a desire to travel to Jerusalem should take heed to themselves that they make no Shipwrack of Conscience for if they come not well commended or well monyed or both there is no being for them except they partake with them in their Idolatrous Services Purchas his Pilgrimage part 2. l. 8. ch 9. Lud. Bartema Relates that they that Travel over the Desarts of Arabia which are all covered with light and fleeting Sands so that no Track can ever be found do make certain boxes of wood which they place on Camels backs and shut themselves in them to keep them from the Sands and by the help of the Load-stone like the Marriners Compass they steer their Course over the vast and uncouth Desarts The Latine the French the Sclavonick and the Arabian Tongue are known in many places For Africa Leo * Leo Afâ—â— in rebus Africanis fere instar omnium esse potest Hosmanni mantica Leo Africanus A man of no small credit among them who are well versed in the History of the World Dr. Casaubon of Credulity and Incredulity part 1. Some say Golnitz is the best Itinerary for France le Voiageur Irancois Jodocus Sincerus his Itinerarium Gallia is well liked is
for which she gave them money of the purest silver such as passed commonly by the name of Easterling or Sterling money Esterlingus Sterlingus apad Matthaum Parisium atque alios praecipue Anglicanos scriptores legas Nec tamen eo rejiciendum quando hoc nihilo deterius est quam vulgata illa vocabula daleri ducati floreni ac similia Nam peouniae novitas nova exigebat vocabula Notat ea vox Anglis denarium vox Sterling est ex eo inqu it Watsius quia stellae figura in ea compareret Vossius de Vitiis Sermonis l. 2. c. 5 since which time no base money hath been Coyned in England but only of pure Gold and Silver to pass for current in the same save that of late times in relation to the Necessity of poor people a permission hath been given to the Coyning of Farthings which no man can be forced to accept in satisfaction of a Rent or Debt In all other States of the Christian World there are several sorts of Copper money as current with them for publick uses as the purest metal Queen Elizabeth supplyed the King of Navarre in his straits with twenty two thousand pounds of English money in Gold a sum of Gold Coyn so great as he professed he had never seen together before and sent him Arms and four thousand men under the Command of Peregrine Lord Willoughbey Camdens Annals of Queen Elizabeth 4th Book Anno 1589. the 32d of her Reign Sterlings are used in England Scotland and Ireland That name of Sterling began in time of Hen. II. and had its original of name from some Esterling making that kind of money which hath its Essence in particular weight and fineness not of the Starling Bird as some nor of Sterling in Scotland under Edw. 1. as others absurdly for in Records much more ancient I have read the express name Sterlingorum Mr. Selden on the 17th song of Draytons Poly-olbion Sterling is a proper Epithete for money currant within the Realm Occurrit Esterlingus interdum simpliciter pro ipso denario interdum ad distinguendam monetam probam a re proba pro numo legali ingenere Spelmanni Glossarium vide plura ibid. A certain pure Coyn stamped first of all by the Esterlings here in England Cowells Interpreter Esterling money now called Sterling not from Striveling in Scotland nor from a Star which some dreamed to be Coyned thereon Camdens Remains That denomination came from the Germans of their Easterly dwelling termed by English men Esterlings whom John King of England first sent to reduce the silver to the due fineness and purity Camdens Britain in Scotland There is one Thomas Hylles that put out the Art of Vulgar arithmetick 1600. who hath p. 262. A Table of the names and values of the most usual Gold Coyns in Christendome and begins with our own Country Gold He mentions the Rose Noble or Royal Half Rose Noble Old Noble Half Old Noble George Noble Half George Noble Angel Half Angel Old Crown K. H. Base Crown K. H. Half Crown Soveraigne of K. H. other Sou. of all sorts Double Soveraign Great Soveraign Half Soveraigne Unicorn of Scotland Scottish Crown There is for †The English Gold being at a higher value beyond the Seas then in our own Nation it is a great Cause of the transportation of it Peachams Worth of a Peny Gold The Carolus or Piece 20 s And the Ginie Pieces 22 s The Angel 10 11 s And Crown 5 s. 5 s. 6 d. and 2 s. 9 d. For Silver The Crown 5 s. Half Crown 2 s. 6 d. Thirteen pence half penny  Half and quarter that and 4 d. ob Shilling 12 d.  9 d.  6 d. Groat 4 d. Three Pence 3 d. Two Pence 2 d. Penny †There are so many kinds of Pence as there are several Countries or Nations Our English Penny is a Scottish Shilling See more there Ibid. 1 d. Half-Penny ob Here in England that which was sold about an hundred years agone for ten Groats which then weighed and ounce now since the discovery of the Indies can hardly be bought for ten shillings of our current Money or two ounces of the same goodness and weight Sir Henry Savill on a Place in Polybius In the Low-Countries and Germany the usual Coyns in Gold are Duckats and double Duckats the Duckats are called Hungars at Venice and are worth nine shillings English In the Low-Countries the usual silver pieces are Ducatoons equal to ten Dutch shillings or sixty stivers Paracoons equal forty eight stivers or eight Dutch shillings Shillings equal to six stivers But the States money is a little under this value stiver in brass the fourth part of stivers pieces In Germany the most Common pieces in silver are Dollars Copsticks and half Copsticks equal just to our shillings and six-pences Tafiletta the great Emperour of Barbary allows to every Horseman sixteen Dollars a Month and to every Footman eight so that his men are not chargeable to the Countrey Relation of some part of his life and there is abundance of our shillings and sixpences which pass under that name This word Copstick comes from Caput as the Italian Teston from Testa Kreutzers so called from the Mark of the Cross Weiss-penny equal to two Kreutzers Grasse equal to three Kreutzers ten Weiss-pennies are equal to five Copsticks Guilders equal to three Copsticks and half Guilders a Weiss-penny a White Penny in Dutch these lesser peices are of a mixt metal The German Dollars furnisht all the Mints of Europe The German silver Dollar called Rix Dollar in England is worth 4 s. 6 d. or as some say 4 s. 8 d. before the Mines of Mexico and Potosi were discovered in America There were the Latine Attick and Greek pounds Libra Numaria or pound Spelmanni Glossarium See Ezra 2.69 took its name from the weight because it weighed in times past a Trojane pound that is twelve Ounces Thence the Saxon punde and the English pound The pound sterling in Britain saith Angelo Crator De Monetis c. 1. is esteemed ten Brabantine Florenes or four Spanish Dollars In Spain for Gold †The Spanish Pistoll is about seven pence better than the Italian The value of Money in Spain is very often varied according to the wills and Interests of the Princes Pistolls and half Pistolls and double Pistolls In Silver the common pieces there are a piece of eight a half piece of eight a quarter piece of eight a half quarter piece of eight and a piece that is but a sixteenth part of a piece of the Royal eight In France for Gold the common pieces are the Lewis equal not many years since to eleven Livers the half Lewis half so much The Escud ' or now about six Livers For Silver the Escue equal to three Livers the thirty fifteen and five Sous pieces The Quart D'Escu because the fourth part of the Escud ' or equal
and rendred Maneh Snellius De Re Nummaria saith it is manifest by the testimonies of Comedians that there was a double Talent in use among the Athenians a greater and a lesser A Talent is the greatest weight which was in use Attica Talentum Mina sunt Numerus Collectio pecuniae non species Nummi Sealiger De Re Nummaria The Talent was manifold the Attrick Talent is much celebrated Ainsworth every Talent was a twelve pounds weight it weighed three thousand Shekels and every Shekel three hundred and twenty grains of Barley An Hebrew Talent in Silver is of our money three hundred seventy and five pounds In Gold four thousand five hundred pounds 1 Chron. 22.14 See Brerewood De Ponderibus Pret. Heb. c. c. 6. Now behold in my poverty I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand Talents of Gold and a thousand thousand Talents of Silver Some compute it to be above thirty three thousand Cart-loads of silver allowing six thousand pound sterling to every Cart-load and seventy millions of French Crowns of Gold See Sir Walter Rawleigh his History of the World part 2. ch 17. § 9. 1 Kings 9.14 The Talent contained three hundred shekels as may be collected from Exo. 38.25 26. The Hebrews valued Gold at ten times the rate of Silver The Jews had two Talents the one sacred the other common The sacred was in weight and worth as much more as the common The sacred in Gold was reputed to be three thousand seven hundred and fifty pound in value the common one thousand eight hundred seventy and five pounds sterling Dr. Gouge in loc Edward Brerewood heretofore Professor of Astronomy in Gresham-Colledge in London hath published a learned Book De Ponderibus Pretiis Veterum Nummorum eorumque cum recentioribus Collatione which is in the Apparatus of the Polyglot Bible Waserus hath written so fully and exactly of the ancien Coyns of the Hebrews Chaldees and Syrians that there needs not to be said more of that Argument Budaeus * Sed de istoc caeteris ad rem monetariam pertinentibus Consuli malo Budaeum Vortium Hottomannum Car. Moli naeum Covarruviam intelligentissimu in bujus argumenti Reinerum Budelium Ruremundanum Ictum Electori Coloniensi dum viveret monetarum tam Rhenensium quam West-falicarum praefectum Cujus geminus exstat liber unus de arte cudendae monetae alter de quaestionibus Monetariis Vossius De Physiol Christ l. 6. c. 36 Inter antiquos Orismius Lexoniensis Episcopus Caroli sexti Galldrum regis praeceptor Curiosa de re Nummaria volumine inter recentiores Gulielm Budaeus libris de Asse Joachim Camerarius de Nummismat Graec. Lat Demps in Rosin Antiq. Rom. l. 7. c. 31. Vide Plure ibid. in his Books de Asse or the Breviary Collected out of him with the Annotations of Philip Melanchthon and Joachim Camerarius are the best for the Greek and Latine Coyns Antonius Augustinus a man very acurate in Coyns as appears by his Dialogues Mr. Greaves of the Denarius Marquardus Freherus hath put forth a learned Discourse of paying tribute where he speaks somewhat of Roman Coyns Mr. Selden De Jure Naturali ac Gentium l. 2. c. 8. calls it Eruditissima ac gravissima De Numismate census à Pharisaeis inquestionem vocato Dissertatio Mr. Greaves hath written learnedly of this subject in his discourse of the Denarius The Roman Emperours Gold Silver and Copper Coyn with their Images and Inscriptions are in the custody of that learned Knight and my worthy Friend Sir John Cotten as I have heard It 's pitty that Sir Simonds D' Eus my great friend had not published somthing this way he having spent so much time in this study and having purchased so many several Coyns of all sorts There are some other Gentlemen that have a good Collection of Coyns There are Coyns with Lazius l. 3. Commen Reipub. Romanae c. 12. whose inscription is * Omnium ad Remp. pertinentium suprema lex est salus populi sive Felicitas publica Tam in nummo Juliae Mammeae Augustae videre est formâ maetronae solio in sidentis quae dextra gerit caduceum sinistrâ copia cornu Inscriptio autem est Felicitas Publica Vossius in Physiologia Christiani Theologia Gentili l. 10. c. 38. Salas Publica Demps in Rosin Antiquit Rom. lib. 1. There are two requisites saith Dempster that Money pass proba materia vultus Imperatoris ei impressus False money saith He in Rosin Antiq Rom. l. 7. c. 31. was forbidden by the Roman Laws and the Crime is called peculatus Charles the Great had a shop in his Palace for the Coyning of Money that it might be more diligently coyned Camden in his Britaine saith Nicolaus Fabricius de Peiresc of France was very skilfull in antiquities and old medals or pieces of money He saith there also that many pieces of Roman money are every †As in Lancashire at Lancaster Rible Chester in Westmorland at Brougham Cumberland where found among us in the ruines of Cities and Towns subverted in Treasure-Coffers or vaults hidden in that age as also in Funeral-pots and Pitchers About thirty five years since One that writes the History of England saith of the Britains Some of their Money was in Brass other in Iron Rings one especial sort had the Figure of a shield Emboss'd and on that side a certain Image the Device was within not far from Dunstable many pieces of silver were taken up which the plow had thrown upon the edge of the Furrough Being examined they were found to be silver with the impression of Caesar on them Mr. Selden much valued them for their Antiquity some of them having been stamped as he said above nine hundred and some a thousand years Mr. Peachams Worth of a Peny I have been informed that some Medals have been dig'd up at Shawell in Leicester-shire the Town where I was born and also at Braunston It is a great question saith Georgius Agricola whether pure or mixt money be more profitable for Countries and States Peacham in his Complete Gentleman Terrie in his Voyage to the East-Indies saith that the Spanish Royal is the purest money of Europe There is Pezzi di Quatro which is equal to four Reals there are also pieces of two Reals one Real and half a Real c. 19. of Travels saith the Spanish Coyns are the best of Europe Howell in his Dodonars Grove or Vocal Forrest part 2. Walk 4. p. 44. saith Druina by which I suppose he means England is renowned abroad to have her Kings Face and Arms drawn in the purest sort of Minerals and the generally best currant Coyns in the world Queen Elizabeth caused all such base monies as were Coyned by any of her Predecessors Dr Heylins Ecclesia Restauratu p. 135. to be reduced to a lesser value and to be brought into her Majesties Mint
to one Liver Mixt metal the Souse and the Souse Marque For Brass the Denier and the Lyard eequal to two Deniers at first stamp'd for three Deniers Johnson adviseth Travellers if they carry over money with them that it be in double Pistolets or French Crowns of weight by these saith he He is sure to sustain losse in no place and in Italy to gain above twelve pence in the pound Bizantines or Bezants Constantinopolis primum Bizantium dicta formam antiqui vocabuli praeferunt Imporatorii Nummi Bizantini Vocati Spelmanni Glossarium Vide Cotgrave Dictionar Gallico Anglic verbe Besant as coyned at Constantinople somtimes called Bizantium and not at Besanson in Burgundy plates of Gold are called Bezantes and in the Court of England where a great piece of Gold valued at fifteen pound which the King offereth upon high Festivall days is yet called a Bizantine which anciently was a piece of Gold Coyned by the Emperours of Constantinople Camdens Remains of money in his Britannia in Middlesex He speaks of Bizantines of Silver vallued at two shillings antiently Lar is a Coyn much used in the East both in Persia and the East-Indies There is one of them to be seen within the Gallery above the publick Library in Oxford The Asper in Turkie is worth a Peny Turkish Asper and often mentioned one of which I have seen In Italy at Venice for Gold there is the Chequeen equal to seventeen Livers the Ducat for silver a Scudo which by a Bando anno 1663 was rated at nine Livers six Sous one half one quarter and the eighth part of a Scudo a Ducaton For brass Soldo and half Soldo and Soldino also a Denier Genoa for Gold double Pistolls Pistolls The Pistoll is called Doppio or Dobla the double Pistoll Doblone The silver pieces there are a Croison or Scudo For Brass D' otto pieces equal to eight Deniers de Quatro equal to four Deniers and the Deniers At Florence for silver the Scudo equal to ten Julios the Teston equal to three Julios so called from having a Head upon it which is in Italian Testa Julios half Julios and Quarto Julio pieces the Grats equal to five Quatrins In Brass the Quatrin equall to the third part of a Soldo In the Popes Territories in silver a Scudo equal to ten Julios a Teston Julio half a Julio and a quarter of a Julio At Banonia Bajocks * The Pope who hath six and twenty thousand Crowns a day to spend on the day of his Coronation scattereth among the people Baiocchi and Bagatini half pence and farthings saying with St. Peter Act. 3.6 Silver and Gold I have none but such as I have I give thee Peter Du Moulius Confutat of Lurgat ch 5. and two Bajocks pieces of a mixt metal Naples in silver Carolines equal to â—ulios but not altogether so good two Caroline pieces In Brass Granos Publicas equal to one and a half of a Grano There are pieces of Gold called Florentini or Floreni Florens because first coyned in the City of Florence and having the shape of the flower of the Lilly in one side and of John Baptist in the other it is called in Italian Florino Vossius de Vitiis Sermonis l 3. c. 12. saith that the French had also in times past its Florene thence called Franc saith he A Franc is one shilling six pence in England so is a Livre saith he and the English also of the best Gold thence called †Auri Nummis apud Anglos geuus ante nostram memoriam Exoletum Spelmanni Glossarium Noble There were also the Rhenish Florens first coyned by the four Electors at Rhene that of Mentz Trevers Colen and the Palatine after used by others somthing inferiour to those first The pieces of Gold called Ducats were first coyned by the Venetians and those of Genoa There are saith Georgius Agricola the Hungarian Venetian The Polomans Gold Ducats are of the same value with the Hungarian Spanish and Turkish Ducats Artiabalipa King of Peru payed for his ransom ten millions three hundred twenty six thousand Ducats in Gold Du miroir des Francois Liure premier The Turkish Sultanie is of the same Standard firmness and value with the Hungarian Duckat The Venetian Chequeen in England 9 s. 6 d. the Barbary Duckat the Egyptian and Turkish Erif are almost all of the same pureness in respect of the Gold MGreaves of the Denarius and not differing above a grain in the weight The old Denarius The Giulii or Pauli are two names of the same price from two Popes Drachma Dutch shilling Spanish Reall Roman Julios or Paulos are neer of an equal value The French Escu or silver Crown the Spanish Piice of eight the German Dollar the Low-Dutch Patacon are of an equal value Mr. Broughton saith he asked a simple Mariner which had been in the West-Indies what they called Gold there he said Cethem just the Scripture term Broughtons Epistle to the Require or Consent to the grounds of Divinity studies Their currant money in the West-Indies is of the fruites of certain trees like our Almonds which they call Cachoas Pet. Mart. first Decade ch 4. The Coyns of the West-Indies are Wampon Peague the sixth part of a penny with us which goes by number and Ronokco which goes by weight In the East-Indies the Rupihes of Ropees of divers values and Mah Mudies They have in the West-Indies also a Golden Coyn which they call a Castellan it exceedeth the Ducaet it is commonly a third part called Pesus The Coyn or Bullion brought to the East-Indies from any place is presently melted and refined and the Moguls stamp which is his Name and Titles in Persian Characters put upon it The Coyn there is more pure than in any other part of the world being made of pure silver without any Allay Sir Thomas Roes Voyage into the East-Indies Madines are the small silver Money currant in Egypt The Arabick useth to express the least piece of money that is by Phals for two Mites Mark 12.42 They read Phalsam Mr. Greaves in his Denarius saith at his being in Egypt five Madines passed for a Dollar Sands in his Travels saith forty Most Countries saith Mr. Greaves use the same weights for Silks Gold and Silver The Persians loved shooting so well Pliny l. 7. c. 5. writeth that Perses the son of Persius of whom the Persians had their Surname Should be the first deviser of Shafts Yet the Scripture which is ancienter then any kind of learning mentions Archers Gen. 21.20 1 Sam. 31.3 2 Chron. 35.23 that they set an Archer on the reverse of their Coyn of Gold which was of great value The King of Persia being offended at Agesilaus gave the Athenians ten thousand pieces of this great Coyn of Gold of theirs and so corrupted them which thing when Agesilaus understood he said merrily but yet truly That he was driven away with ten thousand Bowmen