Thomas Owen - William Sherard - 1708-10-15

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Thomas Owen, Aleppo

Thomas Owen - William Sherard - 1708-10-15
FINA IDUnique ID of the page  15821
InstitutionName of Institution. London, Royal Society
InventoryInventory number. MS 254/394
AuthorAuthor of the document. Thomas Owen
RecipientRecipient of the correspondence. William Sherard
Correspondence dateDate when the correspondence was written: day - month - year . October 15, 1708
PlacePlace of publication of the book, composition of the document or institution. Aleppo 36° 11' 57.26" N, 37° 9' 49.41" E
Associated personsNames of Persons who are mentioned in the annotation. Johannes Heyman, Robert Sutton, William Pilkington
LiteratureReference to literature. Burnett 2020b, pp. 569 n. 19, 609, 618 n. 3951
KeywordNumismatic Keywords  Collecting , Smyrna , Collection Destruction , Greek , Alexander , Antiochus , Lysimachus , Philip , Punic , Bronze
LanguageLanguage of the correspondence English
External LinkLink to external information, e.g. Wikpedia 
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Grand documentOriginal passage from the "Grand document".

'I made a second attempt upon that Collection my former acquainted you of; & Conscious yt my own Ability was not Answerable to my desire of serving you, I begd Mr Professor Heyman’s Assistance; who in his travails does yr place the honour of a Visit, & yr Factory the Favour of his Ingenious Conversation; being now in the house of C[onsul]. Pilkington, & designs hence in a month for Stamb. We examind ym severally, & the fairest account I am capable of sending, is as follows.
5. Gold. very common. weight, eleven drams.
138 Silver. 23 neither rare nor Common. 66 drams: & the remainder weighed 247 Drams.
500 & odd brass ones. None of the rarest, & about 40 not Common.
Among the silver were several of Alexander, Antiochus, Lysimachus & Philippus: some of towns & Provinces, wth the Aeras: I saw none wth Punick leters; & the Brass have very few of the Lower Empire. The Inscriptions of the whole parcel are mostly Greek, plain & legible, & very well preservd.
I cannot learn yt M. Bigaud has any concern or Interest in the disposal of ym, & they are now in the hands of Capn Vernons ware house-man; being a Legacy to 4 or 5 persons, jealous of one another, & the true reason of so stubborn a price: Tho’ of late, I find ym relenting, & willing to hear of another price; but how much They will abate, I cannot learn. I have putt my own Seal upon the Bag, nor will any one be permitted to break It open, ’till I receive yr answer to This: & I hope you’l not let slip the first Opportunity; his Excellency Sr Robt Sutton having given an unlimited Commission to our 2d Drogherman to buy up all Medals & Stones yt come to Hand. Then, should the Owners hear this news, they’l not abate one Ace of the first price. The Drogherman went about these but being told I was treating about ym, He mannerly declines ’till such time as I have refusd ym; & he has the promise of the next. Myn Heer Heyman having lost at sea wht purchase he made while at Smyrna &c is now collecting anew, & made a proposal to be one of four to buy ym, too Costly for one man.’ (Royal Society, MS 254/394; Burnett 2020b, pp. 569 n. 19, 609).

References

  1. ^  Burnett, Andrew M. (2020), The Hidden Treasures of this Happy Land. A History of Numismatics in Britain from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, BNS Special Publ. No 14 = RNS Special Publ. No 58, London, Spink & Son.