Travel notebooks of John Greaves - Oxford, Bodleian Library - Savile MS 49(1-2)

Manuscripts of Unpublished Works

John Greaves

Travel notebooks of John Greaves - Oxford, Bodleian Library - Savile MS 49(1-2)

FINA IDUnique ID of the page ᵖ	15585
TitleTitel of the book.	Travel notebooks of John Greaves
InstitutionName of Institution.	Oxford, Bodleian Library
InventoryInventory number.	Savile MS 49(1-2)
AuthorAuthor of the document.	John Greaves
Publication dateDate when the publication was issued: day - month - year .
PlacePlace of publication of the book, composition of the document or institution.	64° 2' 18.78" S, 111° 1' 40.19" E
Associated personsNames of Persons who are mentioned in the annotation.	Fulvio Orsini, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, Scipione Maffei, Claude Ménestrier, Pedro Chacón, Achille Maffei, Achilles Statius, Francesco Barberini, Claudio Demetrii Francese, Giovanni da Cavino
KeywordNumismatic Keywords ᵖ	Notebook , Notes , Travel , Roman , Roman Republican , Roman Imperial , Paduan , Gold , Alexander , Greek , Coin Weight , Denarius , Septimius Severus , Tenedos , Valentinianus
LiteratureReference to literature.	Chacón 16081, Burnett 2020b, pp. 483-62
LanguageLanguage of the correspondence	English, Latin, Spanish
External LinkLink to external information, e.g. Wikpedia ᵖ

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Grand documentOriginal passage from the "Grand document".

Savile MS 49(1)
[ff.6v–8r:these pages consist of notes on Italian weights and measures (Genoa, Pisa, Livorno), ‘Florence mony’, Siena weights, measures and coins]
[f.12r] The Coines used at Rome
[f.12v] The waight of ancient coines
Mr. Pei[resc: extracts from letters of Peiresc to Claude Menestrier 3 March 1634; 24 March 1633; 17 November 1633; 22 February 1629]
[f.13r] p. 288 Ciac: [This passage is copied from Chacón 1608, p. 288 (Roman foot), 133 (‘Aurei Romani...’) and 135 (‘Las drachmas...’).]
Achilles Maffaeus, Ach Statius Fulv. Vrsinus &c cum veram pedis Rom. quantitatem statuere vellent...... [later there are notes on] Aurei Romani Reip. t’p’re et prior. Caesaribus facti et pondere et bonitate Philppeis fere respondent cum eor(u)m IIIS unciam vel 42 libram Rom. pondere efficiant. Hi vero qui a Principibus percussi, solidi, et semisses appellati sunt, aureis et semiaureis Atticis pares fuere, q^d ex libra 48 signabantur. Las drachmas de Athenas eran casi dela mesma ley de los denarius Romanos, pero hasta el tiempo de Neron, de una onça Romana se hazian 7 denarios, y dela misma ocho drachmas, desde aquellos tiempos los denarios y drachmas fueron yguales. in both these sorts of denarij y^t was 48 // puri aeris, ut ex his qui adhuc extant nummis experimento didici.
[f.16v] For Latin meddailes I have seene a good MS of Claudio Demetrij Francese Anticharo del Card. Fr. Barberino: His method was this; In one Columne y^e time, y^t each Empr lived, was put; over against this his retract; yⁿ in 5 or sixe columnes against each retract these words

aurea arg. aerea mag. p’va
**    *    *          *
*
*

if they were common y^r was no asterisc; els 2 or 3 asteriscs, as they were more or less common. All y^e meddailes from Tiberius to Antonino Pio, li maestri erano buoni; after him they were bad. Meddailes y^t are rare are those of J. Caesar, Otho, Vitellius, Pertinax, Did. Julianus, Pescenius Niger, Clod. Albinus. For women those of Livia, Julia Tib. Agrippina, Octavia , Poppaea Sab., Julia F., Plotina, Marciana, Matidia, Manlia Scant., Didia Clara, Plautilla. The reason, why few of these are found, is because they lived but a litle time Emp^rs or Emp^rses.
Many of y^e Roman meddailes of y^e Consuls are brasse wthin silver wtht. Many of y^m are brasse silvered. You may know medals by y^e coining of y^m of, if they be cast of, they come of round not so sharp in y^e angles or edges. & y^e lines not so fine. Those y^t are counterfeit are of one Padouano. he made some 40 of those y^t are rarest to be found. for others it is not worth y^e while to cast a stamp, w^ch will cost 40 crowns.
[f.17r] Mr Peiresc
[these are several extracts from letter of Peiresc to Claude Menestrier, 22 February 1629; including, at bottom] Petits sesterces d’argent qui au lieu de la note IIS aurient le le nombre IIII, et les demys deniers qui au lieu du V avoient le nombre VIII ou IIX. Et medailles Grecques ΔΡΑΓΜΑ & ΔΡΑΓΜΟΝ. Et de celles de cuivre qui ont l’inscription ΟΒΟΛΟΣ.
[f.20v] My Alex. y^e G^t in gold wth 8 graines English exactly weighs y^e 20s in gold English; the piece is very intire. On y^e one side is Alexander w^th a helmet; a collar as it were of perls round about his neck, a iewell in his eare, and behind his eare as it were eares of corne. Is an angel. It is y^e fairest coine I have ever seen. [drawing of rev.] My Consular denarius * w^th 11^gr English weighs y^e 10s gold exactly. It is a very faire one.
A faire Greeke piece w^th 2 faces of a man & of a woman y^e woman w^th a Jewel in her hare & on y^e right side y^e man w^th a bushy beard on y^e left: both ioyned as 2 Conj. (?) heads. The reverse was thus [drawing of Tenedos coin with ΤΕΝΕ ΔΙ ΟΝ] a hatchet as it were a harp, & an acorn The relevy of both good. It waighed 5^s 6^d & 15^gr.
[f.21r] Another faire coin w^th a good chopping face on one side well made w^th a good relevy On y^e other a hawk thus [drawing of eagle and ΠΡΩΤΑΓΟΡ] it waighed 5^s 6^d and 10 graines wth a litle piece under (?) w^ch it had it might have waighed 13 or 14 gr

Savile MS 49(2)
[f.17: a description of a gold coin of Septimius Severus]
This aureus was the intire[st] fairest & largest, y^t I ever saw. It waighed 12 Cons. denarij + 6gr. yt is 1ξ11 penny waight 14 gr English 20 penny waight in the ξ 24 gr in y^e penny waight Engl. (1.) 48^o gr ξ
* Cons 62gr
Drachma Att 67 gr Engl
[then there follows a description of Valentinian solidus] 68½ [and then another Valentinian] 69gr wates.
[f.23r = p. 496] in the Church of S Croce:
One of y^e thirty pence, it had a round, g[rea]t & <fit [= perfect] face. It might weigh, by coniecture, neare 18 pence.

(transcriptions from Burnett 2020b, pp. 484-6)