Lettre du 25 août 1736 (de Pesaro): “Queste girandole mi han tenuto fuori fino a sabato scorso, in cui men tornai a casa, con portare una buona raccolta di medaglie consolari radunate per la Romagna, tra le quali il principal luogo tengono il cistoforo di Ap. Pulcro battuto in Cilicia nel tempo del suo governo, la medaglia d’oro della gente histria, ed un’altra similmente d’oro segnata col solo nome di Roma" ; "E perché ella veda che io del suo affetto ne faccio tutto il capitale eccomi a darle un incomodo. Tra i molti acquisti di medaglie consolari fatti da me ultimamente, mi sono venute una quantità di duplicate delle quali vorrei disfarmi, come di cosa inutile, per potere col ritratto supplire ad alcune spesarelle fatte ultimamente. Le accludo per tanto una nota fatta secondo l’ordine dell’Orsino, nel quale potrannosi riconoscere quali medaglie siano. Io non le ho pesate ma non credo di sbagliare asserendo che saranno ventisette oncie d’argento in circa, poco più o poco meno. Questo argento così fino, quale è quello delle medaglie consolari, si vende per puro argento nove pavoli e tre quarti, e fino a dieci pavoli l’oncia. Onde io delle medaglie non ne vorrei meno di 16 ruspi. La prego dunque far diligenza se trovasse compratore in Firenze, dal quale per farmi il favore compito, può ella procurare di cavarne di più, essendo il prezzo di 16 ruspi quel meno al quale io possa darle” (Firenze, Biblioteca Marucelliana, BVII24, cc. 25r-26v – online).
+Lettre du 9 octobre sans an (de Pesaro): “Per arricchire questo di nuoni monumenti non mancherò di far disegnare e le Patere particolarmente ricercate, e tutto ciò che ella giudicherà più a proposito ; ma la prego farsi accordarmi nel servirla la dilazione fino a mezzo novembre, poiché avendo noi qui una strepitosa opera, ci troviamo imbarazzati di tal maniera, che non è possibile aver un’ora di requie, ed io oltre l’essere oppresso dal divertimento, e dalla soggezzione, ho la casa piena di Forestieri, tanto che mi si rende impossibile il far ora quel che vorrei dunque. Dunque allora le farò disegnare le due Patere con permissione ; la Minerva del museo Ardizi che è molto bella, alcune medaglie di Gervasoni, di Passeri, e mie, si pure [c. 233r] così a lei piace ; ele manderò il disegno del mio amore che feci fare due anni sono, con intenzione di farlo intagliare, quando ella sia in pensiero di pubblicarlo, e dirolle allora ancora la Istoria di questa bella statuina” (Firenze, Biblioteca Marucelliana, BVII21, cc. 232r-233r – online).
+'The British Library has a volume of papers concerning Simonds D’Ewes, mostly concerned with coins (BL Add MS 22916). There are two principal groups. ... The second group consists of copies of the introductory notes D’Ewes had been preparing for his unpublished ''Thesaurus Numarius Romanus'', and are copied from Harley MS 255, which also included rough drafts listing his coin collection in various ways. The copies were made c. 1700 by someone with access to the D’Ewes papers. It is tempting to think that they were made by Humfrey Wanley, who was also interested in coins, and whom we know had seen the inventory of D’Ewes’s coin collection (presumably Harley MS 255), when he was sorting through D’Ewes’s papers in 1703, prior to their purchase by Robert Harley in 1705. The handwriting, however, is different from his, so we must assume that the copies were made by someone else.
One of the documents copied in the manuscript (ff.25–8) is a listing of the Gorlaeus collection, arranged by metal and giving the numbers of coins of each Roman emperor, or Republican family. Totals are also given, including for Greek coins, but unfortunately the Greek coins are not listed.
Its title shows that it dates to 1608–11, after the death of Gorlaeus in 1608 and before it was bought by Prince Henry in 1611:
Impp: Romanorum antiquisima rarissima nec non varia singulorum Caesarum numismata, a Julio Caesare ad Heraclium, quae Abrahamus Gorlaeus collegit, et haeredes possident<br>
[Very ancient and very rare coins of the Roman emperors, and varied specimens of individual Caesars, from Julius Caesar to Heraclius, which Abraham Gorlaeus collected, and his heirs possess].
Each section, after itemising its contents by emperor, gives a summary. They are:
(after gold):<br>
Numismata suprascripta 474<br>
Sunt et alia superioribus haud dissimilia 173<br>
Praeter haec sunt etiam alia Impp: post Heraclium 30<br>
Consularia 30<br>
Graeca 108<br>
Summa aureorum 825<br>
(after silver):<br>
Numismata suprascripta 2907<br>
Sunt et alia superioribus haud dissimilia 1874<br>
Graeca 754<br>
Gothica 62<br>
Summa 5597<br>
(after bronze)<br>
Numismata suprascripta 2230<br>
Sunt et alia superioribus haud dissimilia 522<br>
Praeter haec sunt etiam Graeca 160<br>
Summa 2912
(after consular silver)<br>
Numismata suprascripta Coss: 1470<br>
Sunt et alia superioribus haud dissimilia 842<br>
Summa 2312
These section totals are then summarised at the top of f.29r:
Summa omnia aureorum, argenteorum, et aereorum, quae in hoc indice posita sunt 11642<br>
Superioribus hisce sepositis, sunt et alia aurea, argentea, et aerea, de quibus an vere antiqua sint dubitatur 1618 (13260)<br>
Sunt et aurei, argentei, et ferrei annuli antiquissimi et rarissimi plusquam ducenti, quos imperatores et Consules Romani gestarunt, et obsignandum usi sunt:<br>
Sunt etiam antiquissimi preciosi incisi lapides, ut Achates, Onyx, Heliotropium, Sarda, numero 200<br>
[Total of all gold, silver and bronze pieces, which are recorded in this list: 11642<br>
Separated from the above are also other gold, silver and bronze pieces, concerning which it is doubtful whether they are ancient: 1618 (13260)<br>
There are also more than 200 gold, silver and iron rings, very ancient and very rare, which the Roman emperors and consuls carried, and used for signing There are also very ancient and valuable cut stones, such as agates, onyx, heliotropes and sard, 200 in number]
The total of 13,260 is exactly the same as in the letter of 1601, so we can conclude that Gorlaeus had not acquired any coins after 1601, and that he had not been successful in selling any of his duplicates.
As this listing is immediately followed by the report of the Commission of 1640 (on which, see below), it is clear that the original must have been a listing made at the time of the purchase of the coins by Prince Henry in 1611. D’Ewes would have access to it in 1648, when he was appointed in charge of the Royal collection with Patrick Young, the royal librarian and his friend. However, D’Ewes was clearly using the list in the letters he wrote to Smetius in 1647 (FINA [[Simonds D'Ewes - Johannes Smetius - 1647-8-7|4199]] & [[Simonds D'Ewes - Johannes Smetius - 1647-12-14|4208]]), so it seems likely that Young would have shown it to him before then, especially if it is correct to think that Young looked after the royal collection after 1640. As we have seen, they were friends and regular companions.
It is possible that the c. 1610 listing was either the same as or based on that made by Daniel Heinsius who, several years later, in [[Daniel Heinsius - Simonds D’Ewes - 1642-5-14|his letter to D’Ewes of 1642]] had mentioned that he had made an ‘index’ of the collection. We do not know when Heinsius made his ‘index’ or exactly what it may have included; but the word ‘index’ is also used in the inventory here.
Since the collection still included 12,916 coins in 1640, it is clear that Prince Henry bought all 13,260 coins on offer.'
(Burnett 2020b, pp. 1413-14)
