'Tres generis humani in re numaria pestes, those that cast coynes those that do by theire art adulterate the true antient coynes of Common Emperors & Common reverses by working out some letters & some figures & making them to be rare coynes as of Otho Helvius Pertinax &c. Or coyning an adulterate head to a true reverse by conglutinating them together as I have one of Helvius Pertinax with a true reverse of Com’odus or Antoninus Philosophus, uti non temere suspicamur [as I may suspect without any rashness]. I have also a true coyne of Gordianus iii with a rare adulterate reverse the true olde one being put out. The third Imposture of new stamping coynes in quo genere duo se celeberrime nebulones et plane [of which type two rascals do it very famously and cheatingly]. Looke their names in M. Smetius his letter, qui iudicatu difficile & maiori industria quam vanitate rem porrigerunt [who have pursued the matter in a way that is difficult to determine and with more effort than vanity]. For unskilfull men by the coynes new stamped may easily be deceived by them.' (BL, Harley MS 255, f.2r; Burnett 2020b, p. 531)
'Collections out of Ursinus Goltzius Severall Prefaces, & out of the Prefaces to Aenene Vicus, and soe add my collections out of Casaubon & others in the paper to showe how MS are mistaken & have to be rectified from the coynes.' (BL, Harley MS 255, f.3v; Burnett 2020b, p. 530)
'That what was the destruction of all other things was the preservation of Coynes as wars Invasions Battailes expugnationes [added: et Incendia] urbem [sic] aliorumque locorum for thie made them to throw in their coynes into Wells Aqueducts Vaults Sinks &c buried them in the ground or immured them up in walls, by which meanes the coynes having been preserved from the use and handling of men the lettere & figures asperae Elementi & incorrupti typi when they have been digged up as if they had been coyned tha[t very day] & the brasse & the silver which they did but hid in a dry place as free from the rust as the gold wh[ereas as were] [in margin] not hidden but comonly used not only the very letters are wholly eaten out but the faces and the figures in the reverse are soe attrited & worne as if they had been ground as by a Grindstone.' (BL, Harley MS 255, f.3v; Burnett 2020b, p. 530)
'Occo’s errors though he were a very learned man & flattered by Levinus Hulsius to have done all things absolutely hath soe many errors that first occasioned mee to lay aside other worke for whch I was about for Great Britaine to undertake my Theatrum Numarium.
ffor first the Greeke inscriptions at least before the time of Gallienus or about one halfe of them very erroniously set downe, many of which are not only rectified some out of coynes, some out of Goltzius Thesaurus & many of the rest where the error was not inextricable by a criticall observation upon the inscription but also the Latine interpretation & many times an explanation or elucubration upon the said inscription especially on the reverse side is added.
His mistakes in the names of Emperours rectified
His referring to coynes of wch belonged to one Emperour to another is found out. As those of Victorinus the father to Victorinus the sonne, & those of Tetricus the father to Tetricus the sonne.
His misplacing Emperours in respect of theire time as Galerius Valerius Maximianus after Carausius and Allectus. Crispus before Maxentius and Licinius the father whereas tis plaine that the saide Crispus & Flavius Claudius Constantinus his halfe brother & Licinius the younger were made Caesars together,
Beside some thousands added, and many of the reverses amended
Some thynges were soe confusedly done in Occo as was not possible to rectifie it so as to make it certaine & infallible to the Reader. First where so fatally to spare a little paynes hath often times confounded two or three or sometimes foure adverse Lemma’s together in one Line & then added the reverses after them soe as no man knowes to wch of those Lemmas they belong, no more than in Goltzius Thesaurus which worke if he had enlarged though but on the Imperiall Coynes onely (after the manner that Occo did his), they had been of invaluable use Orbi Literario. For either some of those that he tells us of were but imaginary peeces, or else they are not now to be founde. Besides he setts downe severall Lemmas or inscriptions in those peeces which are to be had wch Occo or my selfe never mett withall.
All the workes of Goltzius admirably especially the celatures of the coynes. Excellent also are the celatures of Gorlaeus and Aeneus Vicus.
Coynes put down for Lucilla Lucij Aelij whereas shee never stamped any but they belong to Lucilla Lucij Verj, and it seemes the mistake came by the severall dresses of one and the same person.
He puts in Andragathius pag 564 [= Occo, 1601] among the Emperors who never tooke upon them the title of Augustus or Caesar, but was one of the great com’anders only in the Army of Magnus Maximus & put Constantine & two others mentioned by Zosimus lib. pag. who assumed the purple roab under Honorius & Theodosius Junior. And beside if Andragathius had taken upon him the title of Augustus or Caesar he must have beene placed after Magnus Maximus & Flavius Victor & not before Gratianus as Occo hath placed him.
Grosse Errors also in Levinus Hulsius where amongst the rest is thate ridiculous error in giving to Richard king of the Romans sonne to King John the quartered coate of France & Engl which was not quartered or given to any untill the time of E.3.
Ursinus pag. 207 Sextus Pompeius proved to Pontifex & Augur by his coyns.
He placeth Constantius to be the third sonne of Constantine yet false
He omitts 5 or six Emperours or Caesars mentioned by Zosimus & misplaces many more as Martinianus before Licinius who made him his Caesar
Fl. Pulcheria for Ael Pulcheria &c
Leo Junior pag. 578 Numus adversa dumtaxat pars Numi.'
(BL, Harley MS 255, f.4r; Burnett 2020b, pp. 529-30)
'Severall parts of Story to be vindicated out of the coynes
i. As first Emperours named M Julius Aemilianus out of my coyne
As Diadumenianus whom historians call Diadumenus
M. Casius Latienus Postumus falsely called by historians Junius Postumus
M. Piavonius Victorinus vide my coyns with Pi. Piau. And the whole name
Carausius historians call Caransius
Allectus for Alectus
Jul. Jovianus falsely called by historians Jovinianus
Claudius Salmatius might have spared his criticisme touching Quintillus supposing Trebellius Pollio had mistaken when he called him Claudius for his coynes do infallibly show that hee tooke that name upon him.
Many examples in Ursino de Familiis of the names of Roman consulls & after magistrates mistaken by historians to be rectified & meerly by ye consular coynes
See also a number in Tristan’s learned worke in French as Betelienus Bassus and others.'
(BL, Harley MS 255, f.4v; Burnett 2020b, p. 530)
