Imperatorum Romanorum Numismata Ære by Patin Charles, Signed (1 results)

Condition: Good. Folio. 23.5 x 36.8cm. [40], 432, [2]pp. Contemporary blond calf; gilt spine with raised bands. Some abrasions on cover; cracks at top and bottom of spine.Two frontispieces, one a portrait of Patin; 2 folding maps; hundreds of engravings of coins. Patin was a scholar, physician and numismatist. The material remains of antiquity of the Greek and Roman worlds have fascinated Western society for thousands of years. They are multi-faceted objects, considered integral to several fields, such as the history of art, economics, politics, religion and technology, and tend to survive in the archaeological record where other natural materials do not.The earliest coins date to the beginning of the seventh century BC in Asia Minor. Before the seventh century BC, people utilized a bartering system. The first coins were created from an alloy of gold and silver called electrum, which occurred naturally in the Pactolus River, west of Sardis. The availability or lack of metal would have dictated the kinds of coins created during this early period. Eventually electrum fell out of use and gold and silver became the favoured metal. At this time, coins carried the value correlating to the amount of precious metal they contained. Because of this intrinsic value and their portable nature, coins circulated widely and for a long time, with many people collecting or hoarding them throughout history.OCLC Number / Unique Identifier:17593174:Collation: Demy 2°: *-3*? 4* A-P? Q R-3D? 3E-3N [$3 ( -3N2)--signed], 230 leaves, pp. [28] 1-124 129-432 [2] (3N2 blank); plates [7] (opp. 2*3v, Q2v, R1, R1v, R2, 2F2v, 2F3), [Front.], folding maps [2] (opp. 4*2v, A1)Head and tail pieces, illustrations and plates engraved. In-folio, veau fauve, dos orné, tranches rouges (Reliure de l'époque). Nouvelle édition de ce classique de la numismatique romaine composé par Charles Patin (1633-1693).Très belle illustration gravée sur cuivre comprenant un frontispice allégorique, un portrait de l'auteur, deux cartesà double page, cinq planches à pleine page et de nombreuses figures et médailles dans le texte.Coiffes manquantes, légères épidermures, coins émoussés, quelques feuillets jaunis et taches éparses.