t times to the present
day, has amounted $2,065,000,000.

Gold was considered bullion in Palestine for a long time after silver
was current as money. The first mention of gold as money, in the Bible,
is in David's reign (B.C. 1056) when that king purchased the
threshing-floor of Oman for six hundred shekels of gold by weight
($4,500.) The Lydians were the first people who coined money. The word
"_money_" is derived from the temple of Jupiter Moneta, where the Roman
mint was established. Croesus (B.C. 560) coined the golden _stater_,
which contained one hundred and thirty-three grains of pure metal.
Darius, son of Hystaspes, (B.C. 538) coined the _daric_, which contained
one hundred and twenty-one grains of pure metal; it was preferred for
its fineness, for several ages, throughout the East. It is supposed to
be mentioned in the Old Testament under the name of _dram_. Very few
specimens have come down to us. Their scarcity may be accounted for by
the fact that they were melted down under the type of Alexander. Next
were some coins of the tyrants of Sicily; of Gelo (B.C. 491), of Helo
(B.C. 478), and of Dionysius (B.C. 404). Specimens of the former two are
still preserved in modern cabinets. Gold coin was by no means plenty in
Greece, until Philip of Macedon put the mines of Thrace into full
operation, about B.C. 300. There are only about a dozen Greek coins in
existence, three of which are in the British Museum; and of the latter,
two are _staters_, of the weight of one hundred and twenty-nine grains
each. About B.C. 207, a gold coin was struck off at Rome called
"_aureus_," four specimens of which are in the institution before
alluded to. Its weight was one hundred and twenty-four grains.

Gold coins were issued in France by Clovis, A.D. 489. About the same
time, they were issued in Spain by Amalric, the Gothic king; in both
countries they were called "_trientes_." The "_mouton_," worth about
nine dollars, was issued in 1156. Gold coins were first issued in
England in 1257, in the shape of a "_penny_," of the value of twenty
pence; only two specimens have come down to us. "_Florins_" were next
issued in 1334, of the value of six shillings. The "_noble_" followed
next of the value of six shillings and eight pence; being stamped with a
rose, it was called the "_rose noble_." "_Angels_" appeared in 1465, of
the same value as the latter. The "_royal_" followed next in 1466, of
the value of ten shillings. Then come for the