desirous of effecting purchases in foreign parts went about the world with a number of bronze axes in his pocket (or its substitute), which he exchanged for other goods with the native traffickers in the country where he did his primitive business. At first, the early Chinese in that unsophisticated age were content to use real hatchets for this commercial purpose; but, after a time, with the profound mercantile instinct of their race, it occurred to some of them that when a man wanted half a hatchet's worth of goods he might as well pay for them with half a hatchet. Still, as it would be a pity to spoil a good working implement by cutting it in two, the worthy Ah Sin ingeniously compromised the matter by making thin hatchets, of the usual size and shape, but far too slender for practical use. By so doing he invented coin, and, what is more, he invented it far earlier than the rival claimants to that proud distinction, the Lydians, whose electrum staters were first struck in the seventh century B. C. But, according to Professor Terrien de la Couperie, some of the fancy Chinese hatchets which we still retain, date back as far as the year one thousand (a good round number), and are so thin that they could only have been intended to possess exchange value. And when a distinguished Sinologist gives us a date for anything Chinese, it behooves the rest of the unlearned world to open its mouth and shut its eyes and thankfully receive whatever the distinguished Sinologist may send it. In the seventh century, then, these mercantile axes, made in the strictest sense to sell and not to use, were stamped with an official stamp to mark their value, and became thereby converted into true coins that was the root of the "root of all evil." Thence the declension to the "cash" is easy; the form grew gradually more and more regular, while the square hole in the centre, once used for the handle, was retained by conservatism and practical sense as a convenient means of stringing them together. THE MEDALS, JETONS, AND TOKENS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE SCIENCE OF MEDICINE. BY DR. HORATIO R. STORER, NEWPORT, R. I. [Continued from Vol. XXIV, p. 41.] II. BERMUDA AND THE WEST INDIES. F. Irregular Practitioners. I. BERMUDA. 80. Obverse. To Berkeley Every Virtue Under Heaven. Bermuda. Incorporated A. D. 1726. St. Paul's College Reverse. God Hath Made All Men Of One Blood. Acts XVII. 26. Pewter. I do not like to class the Rt. Rev. Geo. Berkeley, D. D., Bishop of Cloyne, among "irregular" medical practitioners, and yet he was a great dabbler in medicine, in his own case, and as prescribing for his friends. His "Siris, a Chain of Philosophical Reflexions and Inquiries concerning the Virtues of Tar Water," and "Farther Remarks on Tar Water," certainly admit him to our present list. The medal described above was obtained by Mr. C. F. Allen of Denver, while in Bermuda as United States Consul, and is now in the possession of President Gilman, of Johns Hopkins University. It is apparently very rare. There is another, an Írish medal, connected with Berkeley, which I shall hereafter refer to in its appropriate connection. 2. CUBA. In elsewhere describing the medals, etc., of Sanitation, which is but the department of preventive medicine, I gave, so far as then known to me, those illustrating the Water-Supply of cities. Among them was the following. Havana. Inauguration of the Water Works in 1858. Obverse. The arms of the city. A crowned shield, surmounted by Neptune in quadriga drawn by spouting sea-horses. Reverse. An inscription of twenty-three lines, with names of Captain-General Concha and others. Bronze and tin. Oval, of size varying from 39 x 44 to 33 x 36. Frossard's Sixteenth Sale, Oct. 21, 22, 1880, No. 1420; Ibid., Forty-second do., April 10, 1885, No. 518; Storer, Medals, etc., illustrative of Sanitation, The Sanitarian, August, 1887, p. 164, No. 112. I have recently learned of another. Neither of them, however, do I include in this serial enumeration of Medical medals, as regards numeration. Matanzas, 1872. Obverse. The city arms. A crowned and laureated shield, with the legend: NOBLE-Y MUY-LEAL Above and below, inscription in five lines, of official names, ending with that of King Amadeo I of Spain. Beneath, F. CRONES. Inscription: Reverse. A river-god, with trident and urn. INAUGURACION DEL ACUEDUCTO BURRIEL Exergue: MATANZAS 16 MAYO 1872 Gilt copper. 40 mm. Weyl Sale, Berlin, Oct. 14, 1878, No. 1651. 3. HAYTI. In the sale of the collection of Dr. Carson of Canandaigua, N. Y., May 27, 28, 1886, there was offered, though not regularly catalogued, the Seal of the Surgeon-inchief of the military forces of the island, which, though not a medal, is yet collaterally of sufficient interest to justify my inserting it here. I owe an impression of it to the courtesy of the Messrs. Chapman of Philadelphia, who possibly may still possess the original. 81. Obverse. A wreath of plume-like leaves, united by a sinuous line. Inscription: LE MEDECIN EN CHEF DE L'ARME DE | ST | DOMINGUE (the latter two words within field.) Reverse. Blank. Blank, Silver. Oval. 21 x 27. 34 x 42 mm. III. CENTRAL AMERICA. I. MEXICO. A. Personal Medals. 82. A gold medal has been conferred upon Dr. P. Bustamente of Guadalajara, Jalisco. I as yet merely know of its existence, through Dr. J. W. Bastow of Colima, who has promised to obtain for me its description. B. Medical Colleges, Hospitals, etc. 83. Obverse. Nude bust of the Emperor Iturbide to right, with military badge (the "Guadaloupe"). Beneath shoulder, E. GORDILLO. Inscription: AUGUST (rosette) MEX (rosette) I (rosette) IMPERATOR (rosette) CONSTITUT (large rosette). Reverse. A blazing star. Beneath, PROTOMEDICATUS | EIUS QUE SODALES | OBLATAM · JAM FIDEM EXIGUO HOC MUNERE | DENUO TESTANTUR · 1823. Silver, bronze. 26. 39 mm. Weyl, Fonrobert Catalogue (Mexiko), No. 6553, fig. This medal is very rare. It is in my collection. A specimen was in the Anthon Sale, Part V, No. 1419. Mr. H. H. Bancroft of San Francisco, the Historian of the Western Coast of America, has kindly searched out for me its origin. He writes me as follows: "It is commemorative of Augustin I (Iturbide) in his efforts to revive the utility and efficiency of the 'protomedicato,' after the general relaxation of all branches during the long revolutionary struggle. The protomedicato was the office of a protomédico, or physician acting by royal appointment in a district. Later it was a tribunal authorized to examine and license physicians, surgeons, pharmaceutists, and phlebotomists. At one time it acted also as a board of health. The office of protomédico existed from an early day after the conquest of America. In 1570 the king resolved to send out protomédicos generales, who had to reside in a place having an audiencia, and during the residence of such officer no other protomédico could act within the district of that audiencia. The duties of the protomédico general were to procure information relative to the advancement of medical science, to write the natural history of his district, and to license competent persons applying to him for permission to practice any of the above mentioned professions. He was often charged with the duty of introducing reforms. "The protomedicato was suppressed by royal order in 1830, and juntas superiores de medicina, cirurgia y farmacia' were created. These juntas were in their turn done away with in 1839, their functions being merged in the 'direccion general de estudios.' I believe that most, if not all, of the Spanish American republics have followed that example." 84. Obverse. Front view, with rounded dome and pillars, of a military asylum. Before dome, a trophy. Inscription: ASILO A LA CONSTANCIA Y | AL VALOR MILITAR Beneath, to left, L. R(ovira). Reverse. Inscription: SE COLOCÓ LA | PRIMERA PIEDRA | POR EL EXMO. SEN | PRESIDENTE CIVD. | ANTONIO LOPEZ | DE SANTA-ANNA | EN 27 DE SETIEMB. | DE 1843. Silver, bronze. 26. 40 mm. Ibid., No. 6644. A specimen was in the Anthon Sale, Part V, No. 1426. This very rare medal is also in my collection. To Mr. Bancroft, of San Francisco, I owe the following account of its history. "This Santa Anna medal is commemorative of the laying of the corner stone of a Veteran's Home on the plan of the French Hôtel des Invalides, a report on which may be found in the Memoria de Guerra y Marina, II de Enero de 1844.'" Unlike Poor and Work-Houses, these asylums for the incurably wounded, crippled and prematurely decrepit, fall within the group of hospitals. In this instance there is also chronicled a medical event, so that the piece might be grouped in two of our subdivisions. 2. GUATEMALA. B. Medical Colleges, Hospitals, etc. 85. Inscription: HIPPODROMO DEL HOSPITAL general de GUATEMALA. A token for fifty centavos. Brass. 22. 86. As preceding, but for twenty-five centavos. 87. As preceding, but for ten centavos. The above three tokens appeared in the Leavitt Catalogue of May 11, 12, 1886, No. 226. I presume that the circus, or race-course or bull-ring, referred to, is an example of the many ways employed to obtain funds for benevolent purposes, which are so common in certain foreign countries. IV. SOUTH AMERICA. I. VENEZUELA. A. Personal Medals? 88. Obverse. DR. ALACOMBE PUERTO CABELLO 4 This is in the Government (formerly the Lee) Collection. Of its history I have as yet been able to ascertain nothing. I presume that the individual commemorated is a regular or irregular practitioner of medicine, though were it a European medal, this would be far from certain, for many that have been thought medical have been found, upon investigation, to be of jurists and general philosophers. In the United States there are similarly quite a number that I have thus far failed to find explained. What, for instance, is to be said of the DR. SELLECK, whose name appears upon one of the tokens of Chesebrough, Stearns & Co. (silk goods), of New York, in my collection. And what of the unifaced DR. MARK (AND HIS LITTLE MEN), which I also have. With reference to the true character of the above piece, I may add that I have received the following general statement from Prof. A. Ernst, of the University of Caracas, Director of the National Museum of Venezuela. "There were never any such (medical of any kind) medals struck in this country. The only thing that comes near to it is perhaps a bronze statue which was erected in 1883 to the memory of Dr. José Várgas, a most eminent physician and sometime Rector of our University." 89. Obverse. The staff of Aesculapius, crosswise. Upon the staff, a patera, from which the serpent drinks. Behind, a branch of laurel. Reverse. A flag, upon which a seven-pointed star; in centre of this, within a circle, RH Above, 21⁄2 CENTAVOS Exergue: HADIN A PARIS Copper. 30 mm. Weyl, Fonrobert Catalogue (Süd-Amerika), No. 8215, fig. My knowledge of this piece I owe to the courtesy of Mr. Lyman H. Low, of New York. 90. Obverse. Bust of the Emperor to left, in military coat covered with Orders. Inscription: D. PEDRO II IMP. CONST. E DEF. PERP. DO BRAS. Reverse. View of the Hospital. Inscription in exergue: LANÇOU A PEDRA FUNDAMENTAL | DO NOVO HOSPITAL DA SANTA | CASA DA MISERICORDIA | 18 40 Bronze. 33. This extremely rare medal, upon laying the corner stone of the new Hospital of the Sacred House of Mercy, has been given me by Senhor Cicero Peregrino of Pernambuco. I have also a specimen through John Gordon, Esq., of Rio de Janeiro, from the Baron de Maya Monteiro of the latter city. The City of Recife. from above. A large building, cross-shaped, with central cupola, seen obliquely Reverse. Inscription: REINADO DO (the reign of) SENHOR D. PEDRO II. In field, A FUNDAÇAO DA | CASA DE DETENÇAO | DA | CIDADE DO RECIFE | NO DIA 8 | DE | DEZEMBRO 1850. Silver, copper. 34 A portion of this "Detention House" is a hospital. The medal is excessively rare. I have impressions of it from Senhor Peregrino of Pernambuco. Rio de Janeiro. F. Tokens of Pharmacists, etc. Three beaded circles. Within the smallest, the Brazilian arms; a crowned shield half encircled below by branches of laurel and bay, tied by ribbon upon the shield, the hemisphere encircled by pearls. Inscription between the central and inner circles: GRANADO & CA | (rosette) | RUA I DE MARCO. N° 12 (rosette). Inscription between the outer and middle circles: FORNECEDORES | ✦✦✦ DA CASA IMPERIAL ✦ ✦ ✦ Reverse. Three circles, the outer and inner beaded, the middle one lined. Device, a pentagonal hollow star; within,⚫ | MARCA (curved upward) | REGISTRADA (curved downward) | Inscription between inner and middle circles: DEPOSITO GERAL OO LICORTIBAINA | (rosette) RIO DE JANEIRO (rosette). Inscription between outer and middle circles: (rosette) + IMPERIAL DROGARIA + (rosette) | + E PHARMACIA + Copper. 18. In my collection. 93. Obverse. A mortar, with pestle. Inscription: M. R Lima. 94. Dr. Barstow, of Colima, Mexico, writes me that he has in his collection, but now mislaid, a brass token, about the size of a Mexican real, from a Lima druggist. I shall hope eventually to obtain its description. 95. 5. BOLIVIA. A. Personal. Inscription: EL MINISTO EJE Obverse. Bust of President Belzu, to left. Ibid., No. 9456. 96. Obverse. As that of preceding. Inscription: EN PREMIO and to Silver. Reverse. Laurel branches, bound below by ribbon, forming a wreath above. Before this, an open book, upon which, to the right, CONS | TITU | CION | left, BOLIVIANA (an anchor) Inscription: LIBRE POR LA CONSTITUCION. Oval. 37 x 44 mm. Ibid., No. 9457. Dr. Ascarruns, commemorated by these two medals, was Staff Surgeon in 1850 to Gen. M. Y. Belzu, President of Colombia. 97. Obverse. A hospital building. F. Zuccotti (fecit). Inscription: HOSPITAL ESPANOL BUENOS AIRES. Reverse. Inscription: LA SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA DE BENEFICENCIA. CON MEMORA LA INAUGURACION DE LAS OBRAS DE ENSANCHE (of the works of enlargement) DE SU HOSPITAL 15 DE AGOSTO 1884. Silver. 20. In the Government (formerly the Lee) Collection. The above description I owe to the kindness of Surgeon J. S. Billings, of the U. S. Surgeon-General's office. City of Asuncion. 7. PARAGUAY. A. Personal Medals. 99. Obverse. Beneath the imperial crown, the double-headed eagle of the thirty-third degree, holding a sword in its talons. Above, a radiant star, with the letter G. Beneath the sword, the All-seeing eye. On the left of the eagle .. and on the right .. Legend, on a circle surrounding the field, above, BENEMERENTI PRÆMIUM; and below, ASUNCION Io DE ABRIL DE 1872 (E.'. V.'.) Reverse. Within a circle, the inscription (in seven lines, the second of them curved): MEDALLA | DE BENEMERITO DE LA OR.. | OPRECIDO | AL SUP.. GR.. MAESTRO.. | GR.. COM.. | DR JUAN ADRIANO | CHAVES. Near the edge of the circle, in minute letters, S. CACCIA.. Legend, outside the circle, ⋆ POR LOS MIEMBROS DEL G.'. O.'. Y SUP.. CON.. DE LA REP.. DEL PARAGUAY. Gold or silver, lead. 28. Marvin, The Medals of the Masonic Fraternity, CCCCXCI. I am As to whether the Dr. Chaves above commemorated is an M. D. or LL.D., as yet uncertain, but in the absence of further evidence presume the former, although it may prove, as in the case of many other generally considered medical medals, that the Doctor is in reality of the legal profession. |