Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 151, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 June 1915 — ANCIENT MONEY MUCH PRIZED [ARTICLE]

ANCIENT MONEY MUCH PRIZED

Believed to Be Currency Used by Tribee Before the Era of the is Roman Empire. Peasants plowing a field In the commune of Castelfranco dell’ Emilia, In Italy, In the year 1897 turned up a big Umbrian vase full of aes-slgnatum. which is ancient money marked with a sign, supposedly that of a tribe. There were in all 96 pieces, all covered with the characteristic patina of bronze that has been buried for ages. The aes-signatum of the early Romans, is not very rare, but only one other find of this far more ancient money has been made. This was at Fiesole, near ’Florence, but unfortunately the finders had no Idea of Its value or rarity and all of it was melted down for a bronze founder except one single specimen. There is not one specimen in the British museum and very few other museums have any. How old this money is we can only guess. The best authorities say it to pre-Roman, probably the money of the Italic tribes that, if not aboriginal. Inhabited southern Europe about 1,000 B. C. There has been much controversy over this money, and there are a few archeologists who even deny that it was real money. Each piece is of solid bronze and bears on its surface a figure which to supposed to be the sign of the tribe to which it belonged.