1 Biographical notices of the medallists, whose works are exhibited, are given with the descriptions of the medals. These can be found by reference to the Index of Artists at p. 143.

2 Giacomo da Trezzo, sculptor, engraver and medallist, born at Milan at the beginning of the sixteenth century, first worked in the execution of medals for the Gonzaga family. He afterwards entered the service of Phillip II. of Spain, went to Madrid and was engaged in the decoration of the Escurial. He died at Madrid in 1589.

3 Very little is known of Giacomo Primavera beyond what information is supplied by his medals. He was of Italian origin, perhaps Milanese, and was born before the middle of the sixteenth century. He appears to have worked chiefly in France and the Netherlands, as nearly all his medals bear portraits of personages of those two countries. The above medal was probably executed from a portrait, as it does not appear he was ever in Scotland. He died about the beginning of the 17th century.

4 Stephen of Holland, like Primavera, is only known by his medals. From these we gather that he worked at first in Holland, executing many medallic portraits of his countrymen. He was also in the employ of Sigismund, King of Poland. He resided for a short period in England, where he produced a large number of portrait-medals of private persons. These are for the most part dated 1562.

5 Jean Warm or Varin, born at Liege 1604, studied at a very early age painting, especially portraiture, and the art of engraving, placing himself under the direction of the French medallist DuprÉ. His talents attracting the notice of Cardinal de Richelieu, he was appointed engraver to the royal mint at Paris. This appointment Varin held till his death, adding at a later period those of Superintendent-General of the Coinage, and Guardian of the Dies. Varin visited England and Sweden, receiving many commissions in both countries. In painting he has left little of note; but of medals some of the finest productions of the seventeenth century were executed by him. He died in 1672.

6 Simon Passe, the youngest son of Crispin Passe, the eminent artist of Utrecht, born circ. A.D. 1574, received his first instruction in the art of engraving from his father. About 1613 he came to England, where he resided for some 10 years, and engraved a large number of prints, portraits, &c. He was employed by Nicholas Hillard to engrave counters of the Royal Family of England. After quitting England, he entered the service of the King of Denmark, under whose protection he remained till his death circ. 1644.

7 Nicholas Briot, the chief engraver to the Paris mint during the reign of Louis XIII., was the inventor of the balance for striking coins. Before his invention all coins were struck by the hammer. Briot first submitted his new invention to the authorities at Paris in 1615; but it was not adopted till 1623, and then only temporarily, when he was placed at the head of the coinage in France for that year. The opposition experienced by Briot in his own country induced him to submit his invention to the authorities at the London Mint, where it was at once favourably received, and he was appointed chief engraver from 1628—1633, when he returned to France and again received employment at the Paris Mint. During his residence in England Briot executed a large number of dies for coins as well as dies and moulds for medals, all of which are gems of medallic work.

8 The date of Thomas Rawlins's first engagement at the Mint is uncertain. We find him, however, associated with Briot as engraver before 1642. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War, Rawlins attached himself to the person of the King, for whom he executed many of the dies used at the local mints. Amongst these the most remarkable is that of the Oxford crown. After the death of Charles, Rawlins executed several commemorative medals, which were distributed amongst those who were true to the royal cause. He was also employed by the corporations of certain provincial towns, of which were Oxford, Bristol, and Gloucester, in the manufacture of tokens. After the Restoration, Simon being removed from his post at the mint, and being appointed "one of His Majesty's Chief Engravers," &c., Rawlins was reinstated with the title of "Chief Engraver." This situation he filled till his death, which occurred in 1670, at which time he was engaged on new dies for a sovereign.

9 Thomas Simon, the artist, whose birthplace and date of birth are uncertain, was first noticed by Nicholas Briot about 1633, and through him was engaged at the Royal Mint in 1636, to engrave the great seal of the Admiralty. In 1645 Simon received his first appointment under Parliament as "Joint Chief Engraver" with Edward Wade, and producing several seals of State remarkable for their artistic skill, he was rewarded by promotion to the post of "Chief Engraver to the Mint and Seals." From this time till the Restoration, Simon produced a large number of medals, many of which are of great beauty both in design and execution, and also the coins with the effigy of the Protector, by whom he was appointed "Sole Chief Engraver and Medal-maker." At the Restoration a fresh patent having been granted to Simon as one of His Majesty's Chief Engravers, he was ordered to prepare the necessary Great Seals, those of the Protector having been broken up. The appointment of John Roettier as one of the Engravers to the Mint led to a quarrel between him and Simon, which resulted in the resignation of the latter. Simon died in 1665 of the plague. Some little time before his death, he produced his masterpiece "The Petition Crown."

10 Of Abraham Simon, the brother of Thomas Simon, our information is very limited. At an early age he studied theology, but with tastes similar to those of his brother, he soon left these studies and went to Sweden, where his reputation as a modeller in wax speedily raised him to public notice. He entered the service of Queen Christina, and became one of her suite in her travels. Before the outbreak of the Civil War he returned to England, where his portraits became famous. That he left England during the Commonwealth, as stated by some, is very doubtful, as there are many medals executed by him during that period, and chiefly of leading parliamentarians. It is certain, that at the Restoration he stood high in favour with the King, and received 100 guineas for a portrait of him in wax. In disgust at the treatment he received from the Duke of York, he ceased to work altogether, and died shortly afterwards in great poverty.

11 Jerian Pool or Juriaen van Pool was a medallist of some note at Amsterdam, whose works date from the middle to the second half of the 17th century. The most important of his medals are a portrait of Admiral Martin van Tromp, 1653, another of William, Prince of Orange, of the following year, and the inauguration-medal of the Guildhall of Amsterdam, 1655.

12 Pieter van Abeele lived at Amsterdam, and was probably a pupil of Jerian Pool. Van Abeele's most famous work is a medal in commemoration of the granting of arms to the city of Amsterdam in 1342 and 1488. He also executed medals for William II. and III. of Orange, Gustavus Adolphus, &c. His medals are of repoussÉ work and chased, the two sides being united by a rim.

13 The head of the Roettier family "the family of Medallists" was one John Roettier a native of Antwerp and a goldsmith by profession, who had three sons, John, Joseph, and Philip. During the residence of Charles II. in Holland, John the eldest brother was presented to him as an eminent medallist, and upon his coming to England soon after the Restoration he was appointed one of the engravers to the Mint having Thomas Simon as his colleague, who retired from his post in 1664. John Roettier then became one of the Chief Engravers to the Mint, and with him was associated his brother Joseph, and somewhat later his younger brother Philip, as in 1669 we find that by letters patent July 3rd, 1669, John, Joseph, and Philip Roettier were appointed His Majesty's Engravers at the Mint with a yearly allowance of £450 during their natural lives. In 1672, through the death of Varin, Joseph Roettier by Colbert's influence, obtained the appointment of Chief Engraver at the Mint at Paris, and in 1678 Philip Roettier quitted England and went to reside in Flanders, the coinage of that country during that period showing many traces of his work, which is inferior in style to that of his elder brothers. In 1690 upon the death of G. Bower, James, the eldest son of John Roettier, was associated with his father at the Mint; but in 1694 having played tricks with a portrait of William III., which he was executing for a new copper coinage, he was dismissed, and going to France found employment at the Paris Mint. Norbert his brother, who does not appear to have been regularly employed at the London Mint, having abstracted some of the dies for fraudulent purposes, fled in the following year also to France, and like his brother obtained an appointment at the Paris Mint. He also executed a large number of medals for the Stuart family (v. Stuart Medals, p. 60). The inquiry which followed this scandal resulted in the dismissal of John Roettier, who died in 1703, and was buried in the Tower.

14 George Bower, or Bowers, as he signs himself on his later medals, was appointed one of the engravers to the Mint after the Restoration, a post which he filled till his death in 1690. He executed a large number of medals for the Royal Family, and also for private individuals, which are characterized by skill and execution.

15 Christoffel Adolfszoon, a Dutch medallist who worked during the second half of the 17th century, is best known by a medal, which he executed of Michael de Ruyter. His work is coarse, but characteristic of Dutch medallic art of that period.

16 MÜller, whom Bolzenthal calls "der Meister MÜller," worked in Holland during the middle of the 17th century, and executed medals of repoussÉ work of the same style as Pieter van Abeele.

17 Jan Smeltzing, born at Nimeguen, worked principally at Leyden, where he incurred such blame by his satirical medals that he was compelled to seek refuge for a while in France. He was, however, allowed to return to Leyden, where he died at the end of the 17th century. Smeltzing worked for the Emperor Leopold I., Louis XIV. of France, and James II. and William III. of England, besides others. His medals were much esteemed.

18 R. Arondeaux, French medallist of the second half of the 17th century, worked in the Netherlands, and was afterwards much employed by William III.

19 Otto Hamerani, younger son of Giovanni Hamerani, was, like his father and brother Ermenegildo attached as medallist to the Papal Court, and executed a large number of medals for Clement XII., Benedict XIV., and Clement XIII. He also received many commissions from the Stuart Family, especially from the Elder Pretender, who rewarded him with handsome presents. He died 1768.

20 Giacomo Hamerani, who executed this medal, was the last of that famous family of medallists. He worked chiefly at Rome, where he was chief medallist to Pius VI., and where this medal was struck.

21 From this period the medals, with very few exceptions, are struck, those only which are cast will therefore be noticed.

22 Jan Luder, a Dutch medallist of no special merit, executed a large number of medals for William and also for George III., Elector of Saxony.

23 Philip Heinrich MÜller, born at Augsburg 1653, was by trade a goldsmith. At an early age he practised die-cutting, and was employed by F. Kleinert and K. G. Lauffer of Nuremberg to execute medals. He appears to have worked for several years at Nuremberg, and afterwards to have returned to his native city, where he died in 1718.

24 Johann Crocker or Croker, a native of Dresden, born 1670, was first apprenticed to a jeweller, but, having a desire to travel, he visited Holland, and afterwards England, where he practised die-sinking. He made such progress in his art, that in 1704 he was appointed chief engraver to the Mint, a post which he held till his death in 1741. His medallic portraits of the Royal family of England during that period are very numerous.

25 G. F. NÜrnberger, the medallist, lived at Nuremberg and was engaged on the series of medals issued by Kleinert and Lauffer. (See No. 343.)

26 Christian Wermuth, a native of Altenburg, born 1661, studied the art of engraving at Dresden. After a few years he set up as a medallist at Gotha, and from there he subsequently removed to Leipsic. He died 1739.

27 Jean Du Vivier, born in 1687 at LiÈge, removed at an early age to Paris, where he studied drawing and modelling. The merit of his work soon brought him into public notice, and he was appointed medallist to the King, with a residence in the Louvre. He was also a member of the French Academy. Died 1761.

28 Martin Brunner, the pupil of Wolrab and colleague of Hautsch, was a native of Nuremberg. In the early part of his life he worked at Breslau and Prague, but returned subsequently to Nuremberg, where he died in 1725.

29 Ehrenreich Hannibal, born at Stockholm 1678, was a pupil of Arwed Karlsteen. In 1705 he was appointed medallist to the Court at Brunswick, and was in the service of the Elector of Hanover at the time of his accession to the English throne. Although he executed several medals for George I. and George II., he was never employed at the English Mint, nor is there any evidence of his having resided in England. He afterwards worked for the Archbishops of Cologne, the kings of Prussia, and the Landgraves of Hesse; his work being much esteemed. He died 1741.

30 Johann Sigmund Tanner, who executed the reverse of this medal, was a native of Saxe-Gotha. He came to England about 1730, and was shortly afterwards appointed one of the engravers to the Mint. Upon the death of Croker in 1741, Tanner was promoted to the office of Chief Engraver, which he filled till his death in 1773.

31 James Anthony Dassier, medallist, born at Geneva 1715, was educated under Germain, the goldsmith, at Paris. He worked first at Rome for Clement XII., and, coming to London, was appointed Assistant Engraver to the Mint and Chief Engraver in 1740. In 1731 he executed a continuous series of portrait medals of English Sovereigns from William I. to George II. He died in 1759 at Copenhagen, on his way from St. Petersburg to London.

32 Thomas Pingo was an assistant engraver at the Royal Mint during the early part of the reign of George III. He also executed a large number of medals for Frederic II. of Prussia, as well as the coronation medal for Stanislaus Augustus, King of Poland.

33 Johann Georg Holtzhey, a native of Amsterdam, where he resided during the greater part of his life, worked chiefly for Frederic the Great of Prussia and the other sovereigns of Germany. He was also employed occasionally by Louis XV. and Louis XVI. of France. Although residing at Amsterdam, he does not appear to have executed any medals for the House of Orange.

34 Jakob Abraham, b. 1723, at Strelitz, was appointed Engraver to the Prussian Mint, an office which he held for over 50 years. He died about the year 1800.

35 Johann Lorenz Natter, a native of Biberach, WÜrttemberg, settled early at Florence, where he worked for the Grand Duke, and also under the patronage of Baron Stosch, a famous collector of ancient gems, for whom he executed intagli in imitation of the antique. It is also said that he interpolated names on antique gems. From Florence he emigrated to London, where he was liberally patronised by the Duke of Devonshire and the Duke of Marlborough, and was appointed Assistant Engraver to the Mint. Soon after the coronation of George III. he went to St. Petersburg, where he died in 1763.

36 Augustin DuprÉ, a medallist of some note, was for some time chief engraver at the Paris mint.

37 Benjamin Du Vivier, son of J. Du Vivier, the medallist, b. at Paris, 1730, was chief engraver to Louis XVI. He was afterwards employed by the French Republican Government. Died 1795.

38 Jean Pierre Droz, b. at Chaux de Fonds 1746, was a pupil of Du Vivier. He came to England about 1790, and was engaged by Boulton of Birmingham on a new copper coinage. Returning to Paris about 1807, he was appointed Director of the Mint, which post he resigned in 1814. Afterwards, under the direction of Vivant-Denon and Jeuffroy, he issued a large series of medals illustrating the great events of the Empire. In this work he employed a number of engravers. He died 1823.

39 The place occupied in medallic art in the 17th century by the Roettier family has been filled during the present century by the family of the Wyons. This family is of German origin, George Wyon, the first member who visited England, being a native of Cologne, and forming one of the suite of George I., to whose person he was attached as Chief Goldsmith. He is said to have died in the West Indies. His son George was apprenticed to Hemmings, the goldsmith of George II., and in 1772 executed for the City of London a silver cup which was presented to John Wilkes, the "Patriot." In 1775 he was engaged at the Soho mint near Birmingham, and died in 1796, leaving four sons, the two eldest being Thomas and Peter, who acted together as a firm of general die-engravers in Birmingham till 1800. In this year Thomas came to London, and was employed in the Dept. of the Engraver of His Majesty's Seals, and of which Dept. he became chief in 1816. He died in 1830, surviving by many years his son, Thomas Wyon, jun., who at the early age of 23 in 1815 was appointed Chief Engraver to the Mint, and who in that capacity executed, among numerous medals, that for the battle of Waterloo (No. 576) and also the great recoinage of 1816. T. Wyon, jun., died in 1817. His brother Benjamin was appointed Chief Engraver of His Majesty's Seals in 1831, and executed among other works the Crimea medal (No. 597). He died in 1858, and was succeeded in his appointment by his son, J. S. Wyon, who in conjunction with his brother, A. B. Wyon, engraved the New Zealand (No. 603) and Abyssinian (No. 605) medals. J. S. Wyon died in 1873, and the appointment which he held was given to his brother, A. B. Wyon. Peter Wyon, the second son of George Wyon, after the departure of his brother to London remained at Birmingham, where he displayed great taste in his designs and models for ornamental brass-work. Before his death he had the satisfaction of seeing his son William enjoying greater reputation than himself. William Wyon, the R.A., was born at Birmingham 1795, and in 1815 he came to London. In the following year he was appointed Assistant Engraver to the Mint, and in 1828 succeeded Pistrucci as Chief Engraver. In 1832 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy, and in 1838 Academician, this being the first instance of a medallist receiving such distinction. Besides the numerous coinages which W. Wyon executed, he produced a large series of military, academical, and private medals. He died in 1851, and was succeeded in his post by his son, L. C. Wyon, the present Engraver to the Mint, who, besides engraving a large series of national, colonial, and foreign coinages, has executed the medals for the Second Burmese War (No. 595), for Campaigns in South Africa (No. 596), for Service in the Baltic (No. 598), for the Indian Mutiny (No. 601), for Arctic Discoveries (No. 602), for the Ashantee War (No. 606), &c.

40 Benedetto Pistrucci, born at Rome 1784 of good family, his father being Judge of the High Criminal Court at Rome, began at the early age of twelve to study the art of gem and cameo cutting, and acquired such proficiency that before he was sixteen his works were often disposed of by dealers as antiques. In 1815 Pistrucci came to England, and two years later, upon the death of T. Wyon, was appointed Chief Engraver to the Mint, being immediately engaged on the new silver and gold coinage, having for the reverse type the St. George and Dragon. For some time after the accession of George IV., Pistrucci was engaged on a coinage for the new reign, which, having finished, he was promoted in 1828 to the post of Chief Medallist to the Mint, W. Wyon being appointed his successor as Chief Engraver. From this period till 1849 Pistrucci was engaged on the dies of the Waterloo medal, occasionally relieving the monotony of the work by the production of a large number of gems and medals, among the latter being the Coronation Medal of Victoria, a medal of the Duke of Wellington, one for the Royal Humane Society, &c. &c. He died in 1855.

41 Inscriptions of the persons represented on the medals are not given in this Index.