From John Evans   25 February 1857

Nash Mills | Hemel Hempsted

25 February 1857

My dear Sir

I am ashamed of not having sooner acknowledged your letter of the 10. th inst enclosing some impressions of coins, but my time has been so much occupied the last few weeks that I have really had no other course left than to neglect some of my private correspondence—And now with regard to the impressions for which I am much obliged—The first is of a base groat of Henry VIII[.] Viz that found in the old farmhouse—The 2. nd of Charles II is merely a jetton or counter as the word “Becherpfennig” on the reverse sufficiently testifies—The touch-pieces were always of gold. The third is also a counter of the time of Louis XIV and struck by the same manufacturer of counters as that of Charles II viz—Conrad Lauffer who belonged to a jetton manufacturing family at Nuremberg, of whom Wolfgang Lauffer was I think the first—Nearly all the counters for the supply of all the Abacuses of Europe were made at Nuremberg & when Arabic notation & Cocker & Record came in, counters went out or were only retained for use at cards

I have given orders for a roll of paper to be prepared for your diagrammatic work; so do not be surprised at seeing a long parcel make its appearance—I beg your acceptance of it and hope that you may find it such as will answer your purpose—M. rs Evans desires to be remembered to you & I remain

My dear Sir | yrs very truly | John Evans

I am afraid I must add that the coins are of no appreciable value.

Please cite as “HENSLOW-473,” in Ɛpsilon: The Correspondence of John Stevens Henslow accessed on 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/henslow/letters/letters_473