Tin Público Deposited
Tin, it is stated, was used for coining purposes by Dionysius of Syracuse, but if the tradition is correct, all of these pieces have disappeared. Lenormant Lamonnaie dans l'antiquite,1878-1879 (i.213) mentions a large hoard of tin Denarii of the time of Septimius Severus, found at Lyons, which appear to have been inended by the government for circulation in Gaul.
This metal is also employed for obsidional issues, and MaillietMonnaies obsidionales, 1870 (i. 1-3) cites coins struck for Alkmar when that city was besieged by the Spaniards in 1573.
Traders' tokens in England were occasionally made of tin, and a tin or pewter Farthing was struck in 1684, with the inscription NVMMORVM FAMVLVS, i.e., "the servant of the coinage," signifying that it is a substitute for the regular issues. These pieces have a small copper stud driven through the centre to render their imitation difficult. See Farthing.
In France essays of twenty, ten, and five Francs in this metal were issued during the second republic of 1848 to 1850.
Tin was also extensively used in the coinage of Java and Sumatra. See Pitje, and ChalmersHistory of Currency in the British Colonies, 1893 (p. 381).
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)