定義

• A gold coin, usually the Angel (q.v.), which was handed by a monarch to a patient suffering from the "king's evil," a form of scrofula. The coin was then hung around the neck of the afflicted person by a white ribbon.

  The practice probably had its origin in a belief in the power of kings to cure diseases, based on the miracle described in the gospel of St. Mark (i. 40-41)

  The Elder Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart, claimed the power of healing by touching, and so did his two sons, Charles and Henry, and some of all of these touchpieces are still extant, those of the latter bearing the name of Henry IX.

  The practice of touching was repudiated by William III ; Queen Anne dispensed the royal gift at times, and George I abandoned it.

資源

• Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)

人际关系