There are few branches of knowledge that have within the past few years so varied in their character as that of Numismatics. At one time merely the amusement and pursuit of the leisured wealthy or the study of the very learned, it has within the present generation become a study of importance, interest, and value to those who have but comparatively little leisure and recreation, to those engaged in other branches of study, and a source of historical knowledge hitherto little suspected. To this work the existence of the Numismatic Society of London has given no small aid, and in fact has been largely instrumental in both encouraging and carrying on the study of coins and the research for their historical evidence amongst those who are beginning to understand the high value of such research.