24 MAY 1902, Page 25

A Short History of Coins and Currency. By Lord Avebury.

(John Murray. 2s.)—Lord Avebury has divided his book into two parts. In the first he treats of "The Origin of Money" and "The Coinage of Britain " ; in the second he goes on to the " Weights of Coins" and to the more recondite, or at least snore obscure, subject of "Bank Notes and Banking." The practical importance of this subject is obvious, for it is one on which the public mind is peculiarly apt to be deluded. There is something fascinating in the idea that you can snake money out of so much paper, and it is difficult to drive out the illusion.