'He [Archibald Campbell] accompanyed me to Mr Kemp’s in his neighbourhood; where (for about three hours) I was most surprizingly entertained with a View of a Collection of Statues, Altars, Inscriptions, Medals, &c. too valuable for a Subject to keep, in his own possession. What, in so little time and so great Variety, was most especially observed by me, was -
...
6. His first Silver-Medals are in twenty Cards; each whereof carries 35 pieces, in all 700. These are all Roman; and the first Card has onely such whose Reverses have the Portraitures of their various Deities. The second begins at Pompey, Julius Caesar, &c. and the rest continue to succession of the Emperours down to Heraclius; of each whereof he has as many Reverses (to the Number of 14 or 15 in some) as are most Rare or Curious. I particularly took notice of 1. That of Augustus Caesar and Marcus Antonius: face to face. 2. Severus Brit. and on the Reverse Victoria Brit. 3. Commodus Brit. with several Reverses. 4. Varieties of Tetrici, Victorini and Posthumi; all silvered over. 5. Several of Carausius’s pieces and Allectus’s of the like kind with the last mentioned; some of the former pure silver, but none of the latter. 6. A consecration-piece of the Constantine the Great.
7. Another Set of silver-coins, of the same size (that of Denarius) with the former, consisting of Ten Cards; each of which carries 24 pieces. Here we have the fairest coins and finest faces (Roman, Carthaginian, &c.) from Romulus to Heraclius; amongst which are about 240 of the nicest portraictures of Heads and Faces that are to be seen on Metal. An Attyla R. Goth. In Silver; purchased at the price of four Guinneas: a Carthaginian, with ΑΘΡΘ very valuable: &c.
8. Twenty Cards of the antient Brass Medals; majoris vel medij moduli. In Each of these there are 35 pieces. Amongst the Larger, were – 1. One of Julius Caesar; which haveing a Δ upon it was supposed (by Col. Finch) to intimate that this Emperour had entered on his fourth year, before he was stabbed: But Mr Wanley rightly observed that Julius, having here the Title of Divus, must have been dead before this Medal was struck; and he therefore rather believed that the Δ betokened its being struck (in memory of him) by Augustus; in the 4th year of his reign. A Paduam [sic] Otho; no true one, of this size, being ever met with: But, of the Middle Size, Mr Kemp has a genuine brazen Otho (much fairer than Lord Pembroke’s) and Col. Finch another. The larger Egytian Otho, in Brass, is reckoned no great Rarity. 3. A very fair Commodus Brit. with Victoria Brit. on the reverse. 4. One of Caracalla, and another of his brother Geta, with Brit. on the Face-side; and Victoria Brit. on the Reverse. 5. Four Gordiane. 6. Series of Heads down to Postumus Junior. 7. A most fair Vitellius. 8. Another (most valuable) of Titiana ΣΕΒ.
9. In other Drawers he shewed us the Roman As, with all its parts; the Egyptian and Jewish Shekel (which, saies the Bishop of Peterborough, signifies a stone; as Selah is a rock) with several Species of Parthian, Phoenician, Persian and Turkish money (antient) in Brass; amongst which one of Mahomet the First, and another of Saladine, very rare.
10. Two sets of Nur Mahal’s Twelve Zodiac Medals (In Gold and Silver) mentioned by Tavernier in his Travels. Par. 2. p. 11
11. Other large medalions in Silver; of Marcus Anthonius, Cambyses another other great Princes of the old Greek and Romans.'
(Bodleian Library, MS Gen. Top. c.27/1, ff.4-11; Holmes - Jones 1985, pp. 701-2; Burnett 2020b, pp. 1525-6)
