'This catalogue of the Cambridge University collection lists 610 coins, divided into several sections:
ff.1-5: Numismata Graeca: 1 gold, 21 silver and 8 bronze
ff.7-19: Numismata Consularia Arg.: 62 silver
ff.20-24: Numismata Imperialia Aurea: 28 gold
ff.25-42: Numismata Imperialia Arg.: 115 silver, to Honorius
ff.43-71: Numismata Imperialia Aerea: 212 bronze, to Honorius
ff.73-4: Saxon and English Coins: 11 Anglo- Saxon; 1 Scots; and 1 Ferdinand V de Castille (?)
ff.75-81: English Coins: 51 coins to Charles II, latest date 1670
ff.83-98: Modern Coins of different Countries: 99 coins, including pieces dating from the late 17th century, down to 1693
The date of compilation must be later than the latest coin listed, of 1693; in addition, there are references on f.41 to Banduri’s description of a coin of Magnus Maximus, thereby giving a terminus post of 1718; and on ff.12, 14, to Morel, pushing the date forward to after 1734.
But what exactly is this volume? Various notes have been added on the fly-leaves and on paper inserts:
- This is perhaps the catalogue of Perne’s bequest to the university; see notes on Perne in the drawer of seal matrices. J. C. T. Oates observed that the MS Catalogue of the Gale Colln and this catalogue are in the same hand, both probably late 18th century. [in the hand of Graham Pollard; but there seems no trace now of the Perne notes referred to];
- But it includes modern coins of the 17th century which must be additional to the Perne collection [M.A.S. Blackburn’s hand]
- By Grace of 30 April 1856 the Coins & Medals of the University Library were transferred to the Fitzwilliam Museum [unattributed];
- This Catalogue was transferred to the Fitzwilliam Museum, 8 March, 1894. J. W. Clark, Registary.
- PERNE’S COLLECTION. The only known record of the coins is in the Baker MS in the University Library in which Baker transcribed a eulogy of Perne which began the catalogue and its imprint, proof that once there was a printed catalogue of the collection. NB: The MS catalogue of the Gale collection of the Perne (?) collection are in the same hand, which is probably late 18th century. J. C. T. Oates. 21 X 64 [typewritten note].
It can be seen that the catalogue has variously been connected with Perne, and that its hand has been associated with that of the Gale catalogue, and that both have been dated to the later 18th century.
The second point is somewhat confusing since there are in fact two copies of the catalogue of Gale’s collection. The original Gale catalogue, dated to January 1737, is in Gale’s own hand, and it is the later, undated copy that is in the same hand as this more general catalogue. This means that 1744, the date of Gale’s death, when the catalogue presumably went to the University Library with Gale’s coins, is the terminus post quem for both the copy of the Gale catalogue and for this more general catalogue, and both can be seen as parts of the same process, written by the same person and applying the conventions of the original Gale catalogue to both parts. Both volumes are the same size, although the Gale catalogue is much longer and the general catalogue has been re-covered at some point, perhaps in the 19th century. The coins listed in the general catalogue bear a convincing correspondence with the description of the coins in the University Library given by Uffenbach in 1710.'
(Burnett 2020b, pp. 401-2)
