Thomas Snelling (1712 – 2 May 1773) was an English numismatist.

Life

Snelling carried on business as a

coin dealer Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors often include those that were in circulation for only a brief time, coins with mint errors, and especially beautiful or histori ...

and bookseller at 163

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

, London, next to the Horn Tavern (later the Anderton's Hotel). The 1756 Newbury Hoard came into his possession. He discussed it in his 1762 work on silver coins. Snelling's name occurs as a purchaser at London coin-sales c.1766; and among his numismatic customers was William Hunter the anatomist. Another of his customers was the Rev. Joseph Kilner, who built up a collection that he left to

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

. Snelling died on 2 May 1773, and his son, also Thomas Snelling, carried on business as a printseller at the same address, and published posthumously two of his father's works. Snelling's coins, medals, and antiques were sold by auction at Langford's, Covent Garden, 21–24 January 1774. The coins were principally Greek and Roman. There are three portrait medals of Snelling in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, by G. Rawle,

Lewis Pingo Lewis Pingo (1743 - 26 August 1830), was a noted eighteenth medallist and engraver. From a family of engravers and medallists, he was the son of the Assistant Engraver at the Mint, Thomas Pingo. He was also the brother of the engraver, John Pingo ...

, and John Kirk. A portrait of him was drawn and engraved by John Thane, 1770, and

William Tassie William Tassie (177726 October 1860) was a British gem engraver and cameo modeller of Scottish descent, who worked in London in the early 19th century. He took over the business of his uncle, James Tassie, after James's death in 1799. He added l ...

made a medallion of him. There is also a medallion in the Tassie series of his daughter.

Works

Snelling wrote and published many treatises on British coins. The plates of his ''View of the Silver Coin … of England'' are coarsely executed, but Edward Hawkins (''Silver Coins'') praised them for their fidelity. On the title-pages and plates of his books Snelling usually inserted the advertisement: "Who buys and sells all sorts of coins and medals." Snelling's works are as follows: * ''Seventy-two Plates of Gold and Silver Coin, mostly English,'' 1757.

Henry William Henfrey Henry William Henfrey (1852–1881) was an English numismatist. Life Born in London on 5 July 1852, he was eldest son of Arthur Henfrey, and was educated at Brighton College. He was prevented by an accident from going on to the University of Oxfor ...

(''Num. Chron''. 1874, pp. 159 f.) has shown that these were probably printed from copperplates, engraved for Sir James Harrington and the committee of the mint in 1652. * ''A View of the Silver Coin … of England,'' 1762. * ''A View of the Gold Coin … of England,'' 1763. * ''A View of the Copper Coin … of England,'' 1766 (includes the tradesmen's tokens). * ''A View of the COINS at this time current throughout Europe.... '', 1766 . * ''The Doctrine of Gold and Silver Computations,'' 1766. * ''A Supplement to Mr. Simon's Essay on Irish Coins,'' 1767. * ''Miscellaneous Views of the Coins struck by English Princes in France,'' &c., 1769 (includes an account of counterfeit sterlings, and of English colonial and pattern coins). * ''A View of the Origin … of Jettons or Counters,'' 1769. * ''A View of the Silver Coin and Coinage of Scotland,'' 1774. * ''Thirty-three Plates of English Medals,'' 1776.

A view of the silver coin and coinage of Scotland Fleuron T057771-48

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snelling, Thomas 1712 births 1773 deaths English numismatists British booksellers