An Essay upon Money and Coins

Joseph Harris (1704–64) was equally distinguished as an astronomer and as an expert on coinage. From a humble background, he came to the attention of Edmond Halley, the Astronomer Royal. He spent some time making astronomical observations in South America and the West Indies, and familiarised himself with marine navigational practice, proposing improvements to measuring equipment and publishing a very popular instructional work on the uses of globes and orreries. He later observed the 1761 ...