The only published installment of the catalogue of William Hunter's magnificent collection of coins, a collection regarded as one of the finest in the world. Hunter began collecting coins around 1770, and by the time of his death had spent over £22,000 on this pursuit— an enormous sum of money by the standards of the day. After Hunter's death, by the terms of his will, the coin collection, together with Hunter's books, pictures and anatomical models, remained in the care of three trustees for thirty years, after which time they became the property of the University of Glasgow.

Nummorum veterum populorum et urbium was compiled by Charles Combe (1743-1817), a physician and coin dealer who became acquainted with Hunter in 1773, and greatly assisted Hunter in forming his collection. Combe was one of the three trustees appointed in Hunter's will to administer his collections, the other two being Dr. George Fordyce and Dr. David Pitcairne. Combe had originally intended to prepare a catalogue of the complete Hunterian coin collection, but was able to publish only this installment. The work is illustrated with 68 plates that Combe took care to make "more faithful to the original coins than the illustrations in previous numismatic works" (DNB). Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.