Sometimes you get carried away with coins, especially when you find a new avenue in Numismatics to explore! But the old adage of buying the book before the coin should not be cast fully aside. So I thought about where I am with this and what seems to be in my future. I have bought a few coins on eBay and have a couple more bids in but likely unless I see a coin I like getting away for nothing, I plan to stop buying and enjoy what I have. Which will include photography. I now have no plans to find a show to go to until spring or summer. Which means delaying browsing or buying any coins in person until next year. So there is plenty of time to get 'edumacated'. I might go to the Kalamazoo show April 6th, or to Warren, Michigan April 13-15. There are other possibilities for me after that if I miss those or have the opportunity. The books I have ordered are: Ancient Numismatics, by Kurt Regling Greek Coins and Their Values, Volume I - Europe, by David R Sear Greek Coins and Their Values, Volume II - Asia and Africa Modern Japanese Coinage, 2nd Edition, by Michael L. Cummings The Rise of Parthia in the East, by Cam Rea Antioch: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Syrian City Established by the Ancient Seleucid Empire, by Charles River Editors and a DVD of older books: Ancient and Medieval Coins Let me know which of these are truly valuable. I know I can get info on the web, but I also know some of that info might be not good, and likely I will probably be exposed to some really good info in these books. Also, some books are super $$$, so as I go along in this, let me know based on the coins and interests I show, if any particular book might be a great one to get (the idea being that by buying the book, I will be foregoing getting anywhere from one to probably five or six coins).
You can't go wrong with the list you have. It really depends on where you focus your collection. If you go with Roman, I suggest Seaby's Roman Silver Coins obviously all of them. Won't help with prices but plenty of coins for education purposes. I'm Roman and Greek focused so all the Greek Coins and their Values by Sear are good.
I've heard good things about the DVD compilations. All of the material is available free online, but if you don't know what you're looking for you'd never find it.
Yeah, lots of books on line where the copyright has expired.. They are on line for the most part but finding them can be a chore and you never know if they will remain or what. For relatively low cost, this puts a number really easily available to me.
Kasia, I pieced my Seaby Roman Silver Coins together over time. Some from ebay others Vcoins etc,. Take the time to hunt for the bargains. Many of mine are 1st edition and in "new" condition, no marks, rips or the like. Sometimes I hear of people finding good books at second hand book stores. Check your local library and that sort of stuff. Also, in various CT threads members have posted book reviews, another good source of info.
I will be keeping an eye out as I either hit up yard/garage/estate sales and bookstores. There is a discount bookstore in my city, but honestly, any older book or limited readership book is priced super high. And I never see a mark down on any. I have looked occasionally on ones I have no interest in, just to see what their practice is. So in my opinion, that store stocks a certain number of older books and is willing to hold on to them forever just to get their price. So I don't think that I will find one I would purchase there. But sometimes I have found valuable books in the most unexpected places, and at give away prices.
In my experience coin books are pretty hard to come by out in the wild, especially the esoteric ones. My best luck has always been at estate sales where the family of a recently deceased sells off the household - 9 times out of 10 the books go cheap because nobody thinks they have value. My best book find (non-numismatic) thus far was this city directory
Kasia, I bought Greek Coins and their Values, Volumes I & II by David Sear about 1 year ago and wish I had gotten them earlier! These two take a while to get used to but are positively worth it in terms of information. Speaking from my own experience, buying the book first will in the long run give you more confidence in making purchases. Best of luck.
Kasia, I forgot to mention something important. Coin values in books can be out of date and should be ignored. My Greek Coin books by David Sear are reprints of the original 1978 edition and reflect prices of that era in British £'s. It doesn't matter since I go online anyway to check out prices of coins I'm interested in from VCoins dealers or recent auctions.
