Post your World Coin books

I had a few books knocked off my wish list this year and I am quite excited!!!!


Post your world coin books and/or recommendations!



Thanks to @Chris B @talerman and @messydesk for the recommendations!

 

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The Levinson book (2nd edition) is great for dated coins of the 1400s. The backbone of my world coin books is the Krause Catalog.

 

Here are a few that come to mind.


And this is a really underappreciated reference that I was lucky enough to purchase a complete run of. They are fascinating, informative reading.

 

I have a ton of books/ these are my favorit es....

 

I always try to add to my books each year, this year I finally managed to get the two volumes of Mazard as it includes coins not mentioned in Gadoury or Le Franc along with Prove Progetti IX which covers all the proofs and patterns for Napoleonic Italy which only supported by thoughts that the Italian mints were a shambles compared to the French ones.

On the British colonial front Stevens and Weir's book on the coinage of British India as it actually appeared for sale at a serious discount

 

I don't have many left, but I'm holding on to the Japanese coin books and the French language edition of Probus' coins. The Red Book snuck in, apparently.

 

The Dr. R Allan Barker Vietnam book was a nice surprise. I had been looking for this one without luck for a while but had an online link I used as a reference. The link stopped working and I did a web search to find it again and one of the results was a book shop that had old stock available at the original sale price. Cover shows a bit of wear but that was fine by me.

 

Others I keep for the sake of nostalgia. I was given a copy of the Modern World Coins catalog 10th edition when I was about ten years old. I still have that one too, the last photo.

 

My wife likes to say that I have entirely too many books, and I am starting to think she may be correct! In so far as numismatics, I believe my earliest references date to the 1770s, but I have much earlier numismatically related ephemera that I hope to incorporate with my ongoing research. Given my borderline "book hoarder" status, I will keep this somewhat short and only share my favorite books related to my main numismatic interest, the Soho Mint. These are in no particular order. I apologize in advance for the poor cellphone pictures.

1. This is, by far, my favorite Soho related publication. If you are curious about some aspect of the Soho Mint, it is probably discussed at length in this unmatched publication.



2. Although far inferior to Peck's work (see the next book), it is interesting to see how Montagu attempted to classify the Soho coinage. I also think it is neat to have a 127-year-old reference book for the very material I collect!



3. Anyone who seriously pursues English copper, tin, or bronze coinage is likely already familiar with this one. I use this book very often.



4. This is a fun read and offers an overall glimpse of Boulton's many industrial pursuits.



5. This is an excellent read for those interested in the larger ramifications of the Soho Mint.



6. This could serve as a good introductory read before diving into something like Doty's work.



7. Not entirely related, but here is a recent addition that I am excited to read.

 

I am very intrigued by the edition on the top! Would you care to share the publication details for this issue?

@ColonialCoinsUK I have the two counterparts to your Stevens book, but I have not taken the time to track down a copy of the one you have. Do you know if that book is comparable to the two below?

 

These are two more books I would like - I think the format is similar and the authors are usually very thorough. I have a very well used copy of Remick which has useful extra information in it and a copy of Pridmore somewhere!

 

Long out of print. I haven't read them all but have at least looked through them. My favorite part is that R. C. Bell had a monthly column where he discussed provincial tokens.

Lot description from when I purchased them:
WORLD COINS. Sidney, Ohio, 1964-76. Volumes I-XIII, complete in 147 numbers. 12mo, original paper covers throughout. A few issues a bit dampstained, though all useable. Mostly fine. A complete set of this important and influential publication, which is a treasure trove of interesting numismatic information on medieval and modern coins throughout the world. Complete sets are rarely offered.

 

I highly recommend the two that I posted. My interests were narrowly covered, but there is a wealth of information between the two books. I have stumbled upon a few copies of Pridmore over the years, but I’ve never been able to justify the cost.

 

@ColonialCoinsUK thank you for the info. I always enjoy a good hunt.

 

The Scottish Coinage, by Ian Halley Stewart published in London by Spink & Sons, 1955. This book is essential in telling the story of Scottish coinage, short on images, but great for research with descriptions of the coinages. Some of the information available in this work is not available in newer works, for example the star and mullet arrangements on the Alexander III pennies. There are better recollections of stories of the Scottish mint in this work than more modern works.

Seaby's Standard Catalogue of British Coins Part 4 - Coins and Tokens of Scotland by Frank Purvey printed in London, 1972 by Robert Stockwell. This is an abbreviated update of the work by Ian Halley Stewart above, but with the notable inclusion of Scottish tokens, essential for identifying these mostly 18th and early 19th century pieces.

Coins of Scotland Ireland and the Islands, Standard Catalogue of British Coins Volume 2 by Peter Seaby and P. Frank Purvey, published by Seaby Publications Ltd in London 1984. The quintessential work with many more images of early Scottish coins, great for identification of Latin legends etc. Varieties are better described in this work than in the 1972 edition.

Coinage in Scotland by J. D. Bateson published by Spink in London 1997 ISBN 0 907605 74 5, This work is strong on research and descriptions of the Scottish coinage, and is particularly valuable in providing information with regards to the coinages of Mary, and her son, James VI. There are many descriptions of hoard finds, with maps inclusive.

Scottish Coins - A History of Small Change in Scotland, by Nicholas Holmes published by NMS Publishing, Edinburgh, 1998 ISBN 1 901663 02 7. This book takes an essentially different approach, with less research on individual coins etc, and more on describing what they were used for, how names of coins evolved and significant research on what circulated and why. Many descriptions of later hoards, counterfeits etc. are available in this work that are not available in other works.

Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of the coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands & Isle of Man by Richard Lobel, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone, Eleni Calligas published by Standard Catalogue Publishers Ltd, London, 1999 ISBN 0 9526228 74. A larger and bit more concise work than was previously available, with many more illustrations of individual coins. I notice that some descriptions of varieties available in other works are not available here, but there are valuable "Collecting Hints" which describe the availability of particular coins to collectors and what grades can be anticipated to be found. The numbering system is unique, and rather confusing and unfortunately does not yet correspond directly with the now commonly used Seaby reference numbers.

The Dundee Collection of Scottish Coins By Bowers and Ruddy Galleries Inc. 1976. This is an auction catalogue, but a very concise one with an emphasis on a public sale of a collection of Scottish coinage that was initiated by the previous owner in the 1950's. The highlights of this catalogue are the many coins of Queen Mary, with unique varieties, and incredible rarities. This is one of the best auction catalogues which essentially became a reference work because of the research and imagery available. Makes me wish I could have been around then to purchase many of these rarities.

 

I think the new 10th edition is out!

 

I use the Krause German Coins 1600-present catalogue several times a week. It is always a starting point, but some coins aren't included or issues have been renumbered/recategorized.

I also have a couple books in German dealing with specific regions/towns that are reprints of old (1800s) references. They have plates, but most of the book is just text, which is difficult for me as a visual learner. I love pictures!

Physical copies of older references are prohibitively expensive so I have to rely on Internet sources many times and have a few websites bookmarked.

 

Yes, it came out last month! I have ordered it, but the coin book I am most looking forward to reading (it came out a few months ago, I ordered it recently and it should be delivered to me next week) is this one: