Hello! A few weeks ago I was amazingly chosen by @Clavdivs and @Orfew to receive a copy of SEAR!!! I've always wanted a Roman coin physical book, and am very happy and incredibly blessed to have received this at no cost from our generous benefactors. In addition to the book, Clavdivs also included a selection of 4 rather lovely coins: Constantine II Gloria Exercitus follis Constantine I Campgate follis Arcadius Concordia AE3 Licinius I Iovi Conservatori I do have a question about how, exactly to use Sear. It appears that instead of cataloging every single variation, mintmark, field marks, etc, Sear seems to catalogue one or two examples of each major reverse type. For example, the above Constantine I has mintmark SMANTZ. However, Sear only has a single entry on the campgate, with the SMTSA mintmark; it also mentions the RIC number attached to the example. Would Sear be used as a general catalogue of types, rather than variations? Thanks again for all of your kindness! This book has been an extraordinarily engaging read thus far, and I am loving learning a slew of things I never knew before.
Congrats @hotwheelsearl ! I wish I could help you with how exactly to use the book, but I do not yet have one myself. I found one on ebay that I am watching and hopefully will be able to pull the trigger on soon. Perhaps we can then work together haha.
I think yours is the same 1981 3rd edition that I mentioned in another thread earlier today. It's still extremely useful as a guide to the primary types for each emperor, and also for the Republican period. Even though, as you point out, it makes no attempt -- and couldn't do so, in a book that size -- to be completely comprehensive. Keep in mind that the most recent edition of Sear, issued over a period of more than a decade beginning in 2000, consists of five volumes, each one about 700 pp. long. And even that edition isn't close to being all-encompassing. Plus, the total cost of the five volumes is not exactly inexpensive!
Donna, that makes sense. I didn't realize that the new edition is 3500+ pp! I am really enjoying reading the introduction to denominations, history, and the blurbs for each represented emperor. I wonder how accurate the values still are today. The Constantine campgate shows 10L. I don't know the historical conversion rate, but the book's price is 10L or 25 USD. With a bit of proportional math, the 10L is somwhere around 15-17 USD today. That sounds about right for the average price of a rather high grade campgate.
