Just get an older version even from the 90's if you need to. Not much change in his editions. I still use one from the early 2000's.
I have one similar in appearance to yours. I wonder if they're related to each other. I found a solution for (b)s looking like (I)s. A coin worn smooth in the area that they reside.
I think there are only two editions, the second and much better and more inclusive edition is from 1987. There have been new printings since then, but I think nothing changed in them and they are not new editions. Do not get the first edition. The second does not differ much before the crusades, although some numbers changed and a few some types were added without changing the numbering by appending "A", as in "29A." However the second edition is drastically changed for late Byzantine by adding in very many types not in the first edition. After the Iron Curtain came down and access to east European coins increased drastically, those later coins became an important part of the market, which they had not been before. Get the second edition. It is on vcoins for $50 plus shipping.
I love the Norwich book(s). They concentrate on stories of the emperors, as opposed to discussions of the state. If you want to know about the state per se, there are weighty and well-done books like Ostrogorsky's History of the Byzantine State. I rarely read it anymore. I like Norwich (I have both the "short" and three-volume versions) because it is like interesting gossip. Here is my site, "Introduction to Byzantine Coins": http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Byz/ Here is a follis of Heraclius (who has a very interesting down and up and down story): Heraclius, 610-641 32-29 mm. 11.43 grams. Cyzicus mint, year II. Sear 839.
When I started collecting ancient coins, «nobody» collected Byzantine coins, and least of all bronzes. It seems like that has changed, and that there is also an increased interest for the Byzantine empire in general. In 2008, I went to Italy by myself to spend 3 weeks in museums and galleries. I chose to go to Rome, Firenze and Ravenna, because I wanted classical and renaissance art, and I wanted to see the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. It was a wonderful trip, but surprisingly I enjoyed Ravenna the most. I came there after having been overwhelmed by the two other monumental cities, and found that I could walk around in a peaceful city centre free of cars, and look at the early Byzantine style of art in development.
