Hi all, I'm looking for reference books for French and British coins that go into a little bit more detail than Krause. The info I'm most interested in is mintages and obv/rev pictures, I don't care as much about values. What are the definitive 'Red Book' equivalents for France (written in French is fine) and Britain? I'm primarily interested in the 17th century to the present, but don't mind if I have to buy a book that includes Medieval or earlier. From what I've read so far, Monnaies Francaises is a good resource for France and I'm thinking maybe Seaby/Spink for Britain. Please let me know if there are any others I should look at. edit- actually, I'd be interested in an Italian reference book as well, if anybody knows of one.
for english,Scottish Ireland coins I like the coin yearbook published by token publishing plenty of information and pictures
I agree. I have to say though I am really enjoying the layout, photos and all the information provided in Le Franc. If the current version of Gadoury is anything like my 1989 copy, Le Franc has it beat in every way (though it uses its own numbers, not G numbers). 2-3 pages of info for every issued coin, versus 2-3 coins per page in Gadoury. As I say though I do not have a current Garoury, maybe it has improved.
Spink puts out a great book - Coins of England and the U.K / standard catalogue if British coins. They just split it into two volumes of pre-decimal and decimal coins, and will be coming out with a supplemental book of Scottish and Irish coins which will include Anglo-Gallic issues
I would also recommend the Spink books - split into two but sold together. They have small photos of each example going back to . I also own and enjoy the Token coin yearbook but it does more aim at the pricing end. Actually I think I prefer this one over Spink - but the Spink is probably more inline with your needs.
Here's a great reference book I use: The English Silver Coinage From 1649 Seaby/Rayner 1968. Every pattern and every minute difference between issues. Also, every mintage from 1816. There are no prices, just R, S, N and C (Rare, scarce, normal and common) - as well as different levels of rare, of course. Good luck finding one. ; )
