Featured Fitz's Medieval Book Review

Another great review Red. I really appreciate you taking the time to give detailed impressions of these books. Some of these references are expensive and a good review can help build a good library without wasting too much money. I promise to give reviews of some of my medieval coin references that have not been mentioned as soon as I can. Maybe I can help somebody else spend their reference money wisely.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Stahl, Alan M. Zecca: The Mint of Venice in the Middle Ages. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2000.
ISBN: 080186383X
Cost: $80 (can easily be found for less)



Grade: B+

Stahl’s Zecca really seems to be everything one might want to know about the medieval Mint of Venice - at least what can actually be known. The book clearly has been thoroughly researched, utilizing sources which have not been used before (at least not to an English speaking readership). The book is by no means a catalogue of coins, but an attempt to break down every aspect of the Venetian mint into different defining chunks in addition to providing a chronology of the mint’s history to the year 1423. While there were some design elements of Venetian I wish could have been revealed (such as what mintners marks corresponded to recorded Mint officials), it seems clear that Stahl included everything there was evidence for.

Despite the obvious scholarship that was involved in reconstructing the Venetian mint, the book suffers from two flaws. Firstly, it is rather repetitive. This is a critique I'm not sure how I would resolve myself, but each section often repeated some information which was given in the initial chronological description of the mint’s activities, and certain concepts and events were explained several times. When reading through, the repetitive nature reveals the second flaw: it’s a bit boring. Perhaps if much of the other information about the Mint could have been revealed during the process of writing its chronology, this might have been a better read. As it was, it felt like a slog which I was obligated to complete, despite my interest in the coins from Venice.

(You'll note that March 22 was the last time I wrote a review. This is how long it took me to get through this book, which is only 464 pages)

 

I really appreciate these reviews Fitz. I too love books but my library is full of books waiting to be read. Mostly maritime history and ship construction from around the age of Nelson but my coin library has grown in the last year or so.

 

Thanks - I'm thinking about doing the same for Ancient books. With the school year starting, I'll be hip-deep in ancient history for the next semester, so it would be good for me both professionally and numismatically to wade into the books on ancients.

 

Once again a great book review @FitzNigel
It sounds like an interesting topic. From my limited knowledge, I always thought of the ducato and grosso as the international trade coins of the middle ages. I have a couple of books that I have been intending to add to the thread, and will have to do that in the next few days.

 

Perkins, Chris Henry. England's Striking History: A Brief History of England and it's Silver Hammered Coinage. Rotographic, 2006. ISBN 978-0-948964-85-5
Price: approx $20, probably less.



Grade: B+/A-
The phrase "English hammered coins" may seem like a fairly straightforward one at first glance, yet it covers over 700 years of history, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the 17th century. Edgar the Peaceful, great grandson of Alfred the Great, was the first to mint coins with the title in 956 AD, and coins bearing the title would be hammered into the reign of Charles II. This book is an introduction to those coins, and covers the Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Angevins, Plantagenets, Lancastrians & Yorks, Tudors, and finally the Stuarts and Commonwealth. Each dynasty has its own dedicated chapter and each ruler within the dynasty is covered. Before the dynasty, there is a brief introduction as well as a few pages dedicated to mint marks, confusing letters, and names that appear on coins.

The layout of each chapter is similar, with a historical overview of each ruler before discussing the coins themselves. The book focuses on the most common coins of each type, and omits rarities that three average beginner would not encounter. Accompanying the text are illustrations of the coins themselves as well as specific features of stylistylistic elements. Legends are also provided in the text as well as mint and initial marks. Most importantly, the sections provide guides for identifying coins whose styles remained fairly immobile across rulers as well as reading legends.

So, what to make of this book? As a beginner's introduction to English hammered coins over a 700 year period, it is great. It provides a nice historical context for each ruler, as well as an overview of the coins that were struck in silver during his/her reign. The rules for identifying coins are excellent and will serve the reader well regardless of how experienced a collector they become. The drawings are fairly easy to understand and greatly help in learning the wide range and styles that are to be found.

The book is not without a few blemishes though. A greater number of drawings would be nice, as some issues are alluded to yet go unillustrated. Also, descriptions for some of the drawings are lacking. Finally, there are a few minor errors throughout the text, such as the legends of Edward III Groats. That being said, this book is a fantastic introduction for anyone interested in starting to collect English hammered coins. It provides the basic knowledge needed to begin collecting, much of which will serve the collector long into the future.

 

Thanks very much for this review. This book may just be exactly what I have been looking for.

 

I bought this book a few months ago but have only had time to skim through it. Your review will make me pick it up and give it a good read. Thank you.

 

Thanks. I'm always looking for something to read. I hate the boob tube (TV), and rarely watch anything broadcast on it. But I love to read and I love to use my own imagination instead of someone's imagination in Hollywood.

 

You are welcome @Orfew @alde and @Bing
Some of the information I picked up from this book when I first read it still serves me well, such as how to distinguish the coins of the Angevins or those of the three Edwards. I hope I didn't oversell the book.

 

Boon, George C. Coins of the Anarchy 1135-1154. Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1988. ISBN: 0-7200-0325-3
Pages: 44
Price: aprox $10



Grade: A

In December of 1135 Henry I of England died, leaving the throne to his daughter Matilda, known as Maud. Almost immediately Stephen of Blois, the nephew of Henry and cousin of Maud, seized the throne of England. @FitzNigel has a great post about this period, known as "The Anarchy," which can be found here. During the Anarchy law and order broke down, and with it the coinage of the realm. It resulted in one of the most confusing periods of English numismatic history. Thankfully there is this little gem of a book to shed light on the coins of this period.

The book begins with a short introduction covering the origin of most of the coins, a hoard near Cardiff that was discovered in 1979, before giving a two page overview of the struggle between Maud and Stephen. The majority of the book is devoted to the coins from the Anarchy themselves. Forty individual coins are presented in the book, and accompanied by color photos at twice their actual size. The first three coins are of William the Conqueror, William II Rufus, and Henry I. The next 35 coins are those of Stephen, Maud and her supporters, and then Royalist coins. The last two coins are of Stephen and Henry II post Anarchy. The legends, weight, and die axis of all coins are given as well as detailed descriptions of the coins, their moneyers, and historical context. Scattered throughout the book are illustrations of relevant coins, royal seals, and even a map of the mints of Stephen and Maud. Finally, there is a short list of further readings.

To say that there is a lot of information packed into this book is an understatement. It is overflowing with historical and numismatic facts. For example, when Stephen seized the royal treasury in 1135 it consisted of 24,000,000 coins! The strength of this book rests in the rare, if not unique, coins that are presented within the pages. Many of these coins, such as those of Stephen's son Eustace IV of Boulogne or the local issues, are of types which rarely, if ever, come to public auction/sale. To have clear color photos with detailed descriptions is a treat.

It should be noted that this book is not exhaustive when covering the coins of Stephen. Also, the coins lack reference numbers for SCBC or North. Those, however, are minor quibbles for such a wonderful book. While I will probably never own any of the coins of the Anarchy that are illustrated within the pages, this book was a very enjoyable read and is a highly recommended addition for anyone interested in medieval English coins.

 

Thank you for this interesting and excellent review.

 

Thanks @Orfew I appreciate the praise. There are a lot of inexpensive books on English medieval coins that are pretty interesting. I thought I'd try and highlight some of them for people that are interested in English coins but aren't ready to spend a lot of money on books.

 

Thanks @TheRed ! I've seen this book offered before, but have always been skeptical about how much could actually be in such a small book. Looks like I need to check it out!

 

I have just ordered "Coins of England". I should be helpful for my British hammered coins.

 

I received my copy this past week and read it through in about 2 hours. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also agree with the grade you gave it. It would definitely benefit from better drawings, and there were places where I wanted much more detail. Having said that, the book is well worth the price and shall serve as a very useful reference on how to identify major types.

 

I ordered a copy from Spink last week and it arrived a 3 days. I have really enjoyed this book. I only have 6 Anglo-Gallic coins, but I was eager to read about them in this book. I was not disappointed. the level of detail is great and I love the way the book is organized. I must be a snob too because I completely agree with your comment concerning the formality of language employed by the authors. I found this off-putting and inappropriate. It is, however, a small issue when the importance of the information contained in the book is considered. I completely agree with your grade for the book.

I will add one more thing however. I was not expecting the book to be so large. The image you display makes the book look compact, it most certainly is not. I guess this had to do with my own expectations as well. I figured that this was a collecting niche, a small or limited area. As a result I did not expect the amount of material written on these coins to be as extensive as was demonstrated in this book.

I have spent several hours with this book and I can imagine spending many more. thanks for the great review.

 

Glad you enjoyed it @Orfew ! Perhaps I need to include page numbers in the review, but even then, the AGC book just st has large dimensions (A4 size for the non-American audience...)

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the book @Orfew and appreciate the feedback. I was worried that I oversold the book. Between the English book, your recent Anglo-Gallic auction win, and the Withers Anglo-Gallic book, you might find yourself a full time convert to the darkest of the dark side: medieval hammered coins.

 

I like to refer to us as the bastard children of numismatics...