Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;FitzNigel, post: 2687405, member: 74712&quot;]Roberts, James N. The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610). South Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.</p><p>ISBN: 0915018543</p><p>Cost: $200</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]602214[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Grade: A-</p><p><br /></p><p>This is the most comprehensive catalogue of medieval French coins.&nbsp; The author&#039;s intention was to catalogue all of the different types of French coins, and to organize it in such a way that the coins can be identified by the design of the coin, rather than the place of issue.&nbsp; This can be useful for medieval coins, as there are thousands of different types issued by hundreds of feudatory lords.&nbsp; What can then be frustrating is trying to compare the coins from a single area or issuer (but there is a chart at the end which lists the type by place of issue).&nbsp; I can only imagine Roberts has mostly succeeded in the goal of cataloguing all of the medieval silver coins, but I know from personal experience it is not complete.&nbsp; I have one coin which is a variety not found in the book, and another coin where only the reverse is listed, but not the obverse.&nbsp; However, these shortcomings can be forgiven considering the vast quantity of coin designs possible.</p><p><br /></p><p>If I were forced to sum up the book in one word, it would be &quot;complex.&quot;&nbsp; It takes a little getting used to, as the obverse and reverse are not depicted with one another on the same page; rather they are on facing pages (and Roberts wisely avoids the terms &#039;obverse&#039; and &#039;reverse&#039; as these are not always apparent on medieval coins).&nbsp; The large amount of coins leaves little room for giving the historical background for the coins, and so it sometimes misses an opportunity to explain why one coin is attributed to a certain issuer when the actual issuer is unknown (such as the coins of Eleanor of Aquitaine).&nbsp; However, each coin does have a reference for where Roberts gained his information, and one can follow up on his work (which is again a complex process which requires one to look at a chart in the back).</p><p><br /></p><p>No photograph plates are provided, just line drawings.&nbsp; However, this is sufficient for medieval silver coins.&nbsp; As the title states, it is just silver coins represented here, no gold.&nbsp; Despite some of the flaws or complexity of use, this is still a comprehensive catalogue of medieval French coins, and one which is almost universally used by sellers.&nbsp; As such, it is a must have for anyone who collects medieval or French coins.&nbsp; I could only think of how the coins of Germany would become much more accessible to the numismatic community if there was a book like Roberts&#039; which covered the subject if German Coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in