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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TheRed, post: 2838726, member: 87080&quot;]Perkins, Chris Henry. <i>England&#039;s Striking History: A Brief History of England and it&#039;s Silver Hammered Coinage. </i>Rotographic<i>, 200</i>6. ISBN 978-0-948964-85-5</p><p>Price: approx $20, probably less. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]671103[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Grade: B+/A-</p><p>The phrase &quot;English hammered coins&quot; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; This book is an introduction to those coins, and covers the Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Angevins, Plantagenets, Lancastrians &amp; Yorks, Tudors, and finally the Stuarts and Commonwealth.&nbsp; Each dynasty has its own dedicated chapter and each ruler within the dynasty is covered.&nbsp; 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. </p><p><br /></p><p>The layout of each chapter is similar, with a historical overview of each ruler before discussing the coins themselves.&nbsp; 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.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, what to make of this book?&nbsp; As a beginner&#039;s introduction to English hammered coins over a 700 year period, it is great.&nbsp; 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. </p><p><br /></p><p>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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; That being said, this book is a fantastic introduction for anyone interested in starting to collect English hammered coins.&nbsp; It provides the basic knowledge needed to begin collecting, much of which will serve the collector long into the future.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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