RIC: A Publication History

Since I only collect denarii, I also have Seaby's Roman Silver Coins volumes I and II. I also bought a copy of Aorta. Most of the coins in it are not from my focus at all. I still like reading it because it is fun to read about the historical figures I do not collect as well.

 

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I am assuming that most of these references don't include Byzantine coins, but where exactly do they stop? There seems to be some debate about when the end of the Roman empire was, or where a collection of Roman coins ends (and that's probably a debate for another thread).

What references do you guys use for Byzantine coins?

 

I prefer the Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. 5 volumes covering Anastasius to the fall of Constantinople.

 

Well, there are a lot of books out there, but only a few are 'respectable'. Van Meter: I always liked the book, it was new and fresh and cheap to boot. But, chock full of errors. It never took hold and I would avoid it unless you can get a copy for a couple dollars just as a novelty.

ERIC. I suppose there are some out there who use it, but as a dealer of many years I dont know anyone who owns it or uses it.

My suggestion honestly is to follow the normal progression that most already have. Buy the introductory books first, then when your collecting interests get more sophisticated buy the specialized references.

 

I admit that I don't collect that many Byzantine coins, but I have a dozen or so ... David Sear has a book on Byzantine coins, so of course I have that book (apparently I have some sort of creepy man-crush on the cool ol' coin guru)

*awkward* ... ummm, is that wrong?

 

I think these comments are spot on!

 

So it sounds like this Sear guy wrote the best general survey of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coins.

Did he do Persian/Parthian or "barbaric" cultures as well? Might have to spring for the whole Sear oeuvre.

 

There's no Sear volume specifically dedicated to the non-classical cultures. Sear GCV and GIC do include pretty extensive coverage of the various non-classical cultures that were contemporaneous with Greek and Roman civilizations. Between these two, you can get decent overview coverage of Celtic, Parthian and sub-Parthian (Persis, Elymais, Characene)and Bactrian and Indo-Greek coinages. No Sasanian, Kushan, or later Indian, however. The Parthian coverage is decent but badly outdated- a number of attributions have changed since Sear wrote- so I would still recommend getting the specialist books (Sellwood and Shore) if you are serious about Parthians. (I haven't yet checked out SNP-Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum- which is an ambitious planned 9-volume corpus of Parthian coinage, only one volume (Volume 7, of course ) has been released so far and the rest will arrive inn the next couple of decades.)

 

Sorry, there seem to be a lot of acronyms tossed about....

GCV? I think that one is "Greek Coins and their Values"

What is GIC?

 

I'm lost too ... but I'm sure there's an answer

 

Sorry, I thought I had already used and explained those abbreviations in an earlier post. GCV is Greek Coins and Their Values, GIC is Greek Imperial Coinage (which covers Roman Provincial, because back in the olden days Roman Provincial coins were called Greek Imperial due to the use of Greek language on [most of] them).

 

Oops, sorry, I must have missed it. But thanks for the explanation!

 

The Sear volume, first edition, on Byzantine coins pictured in stevex6's post has been superseded by the second edition, which is greatly expanded for the later years. Many post-Latin conquest coin types of the Byzantine empire are included in the second edition that are not in the first. For the early types the Sear numbers in the two editions are usually the same and sometimes differ by 1 (e.g. Sear 1716 in the first edition is 1717 in the second). Numerous varieties were added, sometimes with an "A" suffix. But the major difference is after the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204. Alexius III (1195-1203) ends with #2018 in both editions. Edition 1 has all the rest of the empire finish with #2260 (242 types), where as Edition 2 has expanded that to #2645 (627 types).

A wonderful book on Byzantine coins is that of Grierson, "Byzantine Coins" (not his pamphlet of the same name) which has extensive commentary (Sear has some, but not a lot) and 1527 coins well-photographed in B&W on 95 page plates, with 385 pages of text. I don't see sellers using it to supply a reference ID, but they could, and it is far more informative than Sear (which I love and use for reference numbers and basic information).

My third recommendation for Byzantine coins is "Byzantine Coins" by P. D. Whitting. It has 457 photos, almost all enlarged and many in color, and 311 pages, and is designed to be read, not just consulted. You can sit down, open that book, and enjoy learning about Byzantine types.

Some reference works are for sale here:
http://augustusmath.hypermart.net/numislit.html
and others here:
http://augustusmath.hypermart.net/Books.html

 

Greek Coins and Their Values by David R. Sear - When I was young it was SG-999, now they are callin' it GCV-999. The SG was "Sear Greek" the GCV is "Greek Coins and their Values."

Likewise SR (Sear Roman) is now RCV

SGI (Sear Greek Imperial)

SB (Sear Byzantine) now BCV

 

Numismatic booksellers Kolbe and Fanning are having a 50% off sale currently, so a good time to buy any of these books that might be in their stock. I have no financial interest in tbe sale!

 

Carausius mentioned a book sale and I hopped on it! I ordered a book about the emperor of his username:


and a book published in 2015 I had not heard of

 

Fantastic info! Saved me $150!

I just picked up Sear's Greek Imperial Coins and Volumes I and II of Roman Coins and their Values.

I also just bought both volumes of Sear's Greek Coins and their Values, so I'll give them a read.

That should get me through the winter, I think.

I think that means I need Vols III - V of RCV, and I need the Byzantine one still.

Any other recommendations for a fledgling ancient library?

 

@Carausius

Thanks very much for posting notice of this sale. I just ordered Seaby's RSC Vols I & II. I have the 1968 editions but it will be nice to get the updated versions.

 

The sale included several books I have enjoyed owning at less than I paid years ago. Of course things that I like will bore others and visa-versa. There are some catalogs of good collections like Rosen and Kayhan. There is a Sydenham but not Crawford (sells too easily without the half price thing). I only bought one book but somehow think you had to get there early for popular numbers.

 

I had to stop myself from going crazy... got one book though.