Hello All, I have a few Seleucid coins that I am trying to attribute. I am making an effort to try and identify them myself before I post them to here and ask for help directly. I see that there is a book called "Seleucid Coins: A Comprehensive Catalogue" available, but I also see that it is $225. Considering that I might have $50 worth of bronzes, I think I might be jumping the gun to purchase the references right now. Anyone have any good reference links so I can start familiarizing myself with the coinage before I decide whether I will be fleshing out this accumulation into a collection of sorts? Thanks in advance, Nick
I did not have any luck on Wildwinds. There are four categories listed in the Cities section for Seleucia. I did not see what I was looking for.
The cost of the book relative to the coins is certainly a deterrent unless you plan on collecting many more Seleukids! No database is complete, but my usual resources when hunting for attributions are: CNG's archives Using the search terms "seleukid, AE" returns ~1700 coins although some may not be AE or Seleukid. The advantages of CNG's archives are user-friendlier search engine, good images, and generally reliable attributions. Wildwinds acsearch Full access was recently changed to a paid subscription format Vcoins For currently available coins for purchase, although if a match is found I then double-check the attribution, when possible. Also, there are many sites housing old (public domain) numismatic books. It is generally more time-consuming to browse .pdf format books so I generally only use these when all else has failed or when for some reason I want to view the attribution source directly.
I completely agree with TIF's reply but only if you can accept my definition of "attribute". If you want to know which ruler issued a coin from which mint at which date as part of which series, the online resources and application of some reasoning will serve you well. If, however, you define "attribute" and having a four digit number to make your cataloging and eBay sales listing look more professional, you really should buy the book. In cases where the catalog numbers depend on minutia like letter spacing, third party work arounds are unlikely to be fully accurate. These derived sources rarely explain the structure of the catalog system and can be confusing, for example, when numbers 253, 254, 255 and 256 are coins of four different rulers in one volume while another will use #13(a) through 13(l) for three different rulers. Most serious numismatic works were not made by authors who set out to make life easy on coin sellers. Their books contribute to numismatic scholarship rather than being a quick fix for number enthusiasts.
A good numismatic book to me is a "force magnifier". It makes your coins you already own more interesting and gives you more collecting pleasure. However, I agree for a few minor coppers you shouldn't spend the money on the books unless you were going to collect more. There are, however, cheaper books on Seleucids that you could buy to learn more. Houghton and Lorber also published other books on Seleucid coins. They are not as complete as their two volume catalogue, but are good reading and a good beginning. Also, have you looked into interlibrary loan?
The "Handbook of Greek Coinage" by Oliver Hoover, volume 9 on Seleucid coins, "Handbook of Syrian Coins: Royal and Civic Issues, Fourth to First Centuries BC," is nearly complete for types, with many very good photographs, and substantial commentary introducing the reigns. I predict that as a reference it will supersede BMC and the other expensive Seleucid-coin reference works. It cost $65 plus shipping from CNG. http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=278484 I hope Oliver Hoover will continue his work and, over time, finish the series projected to be 13 volumes of which 8 have already been published.
The problem with online sales archives is that Greek bronzes most often fall far below the threshold for inclusion to sale, so places like CNG wont have much to look at. In addition to the Hoover reference, Greek Coins & Their Values is still a relevant work (in two volumes). Shouldnt have a problem getting them under $50 per volume.
