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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 3570764, member: 112&quot;]What coins were considered collectible 200 years ago? An interesting question, but one to which I believe the answer is simple and quite obvious. And the answer remains the same regardless of the date limitation placed in the question - pretty much all of them, including of course the coins of the day.</p><p><br /></p><p>Over the years I&#039;ve posted the following comment many times - coins have been collected for as long as there have been coins. And students of history are all too well aware of this. For example, back in the early days of CT when the Contest section was first created, I used to hold contests of my own on a regular basis. To a large degree this was just so there would be some contests, and to provide incentive/example to others so they would hold contests of their own. Anyway, I used to work at coming up with somewhat difficult but answerable questions which one could find the answers to provided they were willing to put in a little effort and time, and thus learn something in the process.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of the questions I posed back then was this - what and when was the first book on numismatics printed - actually printed. This is the answer - </p><p><br /></p><p>Quite soon after Gutenberg had invented printing (first printed edition of the Bible 1453), a flood of books containing illustrations and interpretations of coins appeared. In 1511, Margarethe Peutinger, wife of the Humanist Conrad Peutinger, sent a treatise on the images and titles of the Roman Emperors on the coins of their times to her brother Christopher Welser, asking him to arrange the publication of this work.</p><p><br /></p><p>A lot of people found the date to be most surprising. Me, I found it most interesting that numismatics was considered so important, even back then, that the subject was one of the primary choices for printed books. I mean think about it, printing, at that time, was something new as well still quite rare. And one would think that it would be reserved for subjects of greater importance, the first book ever printed was the Bible after all. And yet the people of the day found numismatics to follow closely on its heels in degree of importance. </p><p><br /></p><p>Another aspect that I found most interesting was that the first printed book on numismatics was written by a woman - not a man. Even today, when asked, if there is a gender bias in the hobby most will answer yes that the vast majority of collectors are males and females play but a small part. This is not true of course, not today and I believe it never was. I believe the actual truth is most folks ares simply unaware of it. For instance, I would estimate that roughly half of the membership of this forum is female - but I don&#039;t think most folks realize that. Nonetheless it is true.</p><p><br /></p><p>While researching that question and its answer I also found it surprising that for centuries prior to the invention of the printing press, books on numismatics were indeed quite numerous, but written by hand as all books were. Again, illustrating the degree of importance placed upon the subject of numismatics.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now few people, even the most serious and dedicated of collectors, would know things like this. But yet it is true and in my eyes it goes a long, long ways towards illustrating and explaining the longevity and persistence of the hobby we all love.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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