Coins Books

I bought Max'x Money for my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter and it is her most favorite book. When the book arrived in the mail, I had to read it to her 5 times because she enjoyed the book so much and then she pretended to read it herself. She sleeps with the book and carries it with her. The book is fun, interactive,colorful and magic. She has lots of books and this book had become an instant favorite she can't put down. I highly recommend this book.

I bought this book for my twin niece and nephew for Christmas. They had it worn out in a month! The concept of the book is to show young children how money "travels". An example from the book shows money leaving the purse and going into the gumball machine. The book actually comes with hard cardboard "money" that can be inserted into slots on one page and retreived on the next. My nephew now tries to put money in everything! They are 2 1/2 years old and I would say this is a very appropriate book for this age level and up. I highly recommend it!

I am a 48 year old attorney who has collected coins on the side since my paper route days 40 years ago. As a collector, I appreciate the history and lore that accompanies the hobby. Unfortunately, most of my non collector friends think it is akin to watching paint dry. This book is a great example of why non coin collectors SHOULD read stories involving coins. You may find it hard to believe the authors could write 300 pages about a nickel, but it was well done and a very enjoyable read. This is a great book for anyone -- part folk history, part mystery, part treasure hunt -- about one of the most famous coins of all time. A MUST read for collectors and a SHOULD read for everyone else.

Hello, I'm Donn Pearlman and I was actively involved in the surprisingly successful search in 2003 for the George O. Walton specimen 1913 Liberty Head nickel. It had been missing from the hobby for more than 40 years; kept in a strongbox with family papers ON THE FLOOR OF A CLOSET FOR DECADES by a family that was mistakently told in 1962 the coin was a fake!

So, I'm more than a bit biased when I say that this book is fantastic. The authors revealed information even I didn't know about the worldwide search. Of course, this wonderful book is much more than just the hunt for the Walton coin. It is a superbly-written numismatic detective story, examining the mysterious circumstances that led to striking the five-known 1913 Liberty Head nickels, and the colorful people who have owned one or more over the years.

Enjoy,
-donn-
Donn Pearlman
American Numismatic Association Board of Governors, 1989 - 1993
Professional Numismatists Guild, Affiliate Member

All 1089 of Katherine Herberger's incomparable collection of antique banks--277 mechanical and 812 still--now in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts are catalogued with annotated color photos. The annotations cite name, manufacturer, date, size, and material of each bank, and also the Institute's accession number being with 2003, the year the large collection was donated. The mechanical banks take up one section, with the larger number of still banks divided according to the material they are made of--e. g., tin, iron, wood, ceramic. Within each section, the banks are arranged chronologically. There are a few from the late 1700s, and some unusual ones from recent years. But the majority are from the latter 1800s and early 1900s when such banks were made in numbers by competing banks and aimed to develop the habit of saving. Most were made in the U.S., but some are from China, Japan, England, Germany, and other countries. The variety and frequent ingenuity of the banks surpasses what anyone except the most experienced collectors would expect. The catalog with its informative introductory essays is required by any serious collector to get an idea of the scope of the field. While no prices are given for the innumerable banks of this museum collection, the knowledgeable, documented, reliable notes on the manufacturers, etc., are the sort of references collectors welcome.

Did you have a piggy bank when you were a kid? Most of us did, and it eventually got robbed of its coins through the cork in the piggy's stomach, or by filching the coins from the slot if there were no such cork, or by simply breaking the bank to get at the hoard. Kax Herberger may never have had a piggy bank as a child, but sixty years ago, she bought a mechanical bank for her son's birthday. She liked it so much she started collecting banks, and eventually she had over almost 1,100 such banks, of many designs. She decided before her death in 2003 that they ought to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, where there were exhibits aimed at young people. An assistant curator at the Institute, Corine Wegener, and Karal Ann Marling, a professor of art history, have catalogued the collection and present it in _Money in the Bank: The Katherine Kierland Herberger Collection_ (University of Minnesota Press). Most of the book's pages are full of photographs of the diverse banks, photos that are about the size of a playing card or half that. The thirty pages of text are devoted to explaining the collection's history and that of penny-bank collection overall.

Banks often had themes of virtuous thrift, and preached other virtues like kindness to animals. Many of the banks served as a prelude to dealing with real banks. Pictured here are many miniature buildings labeled "BANK" or reproductions of actual banks. Commercial banks would issue such miniatures for advertising, and such a bank might only be opened by a teller's key at the real bank. Some banks have mechanical tellers ready to take your deposit, and the tellers might be whimsical monkeys. Some were on themes of news, as was the _Afghanistan_ bank of around 1885, to commemorate the second Anglo-Afghani War; such a theme shows how little times have changed. There are many examples here of racial stereotyping, typical of attitudes after the Civil War. In one of about 1897, a black youngster gets bucked off a mule, carrying a coin with him. The name of the bank is in stage "darky" dialect, _I Always Did 'Spise a Mule_. There is a bank that commemorates Teddy Roosevelt shooting a bear, when of course the bear he didn't shoot is far more famous. The oldest bank in the collection is a wooden Moravian box from around 1756, and the most valuable might be the _Clown, Harlequin, and Columbine_ of 1906, who dance when you put in your coin; there are less than a dozen others of these in existence.

To look at these banks is to get some idea of what Kax Herberger appreciated about them. They are a folk art, often unrefined but clever. They are colorful and they reflect historic and social trends of their times. Inevitably, the still pictures here, in this handsome and well-organized book, bring a dissatisfaction; one wants to be able to put a coin in and see what the bank did. This only means that even in pictures, the banks are doing just what they were designed for.

this book is fabulous. i always wondered where coins have been and what they see and what they hear. Gregory Alan Hawk gave a great example of the coins point of veiw. this is extrodinary story telling at it's best.

As historically accurate as any story I've yet to read! A provocotive and compeling Drama, I couldn't put the book down.
one of the very few stories I've read that is totally unpredictable.
Gregory Alan Hawk will no doubt be one of the great authors of the 21st Century.

It is with great pleasure that I can recommend this as a very insightful book and at long last we can get the other side of Andy Ganteaume's story. It tells of Mr. Ganteaume's one and only historic Test Cricket match in which he batted and made 112 runs but contrary to what one might think, he was immediatedly dropped from the West Indies Cricket team. I would imagine that he must have carried the burden of frustrated dreams after having achieved such greatness in his first showing at a Test match. He subsequently went on to achieve great commendations thoughout his lifetime in both cricket and football (soccer).

Congratulations, Andy Ganteaume. Well done in a match well played!

This autobiography is Andy Ganteaume's long-awaited reply to Jeffrey Stollmeyer's autobiography, "Everything Under The Sun", published in 1983. Ganteaume played cricket once for the West Indies, scored 112 in his only innings, and was never picked again. This book tells us why.

Every paragraph is permeated with the internal politics of West Indies cricket during the 1940s and 1950s, when the white establishment was desperately clinging on to power in the English speaking Caribbean territories.

However, this book is far from being an "anti-white" rant. Although Ganteaume is very critical of the roles played by dos Santos, Goddard, Gomez and, of course, Stollmeyer, he also gets across the genuine warmth that he felt for colleagues of all races and nationalities including Rupert Tang Choon (a Chinese Trinidadian), Nyron Asgarali (an East-Indian Trinidadian) and Bruce Pairaudeau (a white Guianese).

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in 20th century Caribbean history, and even more strongly to anyone with even a passing interest in West Indian cricket.

I couldn't put the book down, it was filled with excitement and adventure. I think boys AND girls aged 9-12 would enjoy this book. Here is a little bit about it... Playing a game of house tag leaves Tait, Katie and Marcus with a riddle. Mr. Schiff, a greedy pawnbroker, tries to find the treasure along and against the kids. The children find the gold but Mr. Schiff found it too. Tait and Katie with their lives at stake get rescued by Marcus. They all rush out of the underground place. But what happens to Mr. Schiff, Uncle Bernie's evil brother?

I couldn't put the book down, it was filled with excitement and adventure. I think boys AND girls aged 9-12 would enjoy this book. Here is a little bit about it... -Playing a game of house tag leads Tait, Katie and Marcus with a riddle about a treasure. Mr. Schiff a greedy pawnbroker tries to find the treasure also. The children find the gold, but Mr. Schiff found it too. Tait and Katie with their lives at stake get rescued by Marcus. They all rush out of the underground place. But what happens to Mr. Schiff, Uncle Bennie's evil brother? Pam age 10

This book was great for introducing the nickel to young children. There was valuable info on the coin, but the text was not overwhelming for young learners. It definately is geared for kindergarten and first graders!

I love this entire series of books. As a elementary school Media Specialist, I am constantly on the look-out out for excellent resources for students and teachers! This series offers large type, photographs to illustrate the content, information at a lower reading level -- but the information contained is exactly what students need to know! Close-up pictures of the back and front of the coins are especially nice!

These books are ideal for students with an interest in money; reading specialists in schools; and elementary media centers.

The only drawback is that I can only find the series in paperback, and not library or hardcover editions.

Have you ever purchased a recording of your favorite band's greatest hits only to find a newly released song? The studio knew that the release was an instant classic. That is my review of "Not Kosher," an instant classic! This book is authored by David Hendin who has the ability to bring history to life. The book is divided into 16 easy to read chapters which covers the types and methodology of forgers, both past and present. The chapters are copiously illustrated with high quality photographs of the obverse, reverse, and edges of forgeries with comparison to the genuine coin. The book is an amusing read revealing the ruses of many forgers but also includes the necessary technical data. It concludes with an extensive and invaluable bibliography. This book was written by David Hendin who is amongst the greatest living experts of Biblical coins and ancients in general. Like his "Guide to Biblical Coins," "Not Kosher" is a MUST HAVE for all coin collectors (all of whom may be victims of forgers) as well as students of (Biblical)history and archaeology. It is solidly constructed and at a price of $50.00, a genuine bargain.

David Hendin, the leading American authority on Jewish and Biblical coins has created a readable and engrossing book on a vexing topic: fraudulent ancient coins of the Holy Land. Counterfeiting ancient coins is not uncommon, and the excited amateur is vulnerable. ( Also , even the excited expert can be fooled by superbly rendered fakes of rarities such as the highly sought after and expensive Menorah coin of the Maccabees.) David takes you through his own lifetime of adventures with fakes, mistakes and con artists: from the Marketplace of the Old City of Jerusalem to fakes that appear in prominent US and European auctions.
David shines with fascinating personal anecdotes of coin experiences and characters in the Holy Land, as he hunts for authentic treasures. Not Kosher provides the reader with diagnostic techniques to differentiate the authentic from bogus and provides superb photos of fakes that range from crude to the superb. This book is fun read and can save you some pain.

Great book for the serious and the curious for current values on old treasures. Have any old coins hiding in the closet or in a shoe box somewhere? This is a perfect way to perk up a boring afternoon by searching through this well written and easily followed book of coin values. Pull up a chair and dig in! Guaranteed to to make your time fly right by.

i think amazon shipped this gift quickly. my father was pleased to recieve the latest edition to appraise his coins.

After having the local University library copy for a year, I finally have been able to buy a copy.

This book covers the coins from the major parts of the Oriental world- Persia, India, China, etc from 600 BC to 600 AD. It provides an excellent overview, and should be the first book you should refer to if you want to collect old coins (my interest is old Indian coins).

There are specialized books by Dr MM himself on specific areas, for example, the 9 detailed volumes on Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian coins, and on the Coins of South India, for example. However, as a starting point, this is an excellent book. The book also describes many more coins than it pictures, so you can find your way to identifying a coin with its help.

The book's coin values list (compiled in the late 1970s) are a bit outdated, but still provide a reasonable starting point. Most of the values will be higher today (the lower current value is the exception). For example, many of the lead coins of the Chutus of Banavasi sell for much less than the 100 pounds, while the gold coins of the Guptas will fetch much more than 400-500 pounds.

This book presents many historical preambles to the coins, but many of these passages ascribe a degree of certainty to the dates, kingdoms, and sequences of rulers that are not considered accurate today (and may have been a stretch even when the book was written). For example, a much better updated history of the Indo-Scythians can be found in the three volumes by R C Senior.

I thoroughly appreciate this book. This is an influential foundation of current ancient coin books.

Some numismatists spend days scanning auction lists looking for rare coins to complete their collections. Others slave over auction lists looking for even more elusive prey: the standard reference books of numismatic lore which, once they find their way into a scholar's library, usually only leave by theft or death. THIS is one of those treasures. Mitchiner (best known as an Orientalist, and happy he who owns his work on Muslim coinages!), is the grandaddy of scholarly researchers in this field and many dealers do not even own a full set of his works (I know from personal experience -- one asked to use mine for research; I would not allow it out of my sight). Page after page after hundreds of pages of beautifully photographed, crisply described coins make this a true pearl of great price for the serious student of ancient and classical coinages. Many collectors and dealers have told me bluntly that they would sell coins from their own collections to raise the funds to buy a copy of this should one slip onto the market. Count yourself among the blessed if one should find you!