Coins Books

THIS BOOK IS GREAT FOR TEENAGERS. THE IDEA THAT THE AUTHOR USED REAL LOCATIONS IN CALIFORNIA MADE IT MORE BELIEVEABLE.'
I ENJOYED THE CHARACTERS, AND THE AUTHOR MADE THEM TO BE LIKE PEOPLE I COULD RELATE TO.
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO A FOLLOW-UP ON THIS STORY. IT WAS VERY EXCITING. KUDOS TO RICHARD PALKOVIC FOR WRITING AN EASY STORY FOR TEENAGERS TO FOLLOW. I ENJOYED IT ENTIRELY..

Through the Eye of the Coin must be a first novel. It is a fair attempt, but has quite a few issues regarding its plot and editing/proofreading. The plot seems to happen toward the end and in one short chapter.It was also very shallow and needed to be more developed. There were many spelling and grammatical errors.
On a positive note, the characters were nicely developed, and an interesting bunch of kids.
It would be interesting to see another novel with the same characters. Obviously, this is implied by the author, Richard J.Palkovic.

I think the cover was well designed and is an eye catcher. The story is fantastic and easy to read. The characters discriptions were great. On some parts of the adventure the reader has to use their own imagination to visualize the characters or situation. This book is a fiction adventure for young adults and adults of all ages.

Through the Eye of the Coin is a story that takes people from all different walks of life and brings them together in this imaginative book. The characters are well developed and interesting. You will be instantly taken into their world and brought along on the journey.It would make a great movie. Some of the characters were extremely familiar and remind me of my own family. I would highly recommend this book for young adults. Great read.

I bought this book on the wildly enthusiastic endorsement of it by a medals dealer (who just happens to specialize in one of the entries). While I agree this book is good for the hobby and is not a bad effort; owning it is not a wholly satisfying experience.
First the good stuff: The authors have done a fine job of compiling the list of 100 different medals and tokens representative of a broad spectrum from the mundane to the sublime. They also did a generally good job with the background essays on their selections because they are easy to read and sometimes informative. Cross reference numbers from numbering systems found in various books that have catalogued the items are supplied, as are population estimates and some then current pricing information. The presentation and layout of the book are also outstanding. Actually, the book is a pleasure to look at because the full color reproductions are excellent and the layout is top notch.
In fact, I like almost everything about the book so why only three stars?
This is a three star book because while it is very likable, it really isn't lovable. This is because the editors didn't give us enough of the kind of information that makes a thing the 'Greatest'. Just throwing together a collection of 100 different examples within a genre because a survey of experts tells one to isn't reason enough, in my opinion.
The book misses the kind of background stories that caused the collectors, writers and dealers to love them enough to vote them as '100 Greatest'. For instance, I too love the Higley Coppers found on pps. 14-15. I think they are cute and cuddly but I want to know why Samuel Higley was compelled to mint his own coins, for God's sake. What about the coin shortage at the time; how they were used; was there any competing specie circulating at the time? Or take entry No. 47, 'George H. Lovett's Nod to Coin Collectors' which is a fine entry but no mention is made of the Lovett family's long and illustrious relationship to the medallic arts which is doubtless why the medal was voted on the list.
This book misses the inside information that personalizes what are otherwise just objects. Granted, many of the book's entries are beautiful works of art, but mere beauty is not enough to carry a project such as this. Rest assured that the world teems with beautifully struck medals, aesthetically pleasing medals but this doesn't necessarily make them deserving of greatness.
Also this book is Made in China. One day China may produce high quality art books but today is not that day. As a book collector it is of utmost importance that art books such as this are produced with the best of values from the best of materials and this book, sadly, was not.
Just three stars, my friends, but I do agree with the reviewers below this is a great library book.

This book is a wonderful collection of KEY MEDALS and TOKENSs. With beautiful pictures, this books tells the story of the medal or token featured as the Top 100 by a select group of Numismatic Experts on the subject. Fun to read; fun to see what medals and tokens made the Top 100 list.

I liked the book so much, I even bought a copy for my local library... JAS

Libraries catering to collectors as well as any interested in the history of American medals must have this oversized, lavish survey of rarities in the medal and token world, which explores the U.S.'s first coinage, medals and tokens and includes a foreword by numismatics Russ Rulau and David Alexander. Full page, large-sized color photos of coins and metals provide extraordinary, exceptional detail making this a 'must' reference for any library catering to coin collectors or American history buffs.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Got this to update my husbands old coin book as he buys and sells. He says it's great

This is an excellent guide however not as well organized as R.S. Yeoman's the official Red Book a guide book of United States coins, otherwise the pictures, illustrations and description are superb.

It was everything that I was looking for and received it in a few days. I am very happy with the whole process.

Even if the cool double-sided quarter hadn't been included with the book, the book would still be great. This book shows how to palm a coin, do a Bobo Pass, a French drop, and more! Anyone who wants to be a magician, get attention, or just have fun will love this book. The equipment is easy to obtain and the instructions are easy to follow. IT IS A GREAT BOOK!

This is the best coin-magic book I have ever read. The tricks are ridiculusly simple, but the audience remains mysified, and the text is absolutly hilarious. Within less than a day I was able to do at least three tricks. In fact, when I did them in front of my family, the tricks looked pretty impressive - even if I do say so myself. Next time I'll charge 'em. I'd recommend this book to any one, any age, who likes to astound their friends, family, or even their worst enemy.

This book is fun! fun! fun! I started reading it and almost couldn't stop. Very informative on interesting coin tricks.
If you're sitting around the house bored, read this.

David L. Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" is perhaps reminiscent of the god Janus, facing in two directions at once. Volume One is squarely focused on history, Volume Two on coins.

Taking the History section first, this lengthy (over 600 pages) and physically impressive volume contains biographical essays about every person portrayed on a Roman coin (and even a couple who were not), 284 biographies in all. Although a few are limited to a single paragraph because virtually nothing is known of the person except for their appearance on a coin, most are multiple-page essays covering everything from origins to ultimate fate (and in the case of a good many Roman emperors, their fates were anything but happy). The biographies are arranged primarily on a chronological basis, beginning with Sulla who became Dictator in 82 BC and concluding with Leo, Caesar under Zeno in the eastern Empire in AD 477. The essays are grouped into chapters with such titles as "Collapse of the Republic (Imperatorial Period)" and "Civil War and the Severan-Emesan Dynasty", with each chapter prefaced by a separate essay providing a historical survey of events in that period. In all, more than five centuries of Roman history are covered. Many of the individual biographies include a "Numismatic Note" section specifically addressing information about or gleaned from the coin's bearing that subject's image. Volume One might be considered to be a counterpart of historian Michael Grant's "The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to Rulers of Imperial Rome", long a favorite of mine for its handiness as a source for quickly providing basic information (and more) about each emperor. Vagi's Volume One not only serves as an equally convenient source with additional material, but also provides such information about a broader range of personalities. By itself, I would rank Volume One as a 5-star production.

Volume Two is specifically geared towards numismatics, with over 180 pages devoted to discussions of various aspects of the coins: types, physical characteristics, how and where made, collecting, etc. The bulk of the volume, however, is given over to a catalog of Roman coins, including statements of value based upon grade of condition. It is here where Vagi's book may be considered short of some other Roman coin resources, depending on the needs of the individual reader. Because many of the coins for any given person depicted are grouped as being a generic or common type, with only the more interesting or rare coins given an individual listing, Vagi's numerical classification scheme may not deemed adequate by many serious collectors because it fails to differentiate between similar types which are given separate identification numbers in other sources. Vagi also limits himself to providing price range estimates for only three grades, typically Fine, Very Fine, and Extremely Fine. Within these limitations, however, Vagi's catalog is easy to use and does quickly provide a general guide to a given coin's scarcity and worth.

This is surely not a work aimed at the general reader, and it is in some regard unfortunate that the first volume is not separately available for those concerned with Roman history, but not Roman coins. But for those have a strong interest in both, Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" should be a welcome addition to their bookshelves.

This is a monumental work by numismatist Vagi that must be on the shelf of every collector of ancient Roman Coins. The set comes in two volumes, the first one "History" which is a chronological collection of biographies of individuals represented on or who issued coins from the Social War of 91-88 BCE to Julius who last struck coins in the West until 280 CE and Zeno in the East to 491 CE. The second "Coinage" will be strictly of interest to numismatists and covers Roman coinage of the same period.

Both volumes are excellent and essentially unrivaled although there are other coin references such as the five volume set by Seaby or "The Emperors of Rome and Byzantium" by Sear that are also classics in their own right.

Since so much Roman history is contained in or inferred by its coinage, an historian needs to supplement and correct the classical Roman histories from the likes of Dio Cassius or Appian with evidence from coinage. Although Vagi's work is obviously not intended for the general reader, it is an excellent reference for anyone interested in Roman history.

I cannot understand why anyone would give these volumes less than five stars.

David L. Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" is perhaps reminiscent of the god Janus, facing in two directions at once. Volume One is squarely focused on history, Volume Two on coins.

Taking the History section first, this lengthy (over 600 pages) and physically impressive volume contains biographical essays about every person portrayed on a Roman coin (and even a couple who were not), 284 biographies in all. Although a few are limited to a single paragraph because virtually nothing is known of the person except for their appearance on a coin, most are multiple-page essays covering everything from origins to ultimate fate (and in the case of a good many Roman emperors, their fates were anything but happy). The biographies are arranged primarily on a chronological basis, beginning with Sulla who became Dictator in 82 BC and concluding with Leo, Caesar under Zeno in the eastern Empire in AD 477. The essays are grouped into chapters with such titles as "Collapse of the Republic (Imperatorial Period)" and "Civil War and the Severan-Emesan Dynasty", with each chapter prefaced by a separate essay providing a historical survey of events in that period. In all, more than five centuries of Roman history are covered. Many of the individual biographies include a "Numismatic Note" section specifically addressing information about or gleaned from the coin's bearing that subject's image. Volume One might be considered to be a counterpart of historian Michael Grant's "The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to Rulers of Imperial Rome", long a favorite of mine for its handiness as a source for quickly providing basic information (and more) about each emperor. Vagi's Volume One not only serves as an equally convenient source with additional material, but also provides such information about a broader range of personalities. By itself, I would rank Volume One as a 5-star production.

Volume Two is specifically geared towards numismatics, with over 180 pages devoted to discussions of various aspects of the coins: types, physical characteristics, how and where made, collecting, etc. The bulk of the volume, however, is given over to a catalog of Roman coins, including statements of value based upon grade of condition. It is here where Vagi's book may be considered short of some other Roman coin resources, depending on the needs of the individual reader. Because many of the coins for any given person depicted are grouped as being a generic or common type, with only the more interesting or rare coins given an individual listing, Vagi's numerical classification scheme may not deemed adequate by many serious collectors because it fails to differentiate between similar types which are given separate identification numbers in other sources. Vagi also limits himself to providing price range estimates for only three grades, typically Fine, Very Fine, and Extremely Fine. Within these limitations, however, Vagi's catalog is easy to use and does quickly provide a general guide to a given coin's scarcity and worth.

This is surely not a work aimed at the general reader, and it is in some regard unfortunate that the first volume is not separately available for those concerned with Roman history, but not Roman coins. But for those have a strong interest in both, Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" should be a welcome addition to their bookshelves.

The Coins And Banknotes of Palestine Under the British Mandate, 1927-1947 by

Besides all of the coins and banknotes, also dealt with is the puzzling "1927 Holyland Token." Whether this "token" with a minting of only 500 copies was meant as a limited type of currency or a souvenir of Palestine has never been definitively answered. A middle-section of color photos along with many black-and-white ones--both kinds sharply focused allowing for inspection of details--aid collectors in studying the currency during this brief period in a small area of the Middle East and in making comparisons with specimens at hand. Berlin's five pages of references lead readers to more specialized, detailed material than what is succinctly contained here. Berlin is the author of more than 30 books, most of these references and guides to different subjects; and he holds three patents.

Howard Berlin's book, The Coins and Banknotes of Palestine Under the British Mandate, 1927-1947, is the perfect reference for anyone interested in collecting this series. The Palestine Mandate period provided the prologue to all the current tensions of the Middle East, and the design of the coins and notes was done in such a way as to give all the communities living there an equal and unbiased monetary system. As an "accidental" collector of the coin series, I was particularly impressed to learn of the great rarity of some of the coins and in particular of the higher denomination banknotes. I definitely recommend this book to any serious collector.

I really did love this book even though it is quite lengthy. The steamy love passages were really terrific. The author does overuse several phrases, "an impish grin" and a "terse nod." I swear it nearly drove me NUTS!!! Does anyone agree with me?
This book was really good, though. The story is really compelling, a real "girl's book."

This book was absolutely incredible!! Many times Romance Novels are tacky and just contain a lot of unnecessary sex, but Andrea Kane's novels had a great plot, and this set was no different, in fact, they were much better! Breanna and Anastasia's journey through their life and problems is very well written and though you tend to like Anastasia more in the beginning (that's how it was for me) by the time you're done with the Silver Coin, you truly like both girls equally. Andrea Kane brought life and personality to both characters. This set had a strong storyline of the strength of women--especially Breanna, who had the quiet but iron fist type of will and determination. Each woman found their perfect match in Damen and Royce and the couples were perfectly suited for each other. Altogether, you could not put the book down! Kane maintains her reputation as a magnificent romance writer.

I usually shy away from historical romances because I can't imagine the place and time and the language and way of speaking is usually outdated.
That all changed when my aunt bought me this double book by Andrea Kane.
The characters are interesting and deep. The touch of mystery matched with spell-binding romance kept me turning the pages all night long. I loved this book so much that I read the entire thing in one sitting. I stayed up until four am reading it on a school night.
It's a wonderful novel and I recommend it to anyone.

First let me say THANK YOU to the author/publishers!!! As with the last one, it is a wealth of information necessary to becoming an informed investor/collector of paper money and their books have been instrumental in learning/studying the hobby. The color photos is a definate PLUS along with publishing most (not all of course) of the population totals. This is a MUST HAVE book for the library...and frankly any library. It is truly some of the U.S.A.'s most interesting history. Thanks again!

As for what it could use. First: It mentions nothing about the area of paper currency related to serial # collecting. Their is a large and growing market for Radars, Repeaters, Ladders, Binary's and of course low serial #'s. The kings in these areas like SN # 000000001 or SN # 10000001 are examples that can be found (I know as I found a the latter in a $5 recently) and bring big premiumes over face. Adding this area, discussions, ideas, examples and a rough idea of premium over face would be a great addition.
Second: While I am glad that they added the population totals to most of the bills (small size only), they are not broken down into the serial # runs which can and do have big breaks in the 8 digit serial #. For Example, the 2003 $10 St. Louis STAR note may have had 780,000 printed, but what isn't broken down is that the first run of 128,000 is the key to the entire series. Their are other books that publish this in great detail and this book would benefit greatly to do the same.

All in all, a great book. I recommend it! especially for kids, teens and young adults. Why? Because the hobby is still in sleep mode and although the Fed prints an incalculable amount of money, their are still key notes out there, that you can find with a little knowledge and patience in sifting through curreny that passes through the hands of you, your friends, the bank teller and any other place where currency is passed.

Truly a great hobby and one I'll be teaching my son.

Best of luck fellow notaphilies!!!!

Update 10/01/2008: I wrote the above comment and would now upgarde my review to 5 STARS!!!! Last night I was sorting though a strap of $2 bill and found the 1976 $2 New York Prefix ERROR (H/A, B/A). Yes, I found it at the BofA Branch in Tempe, AZ and took it off their hands for $2. I am upgrading my earlier comment, because it was especially nice to see this bill listed as the pictured example under MisMatched Serial #'s listed in this book on page 384, VF for $400! No kidding found it last night and as such, I love this book and this hobby. Truly amazing that this bill had been sitting in circulation for all these years and noone found it...until last night. AWESOME!

this is a handy book that covers all U.S. paper money. it's quick and easy to use and is in full color.

The book is loaded with high-quality color pictures of US currency. Half-tones use a fine screen, and (at least in my copy) the colors are printed in register on good paper. The only manufacturing drawback is that the pages are glued in, not sewn.

A nice touch is the inclusion of pictures of uncut sheets printed large enough that you can see the pattern of serial numbers.

The book contains about nine pages of numismatic advertisements.

If you like to look at money, you'll enjoy this book.

This is the essential collector's handbook for identifying Roman Imperial coins. This book is both more comprehensive and laid out better than the venerable Sear reference. Large format, logically organized, and chronologically set up, it is THE reference if one is to own a single volume work. In addition to the thousands of coins listed, brief histories of the emperors are explored, as well as the history of the Roman coinage system. Mint marks, explanations of illustrated persona, methods of minting, and inscriptions round out this valuable tool.

This is an extremely good book for the turf it covers. While not exhaustive it covers most types of all denominations of the regular imperial coinage of Rome from Julius Caesar to Anastasius. It does not cover the provincial coins of the Roman empire, nor the Republican or Imperatorial periods, but for the regular gold, silver and base metal coinage of Rome it is hard to beat.

The book is divided into 2 sections, the first 58 pages are introductory material including a general introduction, denominations, how the coins were used, design types, a lexicon of common inscriptions, a dating guide and a grading and value guide. The grading guide is very helpful but the value guide is separated into "value bands" which is just 6 levels of rarity. In other words, unlike the works of David Sear who gave almost every coin in his guides a monetary value rated according to British Pounds ( £ ) and later American Dollars ( $ ) as well in his latest work, each coin is rated to be a VB1, VB2, etc., up to VB6. The higher the value band is, the more rare and expensive the coin is supposed to be.

The 2nd part is a chronological guide that gives a short history of each emperor and his family where applicable and some times other notes, such as on mints. That is followed by a list of normal obverse legends which are abbreviated as ol/1, ol/2, etc. Next the coins are listed in the order of them being gold, silver, then bronze or base metals. Shared portraits and posthumous issues and family members are put at the end of each ruler. All coins are described individually by reverse type with a quick "ol/1, ol/2, etc. included somewhere in the body of the paragraph of the of the reverse description to inform the user which obverse type it is matched with.

The book's advantages are it's price, scope, ease of usage, good illustrations and comprehensiveness. It's drawback is it's numbering system and value band system. You can have theoretically an ol/1, rev/1 of any given emperor. All that said, it is still a great reference and it does cover ground here and there where Sear is silent. In other words, the collector who has had a hard time finding everything using Sear's guide will be pleased to find an affordable guide in this book that fills in some of those gaps for attributing the balance of his or her collection. The two used in tandem should prove very satisfying for the collector of regular Roman imperial coins. I highly recommend this book for the beginning collector and also to the advanced collector who has exhausted David Sear's guide but still finds RIC ( Roman Imperial Coinage ) to expensive at this point in time for his library budget. For the bulk bronze collector or collector of budget Roman antoninianii and denarii, this book could prove to be one of the best books they could possibly buy. Mr. VanMeter should be commended for this work.

Good for beginners and very useful for experienced collectors to consult , I would also add that it is very easy to date coins using this book ,this fact adds even more interest and motive to collect roman coins. Also this handbook also gives tips for coins which were issued in special occasions such as visits to provinces by emperor or victories in campaigns or famous buildings build by emperors etc.

Hard to say anything bad about this--a great work with lots of engaging information about the history of how our coins are made at the various mints. Numerous side-bars add value, although do tend to be a little confusing somethings. Very comprehensive, belongs on every serious numistmatist's bookshelf. Great book, nice binding, great information!

The "History Of The United States Mint and Its Coinage" ia an excellent coffee table book. Good information, easy reading, and beautiful illustrations for an unbeatable price.
Recommended for kids & adults interested in learning about the US history through coinage.
Enjoy!

The book takes you through a tour of US mint & coin history. The information is more broad than deep. It provides lots of interesting information in small chunks. Each writeup is 1-6 pages in length centered around a particular mint, person, coin, or event. I really enjoyed this book.