Coins Books

This is a focused book for the initiated. But a very complete compillation. Focuses on values.

Sometimes, you find yourself at a loss as to what book to read next. You like contemporary fantasy and you've read T. Brooks and others. It is time to try J. Belnap's The Coin's Edge. David Freeman is the "hero" of this present-day fantasy. He has noticed a pattern in the ups and downs of his life. David realizes that forces beyond his control have influenced his life. He is a player in the contest between good and evil. The Coin's Edge will appeal to many readers. With CE, Belnap has wrapped up bits of dark fantasy, SF, suspense and conspiracy all in one book. I liked the Coin's Edge, give it a try.

This is a book for those with a deeper interest in history and numismatics, not one for those with a general interest in Christianity.

From the preface on the cover - this is an accurate description.

"Throughout history coins have been used for celebration, proclamation and propaganda. It is hardly surprising that such a potent force as Christianity has featured prominently on coinage the world over; indeed, coins have always played a significant role in all aspects of the Christian faith.
Kenneth Jacob traces the connection between coins and Christianity back to pre-Christian Greek and Roman issues depicting deities. The wealth of allusions to coins in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, is examined for evidence of specific issues and denominations: can we identify which coins were the Tribute Penny or Judas Iscariot's Thirty pieces of silver'? The growing use of Christian symbolism on coinage- the Chi-Rho monogram, the Hand of Providence - is shown to follow closely the history of Christianity. Coins of Constantine, the Crusaders and the English bishops all contribute to a subject fascinating for collectors and historians alike. Illustrations of more than 80 coins show the variety of ways in which Christianity and its iconography have been depicted on coins.
Kenneth Jacob is a fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society and past-President of the Cambridgeshire Numismatic Society."

Panama was a very rebellious part of Colombia from the 1820s until 1903. It tried to separate over eighty times. The United States actually signed a treaty to guarantee Colombia's control over Panama. It cooled nascent independence desires and kept European interests from establishing themselves in Panama. The U. S. sent warships to Panama several times to help quell rebellions against Colombia. In 1903 Panama separated from Colombia with a lot of help from the United States. The new republic issued national currency. It was beautiful and different. There was a two and a half cent piece, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cent coins. There was also the Balboa coin, equivalent to a U.S. dollar. They are beautiful collectables, many solid silver, pieces of history. During the 20th century, U.S. currency was Panama's accepted legal tender. Panamaian coins existed as well but attempts to have paper currencey failed. This well written book covers all of this and a lot more. Good for collectors, those interested in Panama and for the intellectually curious.

This book is a reprint an book not quite finished in 1926 because the author died. It is written in the classic old text-book style, including the binidng. It does not contain many photos which are in grey. Photos are not of the best quality, but the author can be forgiven given for the limitations of 1920's photography.

It includes information about forgeries, varieties, mint marks, some mint information and history of the indies upto 1926. Rarer issues are highlighted with some detail.

Recommended ...

This book is for extreme beginners only. If you know what Krause Mishler and Pridmore mean, do not buy this book, particularly if you own the KM 19th and 20th century volumes. If, however, you have some old Indian coins from your grandma or uncle, then this book may be of help if you want to start a collection.

Pros:
- Color life-size pictures of the coins
- Mentions Mints and Years

Cons
- Grades coins on Good/Very Good/Uncirculated without defining them
- Prices provided only for the major varieties not distinguished by mint or year
- Covers only British India and Republic India coins from 1835-1990s

The book covers only British India and Republic coins from about 1835 till the 1990s. It has pictures of the coins in color, which is a nice touch, but it lists only the main variants, and only one set of prices, without
distinguishing between mints or years.

Unfortunately, it uses a Good/Very Good/Uncirculated grading (without really defining what G/VG mean), which is not standard. The prices seem a bit low (from a US perspective), and probably can be obtained only in India. Unfortunately, it lists some coins as "Rare" and does not bother to list prices.

The book also has letters of commendation from prominent people in the preface. While that does not affect my impression of the book, tragically it also states that mint errors and lakhi errors are not collectable coins and should be ignored! While this may be true of really recent coins (due to unscrupulous mint employees), this is certainly not true for all coins from all times.

I was disappointed that it covers none of the princely states, but if I knew that beforehand (as you know now), my disappointment would have been less.

In summary, if you are barely starting out, or you have a strong need for color pictures, then buy this book. But soon (i.e. the next day- the book will take you less than an hour to read) you will have to buy a more comprehensive book. As usual, collecting all the coins listed will be a longer affair.

(On the other hand, their book on Princely States coins (only the first part has been released as of now- now that is a good book.)

This book is great for young children. Nineteen pages aren't sufficient for adults but should work fine for adolescents. The copy coins look good but would only fool the most uninformed collector so you don't have to worry about them being misused.

Product was purchased used and the description was correct...too bad it couldn't be shipped to the Middle East

Great for its price , and first choise for beginner. However its not complete as it need to be for the more advance collector (e.g. it dosen't show the ISRAELI commemorative coins etc).

If your coin collecting started from a handful of change brought back from some exotic place by an uncle and has moved only a little ahead ever since, this is your book. This catalogue includes only "real" coins i.e. those which were available at face value not at issue price when issued and which were or still are used in actual transactions.
The contents are neatly divided by countries and the coins are arranged according to their denominations, most of coins are represented in black and white photographs.
However, you should bear in mind that current circulating coins (and conseqently this catalogue) are just a part of a vast numismatic empire. Collecting is just like eating - you may be happy with the starters and live on salads and pasta for ever but at some point you may want to move ahead to more serious dishes - in this case commemorative coins and issues before 1901.
This is a perfect book for a coin collecting beginner but if you consider yourself a serious coin collector you should avoid starters and move on the real stuff. Krause will be more than happy to help you!