Coins Books

This is the first guide on mechanical banks since Davidson's Penny Lane book of 1988. Heavily illustrated with wonderful color pictures it is in paperback form rather than hard bound, but the smaller size (9.25" x 6") makes it easy to carry around with you to shows, flea markets, etc. Has a tiered grading system with relative prices and covers a number of banks not present in previous standards books in this field. Highly recommended.

This book is largely devoted to an analysis of Old Rus' coins from the 9th to the 11th centuries. The first three chapters deal with the monetary systems of Western Europe, the Khazars, and the Volga Bulgars. The next two chapters deal with the Rus monetary systems of Kiev and Novgorod, with an appendix on Varangian runes found on Muslim coins. Then there are chapters on the iconography and epigraphy of Old Rus' coins, and classification of Old Rus' coins. Finally, there are illustrative tables, with enhanced pictures of Old Rus' coins, identifying each coin.

This book is extremely informative on its subject, and is comprehensive in its reach. Unfortunately, it is written in a very turgid, academic style. So, it makes an outstanding resource, but not a good read.

This book is the first attempt to capture (in English) the nearly 1,300 years of papal coinage into a single volume. While such an undertaking cannot hope to be totally comprehensive (even multi-volume works find this task daunting), it has become, in the years since its publication, the #1 reference for papal coins. Listed all major types from the issues of Gregory III (731-741) to John Paul II (1978, up to about 1990), with special sections discussing monograms, denominations, heraldry, etc. All the major dealers use his numbering system.

The only problems I can see is that there are numerous typographical errors which hopefully will be corrected if Berman comes out with a second edition, which to my mind at least, is long overdue!!!

Pilgrims badges were big business in the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. As it has always been people's tendency to adopt a "holier than thou" attitude, and the purchase of a badge or pin that would show that you had visited some shrine or other fulfills that need perfectly. This book is an excellent reference on these badges, with many plates and detailed descriptions.

Buy this book...it can't hurt you to know something about these.

A wonderful guide to a gaming art forgotten by the young with the advent of the Computer game packages. The illustrations are remarkable and insitefull. I am waiting for the rest of the searies to be published. The Pinball wiz in San Diego.

This is the book that is responsible (for good or ill!) for my ancient coin collecting focus, i.e. coins that might have been seen by St. Paul on his apostolic-missionary travels. The "players" in this historical overview are Roman emperors for the most part, those being the figures of history for which we have the best coins. Hence the era covered by these Australian authors is Augustus to Nero.

I was suprised recently to discover that this book is not common. I got my copy from Jerry Walker Books. Then having really abused my copy I thought it would be nice to have a new one, only to find that Jerry was out and the only copy I could find was this one here on Amazon (at twice what I paid for mine)!

I have read this book from A to Zed and backwards to forwards, marked it up shamefully, and generally had a field day with it. It is really fascinating. As a result of beginning to collect "St. Paul coins", I have managed to amass over 20 ancient Roman provincial coins, a substantial investment to say the least. All this not too far from maniacalness!

Since this is a book that appeals to ancient coin collectors, others would not be interested in it. For those who ARE ancient coin collectors, and more specifically, Roman coins, beware! This could upset your whole collecting focus, as it did mine, which eventuated in me divesting myself of many "non-St. Paul" romans.

Highly recommended for its unique slant on history, Rome, Roman provinces, the Roman emperors and of course the life of St. Paul and the Acts of the Apostles book in the New Testament.

This is a little book with a lot of information. The author begins by explaining his scope (about 500AD to 1500AD Europe including Crusader, Runic and Russian coins). The book is well illustrated with line drawings and examples of medieval text styles. He explains many of the how and whys of Abbreviations, Monograms, Word Separators, Tables of the Names of Persons and Places, and he includes some very basic information on Medieval Numismatic Latin. This book combined with a medieval-latin dictionary would prove extremely useful for interpreting medieval coin inscriptions. This would also be very valuable for Historic re-creationists and re-enactors of the Medieval period. There is a lot of bang for the book.

The collector's book has holes the size of the coins cut out, with labels under every hole with the specific year, mint, and sometimes other information about the coin for the hole. I have found it very hard to keep a collection of circulating coins without whitman portfolios.

I took off a star because of two flaws in its design. Most importantly, the backing is very thin, and clearly shows every coin you've pressed into the other side. Also, the coins stay in place by pressing the surrounding posterboard outwards. That means that the force used to put the coin into the book is far more than the force holding it in, and it cane sometimes be a struggle to get a coin to fit.

The collector's book has holes the size of the coins cut out, with labels under every hole with the specific year, mint, and sometimes other information about the coin for the hole. I have found it very hard to keep a collection of circulating coins without whitman portfolios.

I took off a star because of two flaws in its design. Most importantly, the backing is very thin, and clearly shows every coin you've pressed into the other side. Also, the coins stay in place by pressing the surrounding posterboard outwards. That means that the force used to put the coin into the book is far more than the force holding it in, and it cane sometimes be a struggle to get a coin to fit.

Rosetta and the Gold Coins is an unusually good read for 6 to 9 year olds. With elements of both the fairy tale and the fable, it deals with ethical issues relevant to the new millenium, e. g., lying, telling whole truths,cover-ups, and accountability in easy read, traditional form. The plot moves along nicely through nine chapters, giving the new reader breaks. I'd love to lead a Junior Great Books session with 8 year olds on this book.