FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Ancient Coin Forum => Topic started by: Benjamin Aho on July 06, 2009, 07:54:21 am
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Mine is the "Money Of The Bible" by Kenneth E Bresset.
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Before ancients,I collected US coinage,
My favorite coin book is:
The Complete Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins by Walter Breen.
As the title states,it is complete,covering all issues and types of American coinage
from 1616 to the present,It has so much information its like a web site on paper.
I am in awe,when I think of what it took for Walter Breen to put this book together.
It is out of print now,making me that much more excited to own it.
I love this picture of the master himself.
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"a web site on paper" is called a "book." If the power source goes out, it still works, and if you open it, the text is still there. As great an invention as the "pencil and paper." ;) George Spradling, Bookseller
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I suppose I must admit that my favorite remains AMNG I.
But as a browsing book, the one I got before I ever collected coins, Kraay & Hirmer, Greek Coins. The plates are essentially the same in the German edition by Franke & Hirmer.
Pat L.
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(that picture looks like an old Coca~Cola / Santa Claus ad)
for information i think most of my favorite books are auction catalogs.
however just for browsing i really like Norman Davis' "Greek Coins & Cities" (1967). it is a beautifully illustrated coffee-table book cataloging the ancient coin collection of the Seattle Art Museum, and some amazing coins are in there.
i'd like to get Harlan Berk's book, but that's one of those things i keep hoping someone will give for my birthday (i guess i just need a few more birthdays!).
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My favorite is "A Pictorial Guide to Late Roman and Related Coinage, a Study in 4th, 5th and 6th Century Coinage." Cover Valentinain I through Anastasius to the Ostrogoths, Visigoths and Vandals. It's book for establishing standarized grading for coins, since a 6th century XF might only be seen as a VG/F latee 4th century coin. So, it's design is to educate the differences and is filled with rare coins from the period including very difficult Leo I and Zeno issues that aren't monograms or lions. All professionally shot photo and showing what a G-XF coin should look like for each 50 year period. Neat book, limited distribution.
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My wife and I are book lovers, and our library of books spans in the thousands. Most of the books I purchase are of a historical nature, since this is my forte. Selecting one book as my favorite would, for me, be like having to choose one of my children over the rest that I love the most - impossible. Nonetheless, here are some suggested reads:
One of the most informative books for the new collector of Roman imperial coins is Klawans' "Roman Coins - Reading and Dating Roman Imperial Coins."
A good overview of ancient coinage can be found in Howgego's "Ancient History from Coins" (1995)
If you are a collector of Judean coinage, Hendin's "Guide to Biblical Coins - 4th ed" is not only a reference guide, but an interesting read. This book is now out of print, but can still be found in some coin stores and online. (No, you can't have my copy.)
Also, I've posted a list of numismatic books in PDF format on the following thread. Depending on the interest, I may post them online for download. Click here to see the books: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=54799.0 (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=54799.0)
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Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria by Frank L. Holt.
It is stunningly insightful analysis of Diodotid coinage that solved the problem of what appeared to be intermixed old and young heads of Diodotus and seemingly incoherently mixed legends in the names of Antiochos and Diodotos. The solution to the problem had eluded a few generations of numismatists. The solution proffered by Holt: parallel issues from two discrete mints spanning two Diodotid generations with a few posthumous issues thrown in for good measure.
Holt's analysis unraveled it all in the most elegant manner and being a historian he put all of this in its historical context. It is an absolute masterpiece of numismatic analysis and historical integration, written it the most lucid and flowing English that it still blows me away, even though I've read it at least four times.