Classical Numismatics Discussion
  Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Expert Authentication - Accurate Descriptions - Reasonable Prices - Coins From Under $10 To Museum Quality Rarities Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Support Our Efforts To Serve The Classical Numismatics Community - Shop At Forum Ancient Coins

New & Reduced


Author Topic: "Early World Coins & Early Weight Standards"  (Read 9390 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline leetoone

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 630
  • Yorkshire, England
    • Lee Toone
"Early World Coins & Early Weight Standards"
« on: December 04, 2009, 04:19:45 am »
Rob Tye has just published a new book that may be of interest to Forum members:

"Early World Coins & Early Weight Standards". This single volume introduction to early world coins includes a catalogue of over 1,200 common or influential ancient and medieval coin types, from Europe, Persia, India and China.

Further information can be found by following the link:

http://www.earlyworldcoins.com/bookshop/ewc-and-ews

Offline dougsmit

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 2126
    • Ancient Greek & Roman Coins
Re: "Early World Coins & Early Weight Standards"
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2009, 06:32:21 pm »
Does anyone know of a US source for this?

Offline dougsmit

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 2126
    • Ancient Greek & Roman Coins
Re: "Early World Coins & Early Weight Standards"
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2010, 04:50:19 pm »
"Early World Coins & Early Weight Standards" by Robert Tye, York, 2009.

My copy of this book arrived and I have spent the last few days enjoying it.  I recommend it highly to anyone who collects Early World Coins and anyone who is willing to admit that there are coins worth studying that are neither Greek nor Roman.

I am a coin photographer.  The book has one excellent photograph on the cover and not a single one inside.  The author states that for many coins covered by the book that line drawings are better.  He's right!  The book contains some reasonable quality line drawings of ancient coins salvaged from old books and very high quality drawings of medieval Asian coins drawn by the author.  Considering the state of striking of many of these issues, line drawings are much more clear than any photo.  The coins are organized and numbered in a catalog with rather little information on the entries but includes all the most common coins one is likely to see from the periods covered.  The periods covered vary as to date since the term 'Early' as opposed to 'Modern' did not change over simultaneously around the world.  The catalog seems a bit skimpy at just 59 pages but is extremely useful when it comes to identifying common coins.

At the end of the catalog, the book changes gears from good to great as the format changes to text discussions of coin types that defined the periods in which they were issued.  Emphasis is placed on common coins that supported commerce in their regions rather than rarities that seem to attract the attention of many authors.  The catalog lists 1248 coin types (I would have omitted the ancients altogether and allowed more space to the later material which is obviously the author's area of expertise).  Out of these, a collector might expect to find at least a thousand without looking too hard and those coins would form a great collection.  The text section discusses all the who, where, when and why aspects of the major coinage groups and compensates completely for any brevity you might notice in the catalog section. 

The book ends with a discussion of 'Early Weight Standards'  (note the title of the book) which links the various coin issuing authorities with each other and world economy.  If you ever wondered why so many coins seem to weigh 3-4g. this section will be fascinating.  Anyone who buys the book and fails to read the last part really missed out on the meat. 

Robert Tye shows a great ability to make clear subjects that could be considered confusing whether he is using his well crafted words or his exceptional line drawings.  The book is certainly one to be read cover to cover but will also serve as a crutch in identifying many coins that are more than a little confusing, especially to Western collectors. 

Buy it.  If you are a dealer in coins or coin books, sell it (if you can).   This book deserves wide distribution. 

Offline apgrassman

  • Consul
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
Re: "Early World Coins & Early Weight Standards"
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2010, 11:39:48 am »
Hi All

Just to add, although Doug has pretty much covered this book, it is an excellent read and if you do collect on a budget then this book will certainly open up a few more avenues to you.

Regards

apgrassman

 

All coins are guaranteed for eternity