Books, Roman Emperor Profiles Grant vs Vagi

[Jeffrey D1]

Hello,

My question is about the book,  "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" by David Vagi

compared to this book

"The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome, 31 B.C. - A.D. 476"

I have the Grant book and it is really quite an excellent guide to the Roman Emperors.  There are many references to coins and their instructions.  Each Emperor gets a biographical treatment in chronological order - and these range from 1-2 pages to 20+ pages depending on the personage (e.g. Didius J vs Augustus)

My understanding is the Vagi book is similarly structured.

My question is this -  given that I like coins and I like biographies of Emperors -  is the Vagi book additive or is it too similar to Grant?

Views appreciated.

[Pekka K]

Grant is similar to Vagi vol. I, but Vagi Vol II is about Coinage.

Pekka K

[SC]

In my opinion Vagi will not add more regarding the bios of Emperors.  It is great for its long introduction to Roman coinage and the bios are excellent summaries.

But Grant was a scholar whose entire life was dedicated to the study of the Roman Empire. There are many better and larger bios of individual Emperors but his compilation is likely the best.

SC

[Jeffrey D1]

Thanks to both for the reply.  I'll try Vagi just for the coinage content. 

Some more background

My book situation is this (I'm new to the hobby)

I have several RIC volumes (not sure I want to keep buying as their pricey).  I also have the Handbook of Roman Imperial Coins (Van Meter) -  I really like the Van Meter book.  Very readable and I used it to quickly identify two coins - which was fun.

I want to continue to learn about the coinage. I have a large library on books about Rome and within the genre my primary interest is Late Antiquity.

I'm looking for books that are readable.  I found Van Meter to be better for me personally vs RIC.  So trying to get deeper into the coins in a readable fashion.

I guess I'm also wondering if I'll gain anything generally by more "general" reference works at this point

[Tracy Aiello]

I don’t think that you can go wrong with David Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values. There are five volumes so you need only purchase the volume which covers your collecting interests. Each volume contains about 70 pages of interesting and important general introductory material which, I believe, is the same for each volume.

Tracy

[Jeffrey D1]

Thanks Tracy.  I ordered the Sear book I'm most interested in.