Numism > Help For the New Ancient Coin Collector
Buy the Book Before the Coin/Book Recommendations for the Beginner
Lucas H:
I've seen the axiom "buy the book before the coin" several places for the new collector. Of course, I had to ignore this advice and buy some coins before buying any books. After my initial enthusiasm over the past few weeks, my wife has put me on a strict budget moving forward. I've decided I should use some of my budget for books at this point.
Thus far, I think my interests are biblically related coins, early Roman Empire, and the Flavians. So far, I've got Hendin's Guide to Biblical Coins, and I've read that. On Hendin's recommendation, I've purchased Sayles' first book, and I'm reading that now. What are some recommendations for my next book purchase? Remember, I'm very new to this, so I'm looking for good overviews and general information as opposed to the more technical books at this point. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Danny S. Jones:
Here are a couple of suggestions that are invaluable to a beginning collector, yet have great value as a reference even to the experienced collector:
Handbook of Roman Imperial Coins by David Van Meter
Reading and Dating Roman Imperial Coins by Zander H. Klawans
Here are couple good suggestions for Biblically related collecting:
A Numismatic Journey Through the Bible by Richard Plant
A Treasury of Jewish Coins by Ya'akov Meshorer
Lucas H:
Thanks for the recommendations. I should add to what I have by adding I won a Forvm ebay auction for A Numismatic Journey Through the Bible last night.
How similar or different is Meshorer's book from Hendin's? With just a couple of books, do those overlap a tremendous amount?
cliff_marsland:
I would buy Van Meter's guide to Roman coinage. It's an excellent deal at $35 or less. It was my first Roman book of note. It''s not nearly as complete as RIC, but it's still an excellent beginning guide to Roman coins.
Danny S. Jones:
--- Quote from: Lucas H on February 21, 2011, 11:03:55 am ---Thanks for the recommendations. I should add to what I have by adding I won a Forvm ebay auction for A Numismatic Journey Through the Bible last night.
How similar or different is Meshorer's book from Hendin's? With just a couple of books, do those overlap a tremendous amount?
--- End quote ---
I would consider both books invaluable to the study of Jewish and Biblical coins. Each focuses on many different topics, while similar issues may get different treatment to bring out facts and nuances that the other book did not treat completely. Hendin, who published the English version Meshorer's book (originally written in Hebrew) doesn't spend too much time rehashing the plethora of knowledge in the original tome. The only setback is the price, but if that is not an issue, I would highly recommend Meshorer as a compendium of knowledge that will sit nicely along side of Hendin's work.
The real question is, however, how in depth will your study be in this area of collecting? If you are like most collectors of ancient coins, the history behind the coinage is more important than the coin itself. If this describes you, I recommend the book.
Regards,
Danny
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