Sellers and descriptions of books about medieval coinage

A LIBRARY OF MEDIEVAL and MODERN EUROPEAN COIN BOOK REVIEWS
14 September 2006

What I want to do with this page is share my opinions on various books I have purchased on-line over the last years describing their usefulness in identifying and referencing the huge variety of coins from medieval and early modern Europe (through roughly 1870). Please take these short reviews as my personal opinion on these titles only. I'm including scans of the covers and a single sample page scan, either the table of contents for non-catalogue books or a page representing the listing of coins with an illustration.

On this page will be descriptions of general books about coins. More specialized works are on seperate pages:
GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND · LOW COUNTRIES and FRANCE· SPAIN · ITALY · GERMANY · EASTERN EUROPE
SCANDINAVIA · IDENTIFICATION AIDS · OTHER WORKS

CLICK ON A COVER IMAGE TO SEE THE SAMPLE PAGE

EUROPEAN CROWNS 1484-1600, and later
John S. Davenport

Type: Catalogue
Coverage: Four volumes covering Europe from 1484 through the early-to-mid 20th Century.
Availability: Out-of-print, some volumes can be difficult to find and are expensive
Price: Varies greatly by volume and edition, the 1484-1600 book is uncommon and much more expensive. The 1601-1700 book is usually available but extremely expensive (often $150+)
Pros: Authoritatively thorough coverage even of very rare or unique pieces. Complete legend transcriptions, often excellent photos. Davenport numbers are still a more familiar ID for many early European crowns than a Krause "KM#", especially in Europe.
Cons: Useful for identification only, no prices in the book. Price guides originally written for the books are now hopelessly out of date. No information whatever on size, thickness, or weight (photos are actual size, however).

The books by John Davenport are to crowns and thalers what the Krause Standard Catalogue is to world coins. There are eight volumes in total covering the entire history of thalers, guldiners, crowns, and other dollar-sized coins from Europe. Four volumes cover Europe outside modern Germany's borders, and four more cover the vast thaler coinages inside it. Additional books cover crowns from beyond Europe, and a single large-sized book handles coins physically larger than the standard 38-44mm "crown" size. Despite their age there have been few attempts to create a revised or updated set of the books, a testament to the remarkable efforts and thoroughness of Mr. Davenport. He travelled extensively in compiling his information in addition to combing through numerous reference works. For strictly medieval coin collectors, and even some modern world coin collectors, the books are probably either overkill or otherwise unnecessary. For thaler and crown collectors, they are indispensible. In addition to their own numbering, Krause Publications has been listing the Davenport number also on many older thalers and crowns in their "Standard Catalogues" (see below).

STANDARD CATALOGUE OF WORLD COINS (1601-present)
Chester Krause and Clifford Mishler, edited by Colin R. Bruce II
Five volumes (1601-1700, 1701-1800, 1801-1900, 1901-2000, 2001-Present), various editions

Type: Catalogue
Coverage: Worldwide 1601-2005
Availability: Everywhere, including Amazon.com and other major booksellers
Price: Varies by volume, $35-$50 on sale, up to $65 cover price. The new 2001-present volume is much less expensive
Pros: Generally very thorough and kept up to date, especially on modern issues. Zillions of mostly high quality photos. Excellent weight, composition, and size information. Logical listing format and prices in as many as five grades. Mintage figures for many issues. Nice maps and concisely written summaries of the history for each major issuing state.
Cons: 1601-1700 edition, despite its size, is missing a large number of minor coins. Some sub-regions are hidden away under other countries while others are given seperate listings. This varies from volume to volume. Some prices noticeably out of line with current sales trends.

Most, if not all, world coin collectors are familiar with the "Krause" Standard Catalogues. In North America especially it is pretty much the only game in town for virtually all countries except Canada, Mexico and of course the USA. While they do not go back far enough in time to cover the period most collectors consider "medieval", the 1601-1700 edition contains many hammered issues that are important carryovers from that period. The later periods are quite complete, and it would be a very obscure coin indeed to not be listed in the 1801-1900 and 1901-2000 books. Personally, I find the seemingly endless listings of bullion issues and other non-circulating commemoratives that bloat the 1901-2000 edition to be a major hindrance to its usability at this point. There is a seperate book by Krause called "Collecting World Coins" that does not have those for the 1901-2000 period, but it cuts out ALL commemoratives whether they circulated or not, which is too much in my opinion. Each volume except the newest is now well over 1,000 pages, the 1901-2000 is still over 2,000 pages!

Sometimes finding a coin from an obscure little region can be difficult because of the inconsistent manner that the book lists former countries and territories. In the 1601-1700 book, for example, coins of Salzburg are found under the heading of "Austria States". In the 1701-1800 book it is its own "country" and is found after Russia. As the books are revised and updated I understand this will be ironed out, but for now it makes finding some places without looking in the index somewhat non-intuitive at times. At one point there were plans for a 1501-1600 Edition, but this project has apparently been cancelled. The books have useful features like a page showing number systems from around the world, a coin-sizing diagram, a date conversion chart from the Islamic Hegira to Christian "A.D." reckoning. Also there are a couple of half-hearted pages showing rulers' monograms and the "Instant Identifier", neither of which have even a fraction of the monograms or designs you'll run across and can't identify by the coin's legend. Lastly, some of the prices in the earlier period catalogues are now out of line with current sales levels. These are updated less frequently than the annual 20th century book.

If it sounds like I'm negative overall on the books, I should state that I am not in the least! I spend many enjoyable hours just poring over all the photos and listings. There are things that could be done better or revised and expanded, but these are still excellent quality publications that no world coin collector should be without.

Die Saurmasche Münzsammlung Hugo von Saurma-Jeltsch Published by Gesellschaft für internationale Geldgeschichte e. V., 1977 reprint of the 1892 original A comprehensive listing of 5933 medieval German, Austrian, Swiss, and Polish minor coins from roughly the beginning of the 1300's through the 1620s. Of perhaps the most value are the 104 plates illustrating over 3000 coins of virtually every type listed. There are few coins larger than a dicken or batzen as this is a catalogue of hammered and minor coins, but many smaller gold varieties are listed. Unfortunately, even reprints of this book are very difficult to find in the USA, let alone the original. I acquired mine on EBay for $60, so keep watch there and at Addall.com's used book section.	Medieval Coins in the Christian J. Thomsen Collection Erslev, Kristian Published by Attic Books Ltd., 2000 A modern revision and reprint of the 1873 original with new plates and information about 4124 medieval coins of western Europe from the important C. J. Thomsen collection. It is the first of a planned three book series, although twelve years later there is no sign of books two and three. The number of coins shown on the mere 22 plates and the quality of the photography is a bit disappointing, but the text descriptions are quite good with full legends and design descriptions. It may be hard to find a new copy, used ones average $70.
Coins of England and the United Kingdom, 39th Edition Published by Spink, 2004 For decades the standard guidebook on British coin from the Celtic Age through to the most modern issues, the former Seaby Catalogue now published by Spink & Son has in the last 20+ years only seriously been challenged once in authority, that by the Coincraft Catalogue (a better book for collectors, in my opinion, but please note where I find it not to be) which apparently stopped being published in 2000. A "Seaby number" is the de facto method of cataloguing and referencing British coins almost everywhere. Heavily illustrated throughout, with mint names, marks, and location maps, moneyers, and other data, this is the key title for English and Welsh medieval coinage. Note that Scottish and Irish coinages are NOT included, there is a seperate book for them that is not updated annually. The huge advantage this title has over the Coincraft book is that it reaches back to the earliest days of coinage in Britain to the Celtic and Roman issues, on through the Anglo-Saxon period, continuing to the most recent bullion issues. The book is not that hard to find as it is published annually, most coin supply stores with book sections sell the newest edition and many of the sellers above have it from time to time. Addall.com lists many of the previous Seaby editions as well. Price is around $40.	Coincraft's Standard Catalogue - English and UK Coins 1066 to Date Richard Lobel, et al. Published by Standard Catalogue Publications, 1998 In many respects, I feel this is a better book for English coin collectors than Spink and its a shame that Coincraft has apparently ceased publishing it. Its major differences from Spink are sections about each denomination's history for each reign, and the overall general numismatic histories of each ruler. More plusses are the collecting guides (although I tend to think Coincraft assumes collectors have deeper pockets than most really do, telling aspiring collectors to try hard to finish sets in conditions where the average price per coin is approaching $250), the fantastic drawings for identifying among similar varieties, and numerous helpful diagrams, tables, and illustrations. Another thing I prefer is that it is primarily organized by denomination rather than reign, so development of types in a specific denomination over time can be easily observed without having to jump all around. Drawbacks? Their silly cataloging numbering system. It may be easier to add new varieties their way but the actual ID is very long, partly alphabetic, and just as meaningless as any other catalogue number in and of itself. There is no "Coincraft-to-Seaby" number conversion anywhere I can find, and few people use it. Also, the rather late and arbitrary starting date of 1066 makes it useless to collectors of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic issues. The used book search engines used.addall.com and ABEBooks.com will find many editions, usually under $30. Each successive edition is markedly better than the year prior, so try to get at least the '98, preferably '99. The 2000 edition, apparently the last, is quite rare and I have not seen it.
Standard Catalogue of the coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands & Isle of Man Richard Lobel et al. Publihed by Standard Catalogue Publications, 1999. An important work for collectors of Scottish and Irish coins, although it has not been revised since its original edition. It continues in the same tradition as the Coincraft England and UK guide with excellent general and numismatic histories of each reign and useful collecting tips for each reign and denomination. It is organized by reign, unlike the England & UK book, which is probably a good thing since the Scottish monarchy's order of rule is less well known to most people than the more familiar British. This book is very heavy, being printed on high quality glossy paper and the photos of the coins are very clear and distinct for the most part. The book is still sold by Coincraft directly, though for how long is anyone's guess, for £34.50 (about US$60 with the cruddy exchange rate at the time of writing).	Medieval Feudal French Coinage John F. Lhotka Published by Sanford J. Durst, 1994 Much of this book is drawn and reprinted from a series of articles appearing in the journal The Numismatist in the mid-1960, with further supplements by the author added to this compilation. Included are several maps, illustrations of lettering forms, tables of rulers, and descriptions of nearly 700 coins issued largely by Feudal France and a few from the surrounding Low Countries. There are also approximately 30 pages of coin and lettering illustrations with facing text descriptions. Unless you're ready to jump right into the deep end of the pool with a much more expensive and comprehensive book (Silver Coins of Medieval France, $90) that delves into all aspects of French coinage, this is among the best recent Feudal works available. This title is available new from Jerry Walker for $20.
Survey of Medieval Iberian Coinages John F. Lhotka, P. K. Anderson Published by Sanford J. Durst, 1989 This inexpensive little paperback by Lhotka packs a ton of information and useful illustrations into its 124 pages. Describing 280 Spanish and 101 Portuguese types from the mid-eleventh through the fifteenth centuries, the book is also filled with concise histories, tables, lists, and an excellent bibliography. Best of all is its price, just $16 new from Jerry Walker or in the low $20s used from Addall, ABEBooks, etc.	The Coinage of Medieval Austria Alfred Szego Published by Sanford J. Durst, 1995 Another great title from Durst, Alfred Szego's Coinage of Medieval Austria draws on long out of print and very hard to find books by Arnold Ritter Luschin (a name that turns up often in medieval coin bibliographies). 246 types of weiner pfennig, halbling, and other contemporary issues are described and illustrated with weights where firmly known. Additionally, 45 coins from surrounding states often confused with medieval Austrian coins are plated and listed at the end. Once again, this title is available new from Jerry Walker for $16.25
Handbuch der Polnischen Numismatik Marian Gumowski Publisher of this German edition unlisted Eclipsed in comprehensiveness by the titanic catalogue compiled by Edmund Kopicki, the Gumowski Handbook of Polish Numismatics lists 2655 coins from the earliest days of the Polish kingdom in 963 AD to the early 20th century. There are excellent sections on metrology and composition as well as a complete numismatic and general history. There are many hundreds of illustrations as well. I have no idea who the latest publisher is as there is nothing but a green paper cover with only a title page inside with the same text as the cover. Addall.com lists several editions, mostly from German sellers, the cheaper 1966 edition ($20-$30) may well be the one shown above. An older 1960 hardcover is listed though it much more expensive. I grabbed mine from EBay for $24.	Corpus Nummorum Hungariae Ladislaus Réthy, Gunther Probst Publisher of this German edition unlisted Another "green book" reprint from the anonymous publisher apparently in Germany, this is an early work on Hungarian numismatics (1890's) describing hundreds of coins and varieties and giving an excellent numismatic history of even the lesser known early kings of the region. There are also over 800 excellent line drawings which are invaluable for identifying those pesky little denars and oboles without legends of any kind. Like the Gumowski Polish catalogue, I have no idea where this was published or by whom. Used.addall.com lists an edition published in Graz, 1953, with cloth covers and a $50+ price tag, but this one is not it as it is paper bound. I have a feeling mine is a direct facsimile of it, however, though it is very poorly bound and has already got numerous spine cracks and loose pages. I bought it on EBay for $18.
Les Anciennes Monnaies des Comtes de Flandre, Ducs de Brabant, Comtes de Hainaut, Comtes de Namur, et Ducs de Luxembourg F. Den Duyts Published by Alfred Szego, 1972 This reprint of the 1847 original is still a worthwhile introduction to the varieties of medieval coinage from the regions in the modern Low Countries of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. It describes 318 coins from the 12th through to the late 16th century and illustrates them on 45 plates of line drawings. I can't find it anywhere except Jerry Walker's VCoins shop for $21.	Deutsche Münz und Geldgeschichte Arthur Suhle Published by Ernst Battenberg Verlag, 1964 Although the main text is written in German, it's not a problem for understanding the captions and legend descriptions of the 279 illustrated coins from the German States and some Swiss Cantons. Also included are 7 maps showing the locations of mints operating during different periods from the ninth through the fourteenth century. This is a nice book to have that covers the period of German coinage older than the Saurma book covers, though it makes no attempt to be a comprehensive catalogue. It will be hard to find in the USA, though its readily available in Germany for around €20 or less ($25).

SPECIALIZED BOOKS ABOUT ASPECTS OF MEDIEVAL COINAGE · Back to top

The Dated European Coinage Prior to 1501 Albert R. Frey, edited by David R. Cervin Published by Sanford J. Durst, 2000, originally published in 1914 A fascinating book that got me started down the path of my collecting focus. Frey's is still the only comprehensive work about coins with dates before 1501, and it remains an essential title for anyone with similar interests. Quite a large number of new varieties and illustrations have been added to this 2000 edition edited by David R. Cervin, a major collector of these coins, making it much more desireable than the original unless acquiring a first edition is important to you. Jerry Walker seems to exclusively sell this title ($47.50) as I could not find it anywhere else and this edition is very rare with a printing of only 500 copies.	Erzherzog Sigismund von Tirol - Die Große Münzreform Karl Moeser, Fritz Dworschak Published by Eduard Stepan, 1936 Part seven of a series about early German and Austrian numismatics, this is something of a numismatic "biography" of Archduke Sigismund of Tirol who, with the vast output of the recently discovered silver mines around Schwaz, totally overhauled the coinage of his realm. Beginning in 1477 with the introduction of goldgulden of Venetian style, and continuing on with silver coinage of ever more impressive size and design through 1486 with the guldiner, the first circulating thaler-sized coin. It is written in German and has 24 plates of portraits, medals, and most importantly coins, including an example of numerous variants of the vierer, kreuzer, sechser, pfundner, halbguldiner, guldiner, and goldguldiner. Sigismund was a high-living fellow who had many nicknames befitting his rich status. He married Eleanor, daughter of James I of Scotland but had no children, and his line of the Habsburg house ended. There are both hardbound and stiff cardbound versions of the book, both are hard to find from booksellers in the USA, and will generally be at least $50.
Numismatisches Wappen-Lexicon Wilhelm Rentzmann Published by Numismatischer Verlag Der Auktion Schenk, 1965 reprint of the 1876 original. This is another fine title by Wilhelm Rentzmann of a similar quality to his Legenden-Lexikon. This deals with shield and heraldric images and their specific usage on coins as an aid to identification. There are a staggering 8,400 shield and emblem drawings indexed first by plate number and then by coin issuing region. The emblems themselves are organized in a logical alphabetical order based on the main symbology in it. Some words are so obscure that you may need to have a German dictionary on hand to decipher exactly what a Schrägbalken in German heraldry translates to when your only clue comes from hundreds of various emblems. This book is more obscure than the Legenden-Lexicon and will be hard to find anywhere except through Used.addall.com or Abebooks.com.

Coins of Medieval Europe Grierson, Philip Published by B. A. Seaby, 1991 The greatest general title for all but the most specialized and advanced collectors of medieval coinage, Coins of Medieval Europe is chock-full of information about the history and development of coinage from the 5th through 15th centuries broken into one chapter for each. It is profusely illustrated with general types, although it is not comprehensive enough to use as your sole guide to identification. The bibliography at the back is a thorough listing of important medieval coinage titles through 1990 and is probably the largest such listing of available short of buying either of Clain-Stefanelli's numismatic bibliographies. Mr. Grierson is a well-known and respected scholar in the field of medieval numismatics and this is by far the best generalized work on the subject available in English. Grierson has been writing since at least the 1950's and is continuing to work on the immense Medieval European Coinage project, a planned 15-volume work of which two are available now, at age 92! The price for Coins of Medieval Europe averages $70-80 and it is also available in German and French editions, but those are much harder to find in the United States.	Traite de Numismatique du Moyen Age Arthur Engel and Raymond Serrure Published by Arnaldo Forni, a 1977 reprint of the 1891-1905 editions Still among the most comprehensive titles on medieval coinage ever published, this three-volume French work on coins from the end of the Roman era through 1500 AD is heavily illustrated with almost 2,000 high quality line drawings and descriptions of thousands more, lists of mints, regnal lists, and other valuable information. Don't let the French dissuade you if you don't speak it, there is plenty of easily decipherable material here, to say nothing of the extensive footnotes and sectional bibliographies. Sadly, like the Saurmasche Münzsammlung, it is very difficult to find complete in the states and rather heavy and expensive, usually at least $150. Elibron.com lists that it sells reprints of the volumes for $20.95 each for I and III, $26.95 for II, but there is a 4-8 week wait. Still, it may be the best way to acquire this most valuable set.
Numismatics Philip Grierson Published by Oxford University Press, 1975 If Grierson's Coins of Medieval Europe is the best book specifically relating to that topic, this is certainly one of the best introductions to general numismatics overall despite its age. Although some of the scientific techniques described have without doubt become much improved and refined in the 30 years since the title was published, virtually all the other information is as sound now as then. Of particular interest are the chapters about the coining process from the assaying of ore and preparing alloys, die creation of the earliest hammered and cast coins, through to the workings of modern presses. Chapters include the development of coinage in the west and Orient, legends on coins, coin hoards, numismatic techniques, medals and jetons, and scholarship. Sporadically available for under $25.	Coinage of the European Continent William Carew Hazlitt Published by Ares Publishers Inc., 1974 combined reprint of the 1893, 1897 originals A very useful work, especially its lists of European mints, dictionary of coin denominations, regnal lists, and brief numismatic histories of coin issuing regions throughout the whole of Europe (excluding Britain). It is lightly illustrated throughout, though largely of post-medieval coinage. Later works , especially Albert Frey's Dictionary below, have drawn some of their content from this informative early work, which in turn draws heavily from the Traite de Numismatique by Engel and Serrure. The reprint is readily available for under $20, the original is much rarer and more expensive.
Nouveau Manuel Complet de Numismatique du Moyen Âge et Moderne Anatole de Barthélemy Published by Elibron, 2000 reprint of the 1852 original Although this edition is not illustrated, this is the spiritual ancestor to the later Traite de Numismatique by Engel and Serrure. Filled with obscure regnal lists, mint name lists in both Latin AND French (unlike Hazlitt), and especially detailed information about Merovignian and Carolignian coins, it is an eclectic mix of useful information in two small paperback volumes. A bonus in the back of Volume 2 is a reprinting of the original publisher's catalogue of books for sale and may be of interest for finding titles and authors on other topics. Elibron.com sells this edition directly for $21.95, although there are an atlas and 12 plates available in the original editions and early reprints that are rare and expensive ($100+).	Coin of the Realm James E. Spaulding Published by Nelson-Hall, 1984 As the title itself says, this is more of an introductory book about numismatics rather than the detailed and in-depth coverage that Grierson's Numismatics gives, and it does cover a lot of the same territory. There are many more illustrations than Grierson, although one thing I do not understand the point of are the often quarter page, sometimes even half page, sections of footnotes describing coins in numismatic shorthand that are mentioned only vaguely in the main text with no illustration. Perhaps it's to help familiarize new readers with good coin record keeping techniques, but it looks a lot like padding in places and some of it will fly totally over the heads of people unfamiliar with esoteric ancient coin terminology. The bibliography and its notes at the end are excellent. Occasionally you can find it new from one of the sellers above. Used copies can be found at Amazon, Addall, ABEbooks, etc. for around $20.
Dictionary of Numismatic Names and Glossary of Numismatic Terms Albert R. Frey and Mark M. Salton Published by Barnes and Noble, 1947 A large, comprehensive numismatic dictionary defining coin denominations and other terminology. Included in the edition shown above is a listing of numismatic terms in English, French, German, Italian, and Swedish(!). It should not be difficult to find the above 1947 edition for $20-$30, the original 1917 edition is harder to acquire and will usually be at least $40+. There is a 1973 London printing and, amazingly, 1986 and 2001 editions printed in India for very reasonable prices (under $20) if you can find them stateside.	Reading Medieval European Coins Ralph S. Walker Published by Attic Books Ltd., 2000 The information is packed so densely into these 44 little pages that it would be worth twice what it costs. The author goes into detail on medieval alphabet forms, abbreviations, monograms, seperator styles, vocabulary and grammar of Latin, Latinized forms of city and ruler names, and other languages found on medieval coins. It uses its illustrations and tables to full effect and has a bibliography updated for the 2000 reprinting by Allen G. Berman. The book turns up on EBay quite often and is available from Jerry Walker for only $10.
Select Numismatic Bibliography Elvira Clain-Stefanelli Published by Stacks, 1965 A huge bibliography of nearly 5000 titles, articles, periodicals, etc. covering almost every conceivable topic relating to coins, economics, and money 's uses in general. However, even with all those books it isn't complete, and of course it leaves out the numerous books published since. Finding it is quite easy, only requiring a search for a used copy on ABEBooks or Addall since it is long out of print. 57 copies were available in a ridiculous range of prices from $12-$119 as I wrote this, there's no need to pay over $25. If 5000 titles aren't enough (and it isn't for me since several books I own predating 1965 aren't listed), Mrs. Clain-Stefanelli has an even more colossal bibliography out there with a staggering 18,000+ listings in the functionally named Numismatic Bibliography, published in 1985. It will cost you dearly, well over $100, and BE VERY CAREFUL if looking for it that you do not pay that much for the earlier Select edition described here. Several oblivious (or unscrupulous) sellers are trying to get that much out of the Select book in conditions no better than the $20 copies.	Numismatisches Legenden-Lexikon Wilhelm Rentzmann Published by Transpress, 1978 reprint of the 1865 original A large listing of coin legend parts, by that I mean it was originally two parts, first for personal and saints' names, then in a seperate part a more or less alphabetical listing of thousands of partial legends that should cover the great majority of coins from the medieval onwards. A third section has well over 3,000 Latinized city names. This is fantastic! It's easily the biggest list you'll find all in one place. If that weren't enough, this reprint edition has the 1878 supplement with even more. It's not a rare book, and it makes a great companion volume to Reading Medieval European Coins. You might have difficulty finding this in the USA, but it's easy to obtain from Germany when searching used.addall.com or Abebooks.com for around €30 ($35).