This illustrated handbook presents a concise history of the development of the coinage of the early Arab caliphate in the seventh century, tracing its transition from coins that closely resembled Byzantine issues with imperial images to purely aniconic specimens with inscriptions in Arabic. This so-called "Arab-Byzantine series" sheds light on a pivotal period in the history of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, as formerly Byzantine provinces were slowly Arabicized and Islamicized following the Arab conquests of the 630s and 640s. The historical introduction, which includes descriptions of all the basic types, is followed by a summary catalogue of the recently acquired collection of Arab-Byzantine coins at Dumbarton Oaks.

Little bigger than a fingernail, Celtic Coins are one of the richest sources of Celtic art in the world, and yet few people are even aware that they exist. With their strange otherworldly designs they evoke a forgotten time of magical beasts, amulets, druids and spirit helpers. In this extraordinary pocket volume, incredibly the first of its kind, Celtic coin artist and researcher Simon Lilly unveils the amazing lost world of early European art hidden in museums and private collections across the planet. With hundreds of original drawings by the author. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

More coin hoards have been recorded from Roman Britain than from any other province of the Empire. This comprehensive and lavishly illustrated volume provides a survey of over 3260 hoards of Iron Age and Roman coins found in England and Wales with a detailed analysis and discussion.Theories of hoarding and deposition and examined, national and regional patterns in the landscape settings of coin hoards presented, together with an analysis of those hoards whose findspots were surveyed and of those hoards found in archaeological excavations. It also includes an unprecedented examination of the containers in which coin hoards were buried and the objects found with them. The patterns of hoarding in Britain from the late 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD are discussed. The volume also provides a survey of Britain in the 3rd century AD, as a peak of over 700 hoards are known from the period from AD 253-296. This has been a particular focus of the project which has been a collaborative research project between the University of Leicester and the British Museum funded by the AHRC. The aim has been to understand the reasons behind the burial and non-recovery of these finds. A comprehensive online database (https://finds.org.uk/database) underpins the project, which also undertook a comprehensive GIS analysis of all the hoards and field surveys of a sample of them.

Julia Augusta examines the socio-political impact of coin images of Augustus's wife, Livia, within the broader context of her image in other visual media and reveals the detailed visual language that was developed for the promotion of Livia as the predominant female in the Roman imperial family. The book provides the most comprehensive examination of all extant coins of Livia to date, and provides one of the first studies on the images on Roman coins as gender-infused designs, which created a visual dialogue regarding Livia's power and gender-roles in relation to those of male members of the imperial family. While the appearance of Roman women on coins was not entirely revolutionary, having roughly coincided with the introduction of images of powerful Roman statesmen to coins in the late 40s BCE, the degree to which Livia came to be commemorated on coins in the provinces and in Rome was unprecedented. This volume provides unique insights into the impact of these representations of Livia, both on coins and in other visual media. Julia Augusta: Images of Rome's First Empress on the Coins of the Roman Empire will be of great interest to students of women and imperial imagery in the Roman Empire, as well as the importance of visual representation and Roman imperial ideology.

A large gap exists in the literature of ancient numismatics between general works intended for collectors and highly specialized studies addressed to numismatists. Indeed, there is hardly anything produced by knowledgeable numismatists that is easily accessible to the academic community at large or the interested lay reader. The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage will fill this gap by providing a systematic overview of the major coinages of the classical world. The handbook begins with a general introduction by volume editor William E. Metcalf followed by an article establishing the history and role of scientific analysis in ancient numismatics. The subsequent thirty-two chapters, all written by an international group of distinguished scholars, cover a vast geography and chronology, beginning with the first evidence of coins in Western Asia Minor in the seventh century BCE and continuing up to the transformation of coinage at the end of the Roman Empire. In addition to providing the essential background and current research questions of each of the major coinages, the handbook also includes articles on the application of numismatic evidence to the disciplines of archaeology, economic history, art history, and ancient history. With helpful appendices, a glossary of specialized terms, indices of mints, persons, and general topics, and nearly 900 halftone illustrations, The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage will be an indispensable resource for scholars and students of the classical world, as well as a stimulating reference for collectors and interested lay readers.

This study of the Visigothic kingdom's monetary system in southern Gaul and Hispania from the fifth century through the Muslim invasion of Spain fills a major gap in the scholarship of late antiquity. Examining all aspects of the making of currency, it sets minting in relation to questions of state, monarchical power, administration and apparatus, motives for money production, and economy. In the context of the later Roman Empire and its successor states in the West, the minting and currency of the Visigoths reveal shared patterns as well as originality. The analysis brings both economic life and the needs of the state into sharper focus, with significant implications for the study of an essential element in daily life and government. This study combines an appreciation for the surprising level of sophistication in the Visigothic minting system with an accessible approach to a subject which can seem complex and abstruse.

Fully illustrated with more than 2,000 images, 2020 U.S. Coin Digest, 18th edition, is a comprehensive, fully researched and vetted color guide with values to all United States coins issues featuring in a nearly indestructible hardcover with a lay-flat, easy-to-use format to make your experience even more enjoyable.

This complete reference to U.S. coins includes all circulating and non-circulating coins, from early American Token Coinage to modern commemorative issues of the 21st century. The following features make the U.S. Coin Digest the only reference you need for collecting U.S. coins:  

• 2000 images--nearly all in full color--provide a spectacular visual guide making identification and appreciation of U.S. coins easy and enjoyable.
• Thousands of detailed listings completely and expertly vetted, allowing the consumer to collect with confidence.
• A clear and easy-to-use guide to identifying minting errors with color images by Ken Potter, leading authority on error coins and author of popular Strike It Rich with Pocket Change.
• Coins of Colonial America
• U.S. Territorial Gold coinage
• U.S. Mint Sets, Proof Sets and Prestige Sets with current market values
• Coins of Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Philippines

Bracteates are thin, uni-faced coins that were struck with only one die. A piece of soft-material was placed under the flan, thereby creating a design of the obverse that can be seen as a mirror image on the reverse. Although these coins were very fragile, they dominated the coinage for 150-200 years in large parts of medieval Europe. This book is about the function of bracteates and how they can be linked to the evolution of coinage policies - especially re-coinage. To date almost all books, articles and documents on the subject are written in the German language and outside of Germany interest in collecting bracteates is not great.This book is a revised and updated version of a book previously published in the Swedish language by the Swedish Numismatic Society (SNF), Stockholm, 2012.

Did you know that some societies once used giant rocks for money? Why do some coins have holes in them? Will plastic soon replace paper currency? The history of money closely parallels the history of chemistry, with advances in material science leading to advances in our physical currency. From the earliest examples of money, through the rise of coins, paper, plastic and beyond, with excursions into corrosion and counterfeiting along the way, this book provides a chemist's eye view into the history of the cash in our pockets. Written in an accessible style that will appeal to the layperson and scientist alike, The Chemistry of Money will be sure to both enlighten and entertain. You will never look at money the same way again!

Published to coincide with the 104th anniversary of the most important sea battle of World War I, this comprehensive catalogue lists all orders, decorations and MIDs awarded for the Battle of Jutland, grouped according to the ships, with citations where available, and a description of the ship and her role in the battle. The Battle of Jutland was the only action between the battle fleets of the UK and Germany; 151 British ships, with a total of about 60,000 sailors, took part. Of these, 13 ships were sunk and over 6,000 British sailors were killed. Over 2,000 honours were awarded, including four Victoria Crosses, 47 DSOs, over 200 DSMs and other decorations, and MIDs were awarded for gallantry and distinguished service. Awards from France and Russia are also included. The VCs are well documented but, with regard to most of the other awards, it is difficult or impossible to identify the ship in which the man was serving. This book will therefore be of great interest to medal collectors, when reading the citation for an award, to know the ship referred to, and to find how many awards were made to each ship, in addition to giving a fascinating background to his most iconic of naval battles.

Extensively illustrated, each entry includes details on dates, mints, personalities, weight standard, important variations, and the history and meaning of the legend and design. Detailed information about the late Roman bronze coinage system. Extensive introductory notes in Chapter One discuss the life-cycle of late Roman bronze coins (manufacture, circulation, loss and the effects of burial) as well as their weight, fineness standards and contemporary value. The introductory sections of the subsequent chapters, each of which is dedicated to a short time period, cover the history of that period and the metrology (weight, size and metallic composition), overall pattern, and mint and field marks of the coinage of those years. First detailed examination of the coinage of this period by reverse design. By examining late Roman bronze coinage through the study of reverse types, this book provides different insights from those gained through an examination of the coinage by Mint (as found in The Roman Imperial Coinage series) or by emperor (as found in the Roman Coins and their Values series). Many major numismatic works covering this time period are out of date. This Handbook incorporates the latest numismatic scholarship and includes extensive footnotes and bibliography. The easy to use (indexed and cross-referenced) catalogue entries will be of interest to collectors, cataloguers and researchers. The historical and metrological discussions will appeal to scholars, numismatists and students. A focus on reverse types provides scholars working with hoards or site finds with much greater insight into dates and other aspects of the coinage than simply identifying the emperor.

Studies of seals and sealing practices have traditionally investigated aspects of social, political, economic, and ideological systems in ancient societies throughout the Old World. Previously, scholarship has focused on description and documentation, chronology and dynastic histories, administrative function, iconography, and style. More recent studies have emphasized context, production and use, and increasingly, identity, gender, and the social lives of seals, their users, and the artisans who produced them. Using several methodological and theoretical perspectives, this volume presents up-to-date research on seals that is comparative in scope and focus. The cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach advances our understanding of the significance of an important class of material culture of the ancient world. The volume will serve as an essential resource for scholars, students, and others interested in glyptic studies, seal production and use, and sealing practices in the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Ancient South Asia and the Aegean during the 4th-2nd Millennia BCE.

First published in 2005, this catalogue has become the standard reference work for cast Chinese coins. It covers both the early spade and knife coins that were used from around 600 BC and the square holed "cash" coins that were the coinage of China from the 4th century BC until the end of the Empire in the 20th century. Special attention is given to the red copper coins of Xinjiang. As well as the catalogue, there is copious background information concerning the use and manufacture of these coins, and numerous charts, maps, and tables to help both the expert and the novice to identify their coins. The second edition has been extensively edited, and contains some new coins and sections. Awarded the Lhotka Prize by the Royal Numismatic Society.

This book is intended to guide the beginner and expert through the many kinds of cash - the square-holed coin of China for centuries - produced in China and the many imitations of them produced at various times all over the Far East and along the Silk Road. The first part of the book is a Finding Guide which directs the reader to the appropriate standard work on Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese or Korean coins. In the second half, information not in the standard works is presented, either from other publications and papers, or from the author's own research.

The Ancient Greek Economy: Markets, Households and City-States brings together sixteen essays by leading scholars of the ancient Greek economy specialising in history, economics, archaeology and numismatics. Marshalling a wide array of evidence, these essays investigate and analyse the role of market-exchange in the economy of the ancient Greek world, demonstrating the central importance of markets for production and exchange of goods and services during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Contributors draw on evidence from literary texts and inscriptions, household archaeology, amphora studies and numismatics. Together, the essays provide an original and compelling approach to the issue of explaining economic growth in the ancient Greek world.