This one is not the great bargain of the Anthony book but some here might like it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...ndition=usedIn 1996 at the New York International coin show there was an exhibition of ancient coins borrowed from private collectors whose collections were better than mine. Accompanying the exhibit was a paperback catalog of 113 coins is only moderately well photographed. All the coins are shown exact size and many are also enlarged making the book 124 pages. The book is missing some very popular coins and some of the choices strike me as odd but I suspect a lot depended on what people were willing to lend for the purpose. Each coin is described fully including provenance and a couple paragraphs explaining why you should care.
The question here is do any of you want to pay $10 or so for a picture book of coins that you may (if you are like me) have 6 of after collection for 50 years. Some of the coins are relatively common and show up in sales every few years. Some I have seen nowhere else. Most are very high grade.
Do I recommend you buy this book? No. It will do you little good in your practical hobby since 80-90% of these coins are $1000+ and the chance of you finding any of them in the next year is not high. My collection (after nearly 50 years) only has about 6 of these coins (depending on how exact you require a couple of them to be). In each case their example is nicer. Big surprise!
The latest coin is a medallion of Tacitus (none of these collectors wanted to admit they had a Constantine?) and more than a few are medallions or gold. On the other hand, it will probably bring as much fun into your life as that next group of 10 uncleaned coins you were planning to buy. Any takers?
Posted 08/10/2012 8:38 pm
