Posted 01/12/2007 01:46 am
I've found the Sear books to be good enough for my needs for most series. You could always buy the huge, multi-volume standard reference works for each series (like RIC for Roman), but that's probably overkill for your needs at present. For general reading on the various series, the series of books by Wayne G. Sayles (put out by Krause) are good, but they're nothing like a comprehensive listing or catalogue.
Roman: As a general reference, you're probably better off looking for the older, all-in-one volume rather than the latest multivolume edition (which isn't even complete yet).
It lists most of the common and noteworthy types. The newer catalogue has a more complete listing, but even this is not exhaustive.
Roman Provincial: There aren't any comprehensive listings of these coins, as that would require several "Krause-sized" volumes. The Sear book for this period is titled "Greek Imperial Coins".
Greek: Two volumes of Sear for this one: Europe and Asia-Africa. Under "Greek" they also file some "Greek-style" coins, like Celtic and Phoenician. The volumes cut out at the accession of Augustus as first Roman emperor; "Greek coinages" issued after this are listed in the "Greek Imperial" Sear catalogue.
Byzantine: I have an older edition of the Sear Byzantine book; there's apparently a newer one out.
Non-Roman, Non-Greek ancients: there's not too much information on these at all; each series would have a specialist reference work, which may or may not be in English. For a broad overview on what's out there, the Wayne G. Sayles volume "Non-Classical Coinage" (Volume VI in his series) is a book I'd recommend.
I have no idea how pricey these books are in the States; I know they're wallet-killers down here; each volume typically costs AU$100 to AU$200 (the same as a Krause world coins volume).
Roman: As a general reference, you're probably better off looking for the older, all-in-one volume rather than the latest multivolume edition (which isn't even complete yet).
It lists most of the common and noteworthy types. The newer catalogue has a more complete listing, but even this is not exhaustive.
Roman Provincial: There aren't any comprehensive listings of these coins, as that would require several "Krause-sized" volumes. The Sear book for this period is titled "Greek Imperial Coins".
Greek: Two volumes of Sear for this one: Europe and Asia-Africa. Under "Greek" they also file some "Greek-style" coins, like Celtic and Phoenician. The volumes cut out at the accession of Augustus as first Roman emperor; "Greek coinages" issued after this are listed in the "Greek Imperial" Sear catalogue.
Byzantine: I have an older edition of the Sear Byzantine book; there's apparently a newer one out.
Non-Roman, Non-Greek ancients: there's not too much information on these at all; each series would have a specialist reference work, which may or may not be in English. For a broad overview on what's out there, the Wayne G. Sayles volume "Non-Classical Coinage" (Volume VI in his series) is a book I'd recommend.
I have no idea how pricey these books are in the States; I know they're wallet-killers down here; each volume typically costs AU$100 to AU$200 (the same as a Krause world coins volume).
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
