Miniature Numismatic Books

American Numismatic Society - According to the Miniature Book Society, only volumes no larger than three inches in height, width, or thickness may properly be classified as miniature books. The small clay tablets used in ancient Mesopotamia are but one example of the long history of writing and recording information on small objects. The usual starting point in this vein for printing history are the Muku Jo-ko Sutra, which were tiny scrolls of magical Buddhist incantations that were produced using wooden blocks and then enshrined in miniature pagodas as an act of penance by the Empress Shotoku (765-770 CE). In medieval Europe, miniature manuscripts in the form of codex books, usually of a religious nature, were common, but it not until the advent of the printing press in the 15th century that proper miniature books appeared. The Lilly Library at the University of Indiana has a wonderfully informative online exhibition that traces the varied history of miniature books, but our concern here is of course with the numismatic dimensions of this corpus.



The Harry W. Bass Jr. Library at the American Numismatic Society has a dozen or so volumes that qualify as a miniature books. The smallest by far is by the Japanese artisan bookmaker Asao Hoshino. Measuring less than an inch square, Old Coins of the World (1977) has a black leather cover with gilt lettering and edging.

Read the Entire Article