Wholesale Source For Numismatic Literature?

I am not a book collector. I buy numismatic books for their information. A poor condition book is just as interesting to read.

As an example, I have most copies of the British Numismatic Journal from 1900 to 1910, and they are to me at least, fascinating to read, with lots of info. that you simply do not read about today. Sometimes there are coins for sale: can you imagine a Roman silver denarius, or perhaps a hammered silver penny of Edward 1 with a price of one Shilling?

These types of books were purchased in numismatic postal auctions for very little money.

I also have an extensive range of 'The Numismatist' which is the Journal of the American Numismatic Association, over the last 50 years of so. This series of Journals were also bought out of a numismatic postal auction also for not much money.

delaner: I have been bidding in a local (Australian) postal coin auction for about 15 years now. They have a new postal catalogue every 2 or 3 months, with an average of 5 to 6 thousand lots. Being Australian it is naturally heavily biased into the Oz. market. The current catalogue has about 1800 Oz. lots, 200 Ancient lots, 400 British lots, 2300 World lots, and about 1000 banknote lots. There were no books in this auction.

Their website is https://www.ausnumis.com.au

Nearly 100 books in my collection have come from this source. Even so, I do not regard myself as a book collector. Every book in my 'collection' has been thouroughly read or referenced for the information therein.

My main numismatic interests are from Ancients to the mid 20th Century. I have only a few Australian coins. My book collection reflects this.

I have successfully bid in the past in outside of Australia postal auctions, but only those run by those that have the best reputation. The only way I have ever paid for successful bids is by Money Order or International Money Order, and I have always paid in cash for those at my local Post office.

I have never bid on large value lots on ebay. Even then I have paid by Money Order. They are more secure than plastic money, and much cheaper than bank Drafts, at least in Oz.

My other source for additions to my collection are major coin shows.

I should really be a member of the Australian Numismatic Society (a bit like the ANA), but family always came first, especially when my kids were younger. I know a lot of the regular attendees at the ANS meetings, and have occasionally been asked to join. I guess that sort of thing happens when you have been into numismatics for over 40 years.

I will retire soon. I am thinking of doing some research and writing a book myself on numismatics. The question of publication is quite another thing. I would not be satisfied unless the diligence of the research was of a high enough standard.

One of the areas I am looking at is the availability of the various metals that have been used for coinage, right from ancient times to the present day, and how that has affected minting policy and the economy in the time the coins were issued, and how that has gone on to affect military and political policy.

As an example, gold was found in Northern Greece in the time before Alexander the Great, and that was a main driver as to why he went on the rampage through Southern Asia as he did. I have travelled over much of the area that Alexander the Great has been.

Another time would be to explain how the scarcity of metals available for minting may have slowed economic development in the Dark ages, or perhaps the much greater availability of gold and silver, and how that affected the economic development of the Spanish Empire.

I am going to have to do some serious digging to get all of the information I need to support my arguments. Illustration with coins would be much easier.

delaner: You are certainly right. All metals have other uses than just monetary. That obviously affects the absolute and relative values of metals. The varying cost of extraction and refinement is also a big factor regarding values. The discovery by the Ancients on a method to refine gold from electrum certainly made the use of coinage less of a problem. I have a gold stater of Philip 11 of Macedon.

I am not sure at this stage where my research will take me. The work I produce may end up being a history of the uses of metals, rather than just their history in relation to numismatics. I am for instance interested in the history of the refinement of metals.

One of the things that intrigues me is the introduction of the means of the large scale production of steel made possible by the Bessemer Furnace , first used in 1848. That spurred a rapid development in weaponry and also kept the Industrial revolution going, or the the electrolytic refinement of aluminium. Nothing to do with numismatics. Would be a pity to some at least on this Forum.