A Catalog of Modern World Coins [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION An expansion of interest in coin collecting has created a need for a low-priced, convenient reference book of modern world coins. Several years of preparatory work have gone into this book to make it as complete and understandable as possible. The most modern publishing techniques have been employed to produce a book of high quality and low cost which purchasers of Whitman publications have come to expect. Its format is identical with other popular Whitman numismatic books such as THE HANDBOOK OF UNITED STATES COINS, A GUIDE BOOK OF UNITED STATES COINS, and READING AND DATING ROMAN IMPERIAL COINS, a uniformity which makes for an attractive bookshelf. Although this book has been designed with the American collector in mind, it is hoped that it will prove a world coin book in readership as well as content. Just a word to the beginner. Perhaps you are consulting this book upon the suggestion of a friend. You may recently have happened upon a small hoard of foreign coins in an attic hideaway. Someone in your family may have returned from overseas service in World War I or II or from a peacetime tour in foreign lands with a pocketful of strange coins. Confronted with this assortment of unfamiliar coins you naturally wonder about the country of their origin and their worth. If there are no gold pieces included, it is doubtful if the coins so discovered are worth enough premium to repay you for the time and effort to sell them. Coin values are generally determined by the condition of the coins, and rarity. With this realization, why not "look them up" elsewhere in this book. Look upon this fact as a sort of challenge, or opportunity to learn about the countries of their origin, the denominations, relative monetary values and other facts of history, government, rulers and geography which they represent. The chances are that you will consider the possibility of starting your own personal coin collection. If you do, you can be assured of a rewarding experience, which may last your lifetime. Perhaps you are a collector who may have reached a point of waning interest in your present specialty, such as some United States coin series. Bring out those miscellaneous foreign pieces you have put aside from time to time and start a new collection consisting of one or more foreign countries. There are literally thousands of coins of other nations obtainable at little cost— and the whole wide world to choose from. Possibly one or more of the following series will be of interest to the reader of this book: Gold Coins of the World. Crowns (dollar size) coins of the World. Type coins of the World. Commemorative coins of the World. One coin of each country of the World. All types of coins of one country (or of several countries). Other series may be devised by the collector to suit his own desire. In any event we hope this volume will make your coin collecting experience more enjoyable. R. S. Yeoman