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V11 2008 INDEX
E-SYLUM ARCHIVE
BOOK REVIEW: 2009 STANDARD CATALOG OF WORLD COINS 2001-DATE
This week I took at look at the 3rd edition of
Krause Publications' 2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins 2001-Date
(3rd edition). The 432-page 8.5"x11" softbound catalog follows the
standard format of the SCWC series - three columns of listings per page,
ordered alphabetically by country. Every (or nearly every) coin type is
illustrated in black and white, and each country section begins with a map
showing the country's location.To gauge the completeness of the catalog, I first checked the United States section. Sure enough, every circulating and commemorative design from 2001 to date is shown, including every state quarter, the Presidential dollars, and bullion pieces through the one ounce platinum coins.
Flipping through the pages gives a quick lesson in world geography and politics. There are many countries that didn't exist when I started collecting world coins as a kid, and many of the countries that existed back then are there no longer. Who knew where Nauru is?
What a challenge it would be to assemble a collection of 21st century coinage using this catalog as a guide! I think one would have to be quite the world traveler or know several people who are. These modern coins are largely the pocket change of today, with little value to incent dealers to stock them. Am I wrong? Is there a dealer or specialty organization that seeks out and distributes these coins to collectors?
I enjoyed flipping through the catalog. Some of my favorite designs were those of Slovakia, which I thought were elegantly simple and beautifully executed.
I also enjoyed Great Britain's circulating commemorative fifty pence coins, which I remember from my time in London last year. My favorite is the Samuel Johnson piece showing text from Johnson's English dictionary: "Fifty" and "Pence". Viewing the catalog I saw a design I never came across in circulation, the Victoria Cross piece, unusual in that it's a coin depicting a medal. Are there any other such designs?
Accompanying the catalog is a DVD containing all 432 pages in a single whopping Adobe .pdf file. Adobe Reader proves fairly quick and easy navigation through the catalog, with predefined bookmarks for every country, arrows to page back and forth, and a search function. For those of us who glaze over reading the fine print, pages and images on the DVD can be enlarged 400%.
All in all, the book and DVD are a very useful package.
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com
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