In the current C4 Newsletter, there is a survey being conducted on colonial numismatic literature. It was inspired by the NBS survey in The Asylum. I hope we get many participants and have as much fun as the NBS guys did.

See my survey response below. Two of the most important colonial references are in the public domain and are now available free as PDF downloads.

For me the 5 most important colonial books are:

1. The Early Coins of America, by Sylvester S. Crosby, 1875
[available as a 1974/1983 Quarterman Publications reprint]
[also now available as a free 25 Mb download at http://www..archive.org/details/earlycoinsofamer00cros]

2. American Colonial History Illustrated by Contemporary Medals, by C. Wyllys Betts, 1894
[available as a 1972 Quarterman Publications reprint]
[also now available as a free 12.6 Mb download at Google books

3. In Yankee Doodle's Pocket, by William U. Nipper, 2008, Bowmanstone Press

4. The Early Paper Money of America, by Eric P. Newman, 5th Edition, 2008, Krause Publications

5. Money of the American Colonies and Confederation, by Philip L. Mossman, 1993, The American Numismatic Society

The most important catalog set is the Stack's John J. Ford Jr. multi-part sale set.