There is a major set of standard reference books that is needed if one is to get serious about acquiring ancient coins such as those in this exhibit. They are published by B.A. Seaby, Ltd., 8 Cavendish Square, London W1M0AJ. The author is David R. Sear. The coins in each book are numbered and some are illustrated. The identification style is like SR 567, for coin number 567 in the Seaby (or Sear) book on Roman coins, which is the famous coin shown on the home page of this exhibit. I have obtained my books from coin dealers, but there may be other sources. Amazon.com lists these upon an author search, but may say that all are out of print and therefore more difficult to locate. Abbreviations and hardback books that I use are:

Another important reference book is

by David Hendin, Amphora Books, P.O. Box 805, Nyack, NY 10960, U.S.A. (AmphoraCoins@aol.com) It gives excellent background material especially for Jewish coins. Hendin is also a dealer and you can get a signed copy of his 4th edition directly from him.

If you do much with Byzantine coins, then there is a SB cross-reference manual, Speedy Identification of Early Denominationally Marked Byzantine Bronzes, by C. Daniel Clark, Tehachapi, California 93561, U.S.A. He was my favorite coin dealer.

Investing in all of these books will cost hundreds of dollars and load your bookshelf with over 26 cm (10 inches) of books weighing more than 6.8 kg (15 pounds). Furthermore, there are coins on the market that are not referenced in these books, and other books may be needed.

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