Over the ages and in all societies, gallantry in battle has been highly regarded, with the bravery of individuals and fighting forces being officially rewarded and publically recognised in a wide variety of ways, such as gifts of jewels or money, grants of land, promotions in rank or status etc.In Britain, it has been the practice since at least the mid-19C to award decorations – medals specifically conferred to reward bravery in action. With the growth of the British Empire in the late 19C, the waging of two World Wars, the campaigns that mark the end of Empire and a continuing UN and NATO role, Britain has produced a wide range of medals to reflect the gallantry of its own and Imperial fighting forces. Such rewards have been conferred upon men and women, in all theatres of war and amongst the whole range of its forces on the ground, in and under the sea, in the air and even “at home”. This new Spink book offers an introductory guide to British and Imperial medals for gallantry which have appeared since 1854 and which continue to be awarded to this day, illustrating the type of action which has led to the award of the various medals over nearly 200 years.

By the IAPN Prize-winning author of The Coins of the English East India Company. The Coinage of the Bombay Presidency: A study of the Records of the EIC is a companion volume to Dr Stevens’ widely acclaimed catalogue of the Presidency Series of Coins of the East India Company. The latest book contains numerous extracts from the records, relating them to the known coins and showing why and when they were issued. It also contains much information about the working of the mint and the people who undertook that work.

In the early twentieth century there was a revolution in board games. Children’s games intended to teach morality were transformed into economic simulations aimed at adults. This book demonstrates how play and games reflect and shape our understanding of money, and explores the history of board games in the twentieth century. Why was a famous psychic so interested in the stock market? How did a feminist campaigner try to undermine capitalism with a game? And why has ‘German game’ become synonymous with a growing number of cafes all across the world dedicated to playing board games? Playing With Money will be published to accompany an exhibition at the British Museum, which opens in April 2019, drawing on the Museum’s collection of games and game money. In it Robert Bracey, curator of the exhibition, investigates how we think about money, and asks what mundane objects like games, and the universal experience of play, can tell us about society.

Many books have been written about the Victoria Cross and its recipients.The first published work on the subject appeared in 1857 – the same year as the first VC investiture. A resurgence of interest in the 1990s led to the publication of numerous new titles, but there was no comprehensive bibliography of the Victoria Cross until John Mulholland and Alan Jordan’s first volume appeared in 1999, representing the efforts of a team of researchers in the UK, Canada and Australia. This second edition completely updates their research, increasing the number of books listed, annotated and cross-referenced from 640 to around 1,100, and including all the Journals of the Victoria Cross Society. Part I contains a listing of all key VC titles; Part II lists non-fiction and fictional books written by VC recipients; and the index lists, in alphabetical order, every VC recipient with the date of the London Gazette citation. Additionally it identifies the books in which the recipients are referred to significantly, enabling the researcher to quickly identify key works.The bibliography is an important contribution to Victoria Cross literature and an essential, up-to-date reference guide for anyone with an interest in the decoration.

The second edition of this book presents a new and expanded exploration of the unusually varied coinage and currency of the ‘Great Rebellion’ of 1642-1660, a pivotal period in British history. It builds on further research available since its original publication in 1990, notably a fresh appraisal of the West Country mints of Sir Richard Vyvyan and new insights into the numerous hoards of the time. Along the way, we meet more of the people who willingly or unwillingly did business with the wartime mints. Following a description of the currency in circulation in 1642 and a survey of the organisation of royalist minting during the war, the royalist mint-franchises are considered in turn. Foreign coinage, siege issues and the emergency coinages of Ireland are all described; and the story of the Tower Mint under Parliament is followed through the Interregnum of 1649-60 to the Restoration of Charles II. Minting methods at a time of transition from manual to mechanised production form an important subsidiary theme.Edward Besly was Numismatist at the National Museum of Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru) from 1986-2018, having previously worked at the British Museum. He is best known for his studies of Romano-British coin hoards and of the coinages of the time of Charles I (1625-49). In 2003 he was awarded the John Sanford Saltus Medal of the British Numismatic Society.

The purpose of the book is to introduce the English speaking reader to the medieval Slavic coinages of the Balkans as a whole. Its objective is not to present an in-depth analysis of any individual coinage or an analysis of specific coin hoards. Rather, its intent is to make available, in one volume, a general synthesis of the up-to-date scholarship, and a catalogue of the main sorts and types of coinages from the different medieval Slavic Balkan lands and towns. Until now, these coinages have been examined only in specialised articles on the problems of attribution and identification of specific coins; and there are lists and catalogues of the coinages struck by specific rulers, states and towns. Significantly, no comprehensive review exists of the coinages issued by all the Slavic political authorities of the medieval Balkans, this study is the first attempt at such a survey.

In 2018, the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George celebrated the 200th anniversary of its foundation. Originally instituted to recognise service in the Mediterranean region, principally in Malta and the Ionian Islands, the scope of the Order has been extended on a number of occasions, and is now the main United Kingdom honour for service overseas to British interests. The first full-length history of the Order was published in 2000, and this newly revised and updated edition is published to commemorate the bicentenary of the Order’s foundation. Fifteen chapters cover its historical development, from it use in Britain’s Mediterranean empire, its extension to the wider British Empire, its uses by the Diplomatic Service and the armed forces in, and now for overseas service generally. The book includes a chapter on the work of Bishop Henry Montgomery (father of Field Marshal Montgomery) in creating a chapel for the Order in St Paul’s Cathedral in 1904, and another on the changing styles of the robes and insignia. The Order of St Michael and St George is one of the lesser-known British honours, but this well-illustrated volume helps to shed a light on the Order and tells its fascinating story.

Co-published with the Royal Collection Trust. The Royal Collection is famous as one of the finest art collections in the world, but little is known about its coins, medals and banknotes, which include many extremely rare pieces. This book, published by Spink in association with the Royal Collection Trust, describes and illustrates the most important items in the Collection, giving their historical background, how they came to be in the Collection, and their importance. The repeated development and dispersal of the early Collections under the great royal collectors Prince Henry, Charles I, and George III are described. No monarch since then has been a devoted collector of coins or medals, but occasional important additions have been made to the Royal Collection, particularly by George V and Queen Mary. Other major items have been received as gifts from visiting Heads of State; coin finds on Duchy of Lancaster land (eg the Cuerdale Hoard of 1840) have also contributed to the Collection, as well as items presented by the Royal Mint. Most of the items have never been exhibited before, and several are supported by descriptions and images of other relevant important objects from the Royal Collection.

Co-published with the Royal Mint Museum. War has shaped currencies, creating, abolishing and moulding them. By providing the means through which they have been fought, coins and banknotes have proved themselves an indispensable weapon of war. But the disruption that comes with conflict has seen usage of money change to cope with extreme circumstances. Coins have frequently been debased or often buried in hoards as an army advances, they have found themselves saving lives on a battlefield or becoming objects of sentiment as a memory of home. As symbols of state, money has offered the means through which victorious leaders have proclaimed their triumphs, evidenced from Roman Emperors through to the more poignant modern ways in which commemoration predominates. In this new book Kevin Clancy, Director of the Royal Mint Museum, seeks to explore these themes, revealing how something which thrives on stability can adapt when the normal rules of life are turned upside down. Richly illustrated throughout, the book focuses principally on the experience in Britain from Tudor times but draws on other instances from around the world and across time to show how money and war have collided and influenced one another. It is a fascinating story that will be as engaging to those with an interest in military history as much as to those of us with more than a passing interest in money.

The Spink Maury Catalogue has traditionally provided the highest level of detail for the stamps and covers of France and the French colonies, with thousands of top quality illustrations and prices updated every year. It was acquired by Spink in 2015, and the editors have since endeavoured to make this the premium reference work of its kind. The catalogue includes stamps on cover, tete-beche issues, blocks, reprints, military mail, specimens, telegraphs, officials, parcel post, booklets, essays, proofs, airmails, precancels, postage dues, imperforate issues, balloon mail, occupation issues, telephone stamps, siege mail and war stamps, and is the authoritative work for any collector of French stamps, or anyone interested in this fascinating area of philately. The 2019 edition showcased a wealth of new pages and is an absolute must for collectors of French stamps. ‘Layout and coverage are sumptuous … The trite phrase “mine of information” does not begin to do justice to this immense achievement. To any collector of France beyond the elementary stage, this would be a bargain at twice the official retail price … Highly recommended.’ Michael Round, Journal of the France & Colonies Philatelic Society

The Cunetio and Normanby hoards are the two of the largest Roman coin hoards from Britain. They both comprise mostly ‘radiate’ coins struck in the second half of the 3rd century and are the most important catalogues for people identifying radiate coins in Britain dating from AD 253 to AD 275. The Cunetio hoard was originally published as a single volume, The Cunetio Treasure by EM Besly and RF Bland (British Museum Press, 1983); the Normanby hoard was published along with several other hoards in The Normanby Hoard and other Roman coin hoards: Coin Hoards from Roman Britain VIII edited by RF Bland and AM Burnett (British Museum Press, 1988). This edition provides the two hoards in one volume with a note on more recent work on the radiate coinage of AD 253-96 and notes to aid identification by Sam Moorhead.

Dr CHV Sutherland was for many years Keeper of the Heberden Coin Room in the Ashmolean Museum, with a special interest in the Julio-Claudian emperors and their coinage from 31 BC to AD 69. From 1939 he was co-editor and part-author of Roman Imperial Coinage, successively, with Harold Mattingly and EA Sydenham, and with RAG Carson, devoting years to the fundamental revision and rewriting of Mattingley and Sydenham’s original Volume I (1923) of the series, published in 1984. Sutherland’s revised Volume I has been out of print now for some years, but his study of the Julio-Claudian coinage, being the formative period of the long imperial series, is made newly available by Spink in this handsome reprint.

This tenth volume of Roman Imperial Coinage completed the first edition of the series founded by Mattingly and Sydenham in 1923. Its layout is based on the division between the eastern and western parts of the empire, and the reigns of successive emperors. A further section deals with imitative coinages struck by certain of the barbarian peoples. There are detailed accounts of the monetary system and mints, and of the coin-types and legends. The catalogue comprises some 1,800 entries, each individually numbered, and illustrated by 80 plates. The coinage is discussed not only in its historical setting, but also in a comprehensive and documented conceptual context, making RIC X essential reading for students of the late Roman and Byzantine period, as well as for collectors. This seminal volume is reprinted by Spink in 2018 to make it available again to all those interested in this fascinating period of Roman Imperial coinage. Dr John Kent joined the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum in 1953, and was Keeper from 1983 until his retirement in 1990. As well as being an editor of the Roman Imperial Coinage series , he is the author of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume VIII (1981).

This guide is only intended to introduce the short cross coinage to new collectors and beginners generally and to assist in classifying these coins. It is not a scholarly work; it does not include any significant original material and some of the details and complexities have been simplified. If it enables collectors, archaeological site personnel, detectorists and others to identify the majority of normal coins at need, then its aims will have been achieved. The introduction sets out very briefly the historical context of the short cross coinage and the development of the classification system in used today. Numismatists have studied the coins for many years, but it is only since the original written records or 'Rolls' (some of which have survived from the time when these coins were struck) have been transcribed and studied that many matters have been determinded. The Rolls contain many references to financial matters of the time and the names and details of some moneyers and mint officials are recorded (sometimes with their dates of appointment, death or removal) and this information has provided to be invaluable in establishing a chronology and in placing coins of the different types in sequence.

This book provides an overview of the historical events during which Giuseppe Garibaldi rose from obscurity to leadership of the Italian inification movement or ‘Risorgimento.’ It accomplishes this goal by utilising the Anthony P Campanella Collection of medals, books, memorabilia and other resources relating to Giuseppe Garibaldi at the University of South Carolina. It affords an important resource for those who wish to research medals relating to Giuseppe Garibaldi’s life and legacy.

The third revised editions of Jeffrey North’s two volume classic are newly reissued for 2018 to make them available to Spink customers for the first time in over ten years. Volume I includes hammered coins of the early Anglo Saxon, Viking, Regional Kings, Norman and Plantagenet periods up to the reign of Henry III, including 20 plates with hundreds of coin images, covering the dates c600 to 1272. Volume II covers the coinages of Edward I to Charles II from 1272-1662, the principal amendments to the third edition being in the coinages of 1279-1351 and the provincial issues of Charles 1; much new information was incorporated into the relevant sections in 2000 on the strength of important studies including the base shillings of Edward VI, the milled coinage of Elizabeth 1, the Tower shillings of Charles 1 and the mint of York of Charles 1.