This book attempts to catalogue all known pattern and proof coins struck in gold, together with off-metal strikes and unofficial fantasies, also in gold. Included are the English series from Edward VI to Elizabeth I (1547-1603) and the coinage of Great Britain from James I to Elizabeth II sterling coinage (1603-1976), extending the period covered by the previous edition from 1968 to 1976. A “pattern” is a coin designed and proposed for use as regular currency. Apart from genuine “trial” pieces, many fine medallic issues exist, and for the sake of completeness they are included here, together with unofficial “fantasies”. These amusing pieces, not intended as patterns for the Regal coinage, were produced privately and gave full rein to the engraver’s imagination. Many coins included in the catalogue are the only known specimens, and their present whereabouts are unknown. Photographs of the main types appear wherever possible, and the entire catalogue has been fully revised and updated to include up-to-date information, plus all new discoveries made since the first edition was published in 2000.

P. Alan Rayner's revised fifth edition of Seaby's original ESC is by many still considered to be the standard work of reference for the series. Rayner extensively revised and extended the catalogue to include details of modern issues up to its publication in 1992, which have been further extended to bring it up to date for this 30th anniversary edition (marking 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign in 2022). Each coin is listed by denomination, using Seaby’s original numbering, with over 3,000 coins listed and brand new images throughout.

This volume presents details, images and discussion of the contents of twenty English coin hoards, ranging in date from the 730s to the 1090s. Found between the 1960s and 1990s, all were studied by the late Marion Archibald at the British Museum but have never been published in full before now. Each hoard is the subject of its own chapter, with discussion of the discovery, and of the historical context in which the hoard was buried, before a catalogue of the relevant coins. The volume also contains an introductory chapter, providing an overview of developments in the use of coinage in England in the seventh to eleventh centuries, as well as a discussion of hoarding in this period. This provides context for the more detailed presentation of the individual hoards in this volume, but also draws on other major hoards of the period, both published and unpublished.

Chief Engraver at the Royal Mint and the leading medallist of his time William Wyon RA (1795-1851) produced some of the best known and most widely distributed images ever made. His portraits of the young Queen Victoria on the coinage, used throughout the British empire, and the more regal head used for the first postage stamps, the penny red and twopenny blue, were reproduced in their millions and distributed all around the globe. A highly regarded modeller in low relief, known and admired for the classical purity of his compositions and the accomplishment of their execution, Wyon was celebrated as a British artist who more than rivalled his continental competitors, favoured by royalty and by many of the most prominent and influential figures of his time. The book aims to understand how and why Wyon's work was commissioned and how it was received, using institutional archives, contemporary correspondence and reminiscence, and the popular press, to create a rounded picture of the life, work, networks, influence and impact of an artist who was also an entrepreneur on his own account and a public servant at the heart of the establishment. Wyon's career began with a major contribution to the execution of the monetary reform that created a new and widely respected coinage which underpinned and symbolised the global growth of the British economy. The medals, which he made throughout his career, reflect their time: commissioned to celebrate and reward the scientific and technological progress, the improvements in education and agriculture, the literary and artistic achievements, the passion for making things better and recognising and encouraging those who did, that characterised Wyon's contemporaries. Almost every major figure of the age is here, from Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, to Palmerston, Peel, Wellington and Gladstone; from Maria II of Portugal and Mrs Sweetenham Waters to Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Walter Scott, Sir John Soane and Thomas Telford. And yet the prosperity that enabled his patrons to commission Wyon's work, often came from the profits derived from the long hours and appalling conditions of industrialising Britain, from enslaved labour in the West Indies and from imperial aggression in India and the Far East. Late in his career it was Wyon who was commissioned to create the military and naval medals that recognised and rewarded the service of those who had fought in the Napoleonic wars; of those who had played a part in the establishment of British rule in India, and those who fought in contemporary wars in Afghanistan, India and Burma, and to force opium on China: medals which, despite moments of revulsion in parliament and the press, reflected pride in Britain’s growing empire.Wyon's work throws new light on the attitudes and networks that lay behind official commemoration at a time of ebullient energy and rapid change and holds a hitherto unexamined mirror to the British establishment in the first half of the nineteenth century. The close interrogation of things, of obstinate objects which insist on remaining themselves, provides us with an image which manages to be both arcane and popular, utterly conventional and intriguingly unexpected.

The book describes the history of all the treasury notes issued by the Congo Free State in 1896 and all the banknotes issued by the Bank of Belgian Congo from 1912 to 1952 and by the Bank of Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi until Congo’s independence in 1960. Using unpublished archival documents from at home and abroad, all projects and actual issues are discussed in detail with the exception of the banknotes issued during the Second World War, since the Bank of Belgian Congo had relocated its activities to London and Kinshasa, and documents of that period appear to have been lost during the air raids on London.

This volume was prompted by the recent discovery in Britain of two large coin hoards dating from the first decade of the fourth century AD – Wold Newton and Rauceby. Coins of this early Tetrarchic period are relatively uncommon finds in Britain and elsewhere, due mainly to the brevity of their periods of issue followed by successive reductions in the weight of the coinage. The book also republishes the 1944 Fyfield hoard within the context of these more recent finds and contains preliminary reports on two very large hoards of coins of the same period that have been found in recent years in France (Juillac) and Spain (Tomares). The Tetrarchic system of rule (AD 293−c. 313) was initiated by the Roman Emperor Diocletian to stabilise the Roman Empire, with the rule of the western and eastern Empire being split between two senior emperors and their two junior colleagues. The transition from the third to fourth century AD is a pivotal phase in the history of Roman Britain, with Britain coming once again under the control of the Empire following periods of turbulence and usurper rule between AD 260−296. Under the Tetrarchy, Britain was subjected to the extensive monetary reforms undertaken by Diocletian which saw the introduction of the denomination now referred to as the nummus. The period is of particular interest to numismatists as during this time Roman coinage was minted in Britain at the mint of London. The volume therefore covers not just the hoards themselves, but also considers the wider significance of these hoards for Britain and the early fourth century monetary economy, particularly in the western empire.

This volume provides an authoritative and systematic account of the coins minted for Roman Egypt between AD 138 and 192. It is the first of four volumes, which will cover the provincial coinage of this crucial period of Roman history in its entirety.The coinage in this volume was produced at Alexandria, the commercial and cultural capital of the eastern Mediterranean. It is dated by the year, making it an invaluable guide to imperial presentation and to economic developments during this transitional period. Its iconography is of exceptional interest to scholars and collectors, combining fascinating aspects of Greek, Roman and Egyptian culture.The book gives a complete picture of the material, meeting the needs of numismatists and providing an essential reference for historians, archaeologists and other students of the Roman empire. The introductory chapters and extensive catalogue are accompanied by illustrations of virtually all known types.

Coins of England and the United Kingdom Pre-Decimal and Decimal volumes comprise the Standard Catalogue of British Coins, with the decimal issues under Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III listed in this separate volume. The 10th edition is of note as it contains all coins minted during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, also introducing the new coinage of King Charles III.The Decimal Issues gives a comprehensive overview of all individual coins and sets issued by the Royal Mint since 1971 (and in circulation since 1968), offering an authoritative catalogue of modern British coins.

This historic reference work for British coins is still the only catalogue to feature every major coin type from Celtic to the Decimal coinage of Queen Elizabeth II, arranged in chronological order and divided into metals under each reign, then into coinages, denominations and varieties. All decimal coinage since 1968 is listed in a separate volume, available as an independent publication.

The second volume of this brand new comprehensive guide covers every type of English gold coin from 1816 onwards and includes many new varieties, along with rarity values, arranged by monarch. Accompanying Bull reference numbers are again cross-referenced to the Standard Catalogue of British Coins.

The peoples of pre-Roman Britain remain an enigma. Our perceptions are shaped by two narratives, that of contemporary Roman colonists and more recent Celtic nationalists, who vilify and glorify them in equal measure. The more we learn, the less we know with certainty: should they be described as ‘Celtic peoples’, were they organised into the ‘tribes’ that later formed Roman administrative districts (civitas) and, beyond a few famous names like Cunobelinus (Shakespeare’s Cymbeline), were they led by ‘kings’ or ‘chieftains’? The coins from this period are no less controversial. Britain was a late adopter of coinage, initially importing coins from the Gallo-Belgic continent and then copying their Macedonian-inspired prototypes. Britain also produced them for longer than the continent, latterly incorporating themes and imagery from Rome. These bookends of external influence have led some to dismiss the coins of pre-Roman Britain (and indeed ‘Celtic’ coins generally) as inferior. The most compelling counter to this is the coins themselves, explored through the theme of Art or Imitation? What we find is extraordinary variety and originality, that makes a powerful case for their collection and study.

The second volume of David R Sear’s comprehensive guide to ancient coins – part of Spink’s Living History series – covers Hellenistic Regal Issues. A general background to the fascinating world of ancient coins, looking back more than 26 centuries to the lands of the eastern Mediterranean, at how coins were designed and produced, and at how they can reveal so much to us today of the time in which they were produced.

From the earliest of times, coins have been used by states or monarchs to communicate with people; Coins of England is therefore not only a reference book for collectors, but a fascinating snapshot of British history, illuminating its economics, technology, art, politics and religion. As always, the content has been updated and improved throughout by the editors, with numerous new images, revisions of key sections and several thousand price changes reflecting activity in the market over the previous year. This historic reference work for British coins is still the only catalogue to feature every major coin type from Celtic to the Decimal coinage of Queen Elizabeth II, arranged in chronological order and divided into metals under each reign, then into coinages, denominations and varieties. All decimal coinage since 1968 is listed in a second, stand-alone volume. The catalogue includes up-to-date values for every coin, a beginner’s guide to coin collecting, numismatic terms explained and historical information about each British coin, from our earliest (Celtic) coins, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins, the coins of the Plantagenet Kings, the Houses of Lancaster and York, the Tudors and Stuarts, to the more modern Milled coinage, minted for the first time in 1561 during the reign of Elizabeth I.

This volume presents for the first time an authoritative and systematic account of the coins minted in the Roman provinces between AD 238 and 244 (except the province of Asia, previously covered in volume VII.1), and shows how these coins can be regarded as an integral part of the coinage minted under the Roman emperors. The book gives a complete picture of the material, thereby not only meeting the needs of numismatists but also providing an essential reference for historians, archaeologists and other students of the Roman empire. The introductory essays and extensive catalogue section are followed by indexes and an illustration of every major issue listed.

This is the first book to explore the history of the field of Chinese numismatics from both Eastern and Western perspectives. With upwards of 100 illustrations, it consists of three papers that complement each other beautifully and give a sound introduction to the beginnings of the study of Chinese numismatics, focusing on the 19th century: A Short History of Chinese Numismatics in Western Languages – Helen Wang A run-through of publications on Chinese numismatics to 1900 – giving information about the authors, their occupations, motivations and areas of interest. A good background to the subject, and includes information on where to find bibliographies etc. Currencies of Ancient China from their Origins to the Late Empire – Francois Thierry, translated from the French by Helen Wang and Lyce Jankowski Also the title of Francois Theirry’s award-winning book, published in 2017 – the result of having worked for decades as the curator of Asian coins in Paris. The author notes how Europeans sometimes understood Chinese money and sometimes got it completely wrong. Numismatic Friendship: Social Networks of Numismatists and Coin Collectors During the Late Qing Dynasty – Lyce Jankowski, translated from the French by Lyce Jankowski and Helen Wang Also the title of the author’s book published in 2018, and a very important piece of work. It shows the world of Chinese collectors of Chinese coins, their networks and motivations.

This comprehensive catalogue, which has been worked on by the authors over several years, covers all known Sikh Copper, Silver and Gold Mohurs, including much unpublished material, with photographs of each; coins of the Cis-Sutlej States, with photographs of all Sikh states (Patiala, Nabha, Khaital) plus additional details on MalerKotla; medals issued to Sikhs from the 1840s to 1947; and Sikh Temple Tokens, Medallions and Commemorative Coins issued since the 1800s. It is the most up-to-date and authoritative book on the subject, and an essential addition to the library of any collector interested in this fascinating area of coinage.