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The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage (Oxford Handbooks) Annotated Edition

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 63 ratings

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A large gap exists in the literature of ancient numismatics between general works intended for collectors and highly specialized studies addressed to numismatists. Indeed, there is hardly anything produced by knowledgeable numismatists that is easily accessible to the academic community at large or the interested lay reader. The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage will fill this gap by providing a systematic overview of the major coinages of the classical world. The Handbook begins with a general introduction by volume editor William E. Metcalf followed by an article establishing the history and role of scientific analysis in ancient numismatics. The subsequent thirty-two chapters, all written by an international group of distinguished scholars, cover a vast geography and chronology, beginning with the first evidence of coins in Western Asia Minor in the seventh century BCE and continuing up to the transformation of coinage at the end of the Roman Empire. In addition to providing the essential background and current research questions of each of the major coinages, the Handbook also includes articles on the application of numismatic evidence to the disciplines of archaeology, economic history, art history, and ancient history. With helpful appendices, a glossary of specialized terms, indices of mints, persons, and general topics, and nearly 900 illustrations, The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage will be an indispensable resource for scholars and students of the classical world, as well as a stimulating reference for collectors and interested lay readers.
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Editorial Reviews

Book Description

A broadly-illustrated overview of the contemporary state of Greco-Roman numismatic scholarship

About the Author

William E. Metcalf is Professor of Classics at Yale University and Ben Lee Damsky Curator of Coins and Medals at the University's Art Gallery.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Annotated edition (February 10, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 720 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195305744
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195305746
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.65 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.3 x 9.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 63 ratings

About the author

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Koray Konuk
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Koray Konuk holds a tenured position at the CNRS as an Associate Research Professor (CR1). His main interests are in the history of early coins as well as the history and archaeology of Caria, a region of southwest Asia Minor. After studies in Classical archaeology and Political science in Louvain and a doctoral degree in Oxford, he was appointed as a curator of ancient coins at the Fitzwilliam Museum and an invited university lecturer in the faculty of classics of Cambridge university. He has led archaeological field surveys in the Ceramic Gulf in Caria and is currently heading the French mission in Euromos. He has been a visiting scholar in Oxford, Istanbul, and at the American Numismatic Society in NYC. He has launched an internet platform: Historia Numorum Online which aims to record Greek coin types, the current volume being on Carian mints: http://hno.huma-num.fr/. He is a member of the editorial board of the following academic journals: Anatolia Antiqua (Istanbul), Anadolu (Ankara), Philia (Antalya), Arkeoloji ve Sanat Dergisi (Istanbul); Revue des Etudes Anciennes (Bordeaux).

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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Customers say

Customers find the book provides a good overview of ancient coinage with a detailed bibliography following each chapter. They appreciate the individual chapters covering specific topics and wide-ranging coverage. The book provides a good reference for ancient coinage, covering bronze, billon, and lead tessera coins.

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5 customers mention "Content quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides a sufficient overview for those looking to get some general knowledge. They appreciate the detailed bibliography following each chapter, good information, and wide-ranging topics. The individual chapters are well-done, and the book offers an excellent overview of different series and subdivisions of Roman and Greek coins.

"...Surprisingly so. Although the individual chapters are well done, I think classical Greece is somewhat less comprehensively covered than Rome and..." Read more

"...This book is an excellent overview of the different series and subdivisions of Roman and Greek coins...." Read more

"Very good top-down look at classical coinage. Chapters cover specific topics and are very wide-ranging, so you should be able to find something..." Read more

"...his is not to say that the book is without merit. It is a sufficient overview for those looking to get some general knowledge on areas of..." Read more

4 customers mention "Coinage"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a good reference for ancient coinage. They say it provides a comprehensive overview of classical coinage, covering bronze and billon coins and even lead tessera. The illustrations depict accessible coins that are easy to find, making it an interesting read for collectors of both Greek and Roman coins.

"...I have one major peeve about the Roman Egypt section: It addresses bronze and billon coins and even lead tessera, but it makes no reference to potin..." Read more

"...is an excellent overview of the different series and subdivisions of Roman and Greek coins...." Read more

"Very good top-down look at classical coinage...." Read more

"Excellent historical overview of ancient coinage, would like to have Bactrian coins included...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2012
    This Oxford Handbook is a lovely book with generous black and white coin photos. Each chapter was written by a different specialist so their approaches vary. For example, some chapters examine the coin design typology and symbology (my core interest) in more depth than others. The attribution of illustrations range from full attribution to relatively unhelpful catalog numbers in other references.

    WHAT I REALLY LOVE about this book is that the illustrations depict accessible coins, ones that I can and do have in my collection. I find books that focus on rarities to be dispiriting and unhelpful. I mainly want to learn about the coins that I can collect, not worship at the altar of coins so removed from my life that they are effectively abstractions.

    None of the chapters is dry or boring. I find that each one captivates in its own way. I really appreciate the detailed bibliography following each chapter. For my uses these surpass any other bibliographic material that I have available to me (Ancient Greek Numismatics, Ancient Coin Reference Reviews).

    Overall I am very pleased with the chapter on Roman Egypt, my main collecting area. I was cheered by the author's assertion:

    "The chief value of the Alexandrian coinage resides in its abundance of reverse types; their importance as a source for the study of the political history, culture and religion of the province can scarcely be exaggerated."

    which contrasts with Poole and others who downplay the uniquely Egyptian aspects of the designs. It also corresponds to my approach to collecting, which organizes Alexandrines and other provincials by their reverse type, rather than by emperor.

    I have one major peeve about the Roman Egypt section: It addresses bronze and billon coins and even lead tessera, but it makes no reference to potin!! I find this to be a limitation of numismatics in general. I would love to learn more about the advent of potin for coinage in Egypt, but it is largely unremarked upon. Often potin tetradrachms are cataloged as billon, which may be literally true, they may contain a trace of silver, but it is a distinctive coinage material that deserves to be addressed in its own right. A silvery Serapis Tet of Hadrian or a Galley with leaping dolphins Tet of Nero may be beautiful, but the chocolate surfaces of a pristine potin tetradrachm of Probus (for example) have their own claim to beauty and mystery as well.

    Roman Provincials beyond Egypt are also well covered in this Handbook. Surprisingly so. Although the individual chapters are well done, I think classical Greece is somewhat less comprehensively covered than Rome and the Hellenistic World. I am surprised that the bronzes of Italy and Sicily did not receive specific attention.

    In summary: This is my new favorite book on ancients in general!!
    17 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2013
    While I have collected ancients for many years, I still consider myself a beginner. This book is an excellent overview of the different series and subdivisions of Roman and Greek coins. This is not a book to help one identify ancients, nor is it a catalogue. It is a collection of essays by different scholars, each presenting a section of ancient coinage, and delving into the development and production of coins of those issuing authorities. Much of the information is not available in catalogues, since the information does not lend itslef well to that format. I found it to be a fascinating read. I also realize that, although not a catalogue, I will return to it many times in the future to review some particular aspect of the coinage of a particular region or dynasty that I did not remember from my reading the first time around. Definitely worth the money for me..
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2018
    Very good top-down look at classical coinage. Chapters cover specific topics and are very wide-ranging, so you should be able to find something about just about every specific area of Greek and Roman coinage. Some sections are more detailed than others, but in general they go beyond what a layman would require and into a more scholarly and specialist realm.

    The one major annoyance is the lack of proper captions under coin photos. You have to flip to the end of the chapter in question to find the details about the coin illustrations, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but gets irritating awfully damn fast. There was room to put these descriptions actually under the coins, too, so this issue was avoidable. Also, the illustrations are smaller than they should be. I'd have preferred larger photos, even if this meant reducing the overall number of photos.

    Anyhow, well worth buying even for the issues noted above. Price is a little high for what you get, as well, although it is reasonable enough for this amount of information.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2018
    Excellent
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2015
    Excellent work, including recent scholarship.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2012
    This handbook aims to fill the gap between general reference works intended for collectors and highly specialized studies addressed to numismatisis. While I appreciate the spirit of the effort I think overall the work falls a bit flat. The authors of the thirty-two chapters are all well known experts in their fields and the present a summary of recent scholarship in numismatics starting from the first electrum coinage through the Roman period. I think this is where the flaw lies, most of the chapters are summaries and dilutions of current scholarly work lacking a generalists fine prose and a specialists enhanced detail.
    I would rather read a well written compendium by a more gifted author such as the editor William E. Metcalf that leaves out some of the details in the furtherance of a good story. Specialist collectors will either already have access to the key source papers in their areas of expertise or will want to read the sources in whole rather than a watered down summary. Thus in making this compromise neither the general collector nor the specialist is well served.
    his is not to say that the book is without merit. It is a sufficient overview for those looking to get some general knowledge on areas of numismatics they may not specialize in. The prose is readable enough to allow the more casually interested to get to the end of each chapter. Plus, the work does focus on the last two decades of research thus at least allowing the specialists to identify important papers in numismatics for futher study.

    On the whole I'd rather read a good general overview and then get the specific details undiluted but your mileage can vary.
    22 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2013
    Excellent historical overview of ancient coinage, would like to have Bactrian coins included. Should be of interest to collectors of both Greek and Roman coins.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Fabio
    5.0 out of 5 stars La Bibbia per chi ama la storia delle monete romane
    Reviewed in Italy on August 26, 2024
    Bello facile da consultare, penso che pubblicazioni così non ne esistano. Un bel “mattone” che si deve avere se si è appassionati di storia della monetizzazione romana antica. Bello e ancora bello
  • Alessandro Di Maio
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2018
    Great and well made book!
  • Alberto Cervera
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un gran libro
    Reviewed in Spain on February 27, 2016
    El formato del libro está muy bien: cada capítulo del libro lo ha escrito un profesional del tema logrando un resultado ameno y asequible para todos los lectores.
  • giulia moukouyou
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bello
    Reviewed in Italy on February 14, 2024
    Mi è piaciuto il modo in cui gli autori trattano la materia e inseriscono i casi di studio archeologici: ho scoperto un nuovo campo di interessi e mi sono appassionata, bravi complimenti.
    Il manuale presenta la storia degli studi della Numismatica e si dedica poi ai rinvenimenti relativi a greci e romani, in tutto l'arco della loro storia. Acquistato per corso universitario.
  • Clifford Thring
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2014
    Great introduction to the subject. Perfect for the lay reader.