The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 50, December 10, 2006, Article 8

REVIEW: NEW CHINESE BANKNOTE AND COIN BOOKS

Don Cleveland writes: "My nephew, who is in China, sent me a
seventeen volume set of soft-cover books forming a complete catalog
of Chinese banknotes.  Each volume is about a half-inch thick, 6
inches deep and 8.5 inches high.  Unfortunately, the books are completely
in Chinese.  However, between the numbers and dates, which are western,
and the illustrations, plus a little cross referencing with my Standard
Catalog of World Paper Money, it was not too difficult to work out most
of the presentations.

The features that make the extra effort worthwhile are the illustrations.
As near as I can make out, every banknote type issued by China (including
Taiwan) is illustrated with clear, sharp, color photographs -- front and
back.  This includes separate pictures of each signature variety; serial
number fonts, colors and layouts; validity stamps, specimens, and even
blow-ups and illustrations of "secret" marks on some issues.  Values are
provided in current Chinese currency.  Many of the banknotes are not in
the SCWPM series.

As I said, the books are completely in Chinese, to the point that I
cannot even tell you the name, author, or publisher.  There is, however,
a sticker on the back of each volume listing the "ISBN" number:
7-207-06466-7G.  I did a web search on the ISBN and found some
information -- all in Chinese.

The site provided illustrations of one of the volumes, along with a
sample page.  Although I do not collect coins, the site also had
references to similar, fully illustrated, color catalogs on Chinese
coins.  Despite the clarity of the illustrations, while looking
through the pages of my catalogs, I came up with a hundred questions.
Now, all I have to do is find a Chinese/English speaker who can read
selected passages for me."

[Many thanks for Don for bringing these books on Chinese banknotes
and coins to our attention.  When it comes to new numismatic literature,
our readers are like kids in a candy store.  Despite the language issue,
these could be valuable references for dealers and collectors. -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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