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The E-Sylum: Volume 10, Number 47, November 18, 2007, Article 6 BOOK REVIEW: 'MONEY' BY JOE CRIBB Lots of books come across my desk, but usually I know they're coming. Coming home from the office Thursday I found a surprise waiting for me - a copy of 'Money' written by Joe Cribb for the Dorling Kindersley 'Eyewitness Books' series. It was #18 in the series (of over 125 titles) and was published originally in 1990; this copy was from the 2000 edition. My eight-year-old son Christopher had brought it home from school. "Did you read it?", I asked. "No - I brought it home for you." OK, so much for interesting him in my hobby. But it was thoughtful of him and I really did enjoy the book, which I hadn't come across before. The 64-page hardcover is a visual delight, loaded with 20-25 photographs per page, printed on glossy paper. It's divided into 29 chapters; several illustrate the coins and banknotes of various countries and regions - others cover topics as diverse as counterfeiting, wartime currency, checks and ATM cards, and finally "Collecting Coins". It may be aimed at young readers, but I found it a delight to read. Amazon.com lists a 2005 edition with 72 pages, so the book has been updated periodically. One online reviewer mentioned an interesting factoid from the newer edition that I didn't see in mine: "The name for a piggy bank comes from pygg, a type of clay used in Middle Ages to make pots for money and other things. The idea to make banks in the shape of pigs probably came from the similarity of the words." The breadth of the book's coverage is stunning - this is obviously an author who knows numismatics from A to Z and beyond, no surprise given that Cribb is a Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. Included are not just the obvious choices of Yap stone money, a 14th-century Chinese note and a 1794 U.S. silver dollar - the book also illustrates such diverse numismatic items as a Hell Bank note, German notgeld, a telephone token, and a plastic $1 gambling token from Diamond Tooth Gertie's casino in Dawson City, Yukon. Of interest to numismatic bibliophiles is a catalog of rubbings of Chinese and Japanese cash coins made by a Japanese collector in 1812, and a Dutch Trader's Manual, a cambist picturing circulating coins, published in Antwerp in 1580. There are few attributions for the photos, although one can assume that items unlisted in the cryptic Acknowledgements section on the last page are from the British Museum collection. As a product targeted at young readers I won't fault the book for not having my favorite components - an index, bibliography and footnotes or endnotes. Still, as a curious reader it's disappointing not to find them. New and used copies are available on Amazon for under $15, so consider this book for holiday giving - it's another one that I'd add to a list of books a newcomer to numismatics ought to read, and further justification for the fascination we all have for this hobby. Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum | |
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