NEW BOOK: MEDALS OF FERDINAND THE GOOD

Tomas Kleisner, Medals of the Emperor Ferdinand the Good (1793-1875). Collection of the National Museum, Prague. National Museum, Prague, 2013. 192 p., 21x29.8 cm, all illustrations coloured. Paperback. ISBN: 978-80-7036-396-6. Price: 300 CZK (= ca. 12 Euro) + Postage and Packing.

Tomas Kleisner’s richly illustrated and well written introduction to his corpus of the medals of Ferdinand the Good contains all this and more details about the life of the Emperor. The introduction is followed by a highly informative text about the role of medals in the 19th century. The author explains for instance who was involved in the decision-making process of issuing official medals in honour of the emperor, or how the mints organised the sales of those medals to private customers. In addition, there is a chapter on the emperor’s coinage as well as on the National Museum’s other collections.

The heart of the book – the catalogue of the medals – begins on p. 52. This catalogue is exemplary and I wish more authors would pay as much attention to detail as Thomas Kleisner does in describing and commenting the figures and in researching potential sources or influences in other media. The high-quality pictures and numerous additional illustrations are a visual delight. Every piece is illustrated in one metal. Occasion, place and year of minting as well as the die cutter are included in the title. Inventory number and numismatic details of the pieces in the Prague collection are followed by an exact description of the pictures, including the mostly Latin captions and their English translations. A commentary adds a number of interesting facts about the event itself, the die cutter or the particular issue in question. Each entry is completed by extensive bibliographic references.

This exemplary catalogue contains 61 medals and is a truly valuable addition to each library. All other 17 medals of Ferdinand of which pieces are known in coin cabinets or auction catalogues are mentioned in the introduction giving pictures and a description. They are also to be found in the index, which makes this book a real corpus. Tomas Kleisner’s contribution is twofold because not only has he written a wonderful book, but he has also translated the text into English in order to make it accessible for an international community.

Please contact the author via email ( tomas@kleisner.cz ) if you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book. There are only 200 copies available and I recommend that you get hold of one as soon as possible.

To read the complete article, see: The medals of Ferdinand the Good (1793-1875) (www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=2522)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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