BOOK REVIEW: KEEP THE CHANGE

On a recent business trip I had a chance to read Harley Spiller's book on the plane. Keep the Change is a quick read, and I would recommend it to E-Sylum readers. While not exactly a numismatic book, it covers many of the same interesting numismatic side roads we often travel here - counterfeits, altered coins and currency, political overstamps, banknote origami and other paper money art.

For example, in the "Illustrated Taxonomy" at the end of the book is an entry on shrinking paper money. Who knew? Many thanks to the author and Jaime Nelson at the Princeton Architectural Press for forwarding images and text for this article.

Here's a nicely done example of folded money art by Gay Merrill Gross titled George Washington Framed.

Above is a selection of dollar bills rubber stamped by artist Peggy Diggs in 2003, asking questions about wealth and poverty.

The earlier E-Sylum article (linked below) provides some more background on the book, which covers damaged and mutilated coins as well as paper money. It's a fun book, and Spiller clearly comes by his love of coins honestly - at the back of the book is a Children's Hospital receipt for his childhood examination after swallowing a nickel.

To view a video about the book, see:
Keep the Change by Harley J. Spiller, Book Trailer (https://vimeo.com/119891906)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: KEEP THE CHANGE (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n03a07.html)

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