BOOK REVIEW: 100 GREATEST ANCIENT COINS, 3RD ED.

Whitman Publishing produces a series of 100 Greatest coin books, including classic U.S., modern U.S., modern World, U.S. Errors, Canadian coins and tokens, and Women on Coins. Harlan Berk was the perfect author to tackle the challenge of selecting and documenting the 100 Greatest Ancient Coins. In 2008, Berk published the 131-page first edition of this richly illustrated large-format book. A revised second edition of 138 pages appeared in 2019. The first two editions sold out. This new third edition runs to 152 pages with much new content.

The choice of the 100 greatest ancient coins and their ranking was based on a survey of museum curators, classical scholars, dealers, and collectors. There was a high degree of consensus among the experts. Rather more than 100 individual coins are pictured and described, because some of the categories, such as Coinage of Croesus (#9) and Athens tetradrachm (#38) include multiple types. Thirty-eight of the coins are Roman; six are Byzantine; and the rest could be loosely categorized as Greek, including Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Judean issues.

Some of these coins are great rarities, with only two or three known examples (#22 the Aetna tetradrachm struck in Sicily in 476 BCE is unique, with just a single example held by the Belgian royal library). Others are quite common, with thousands or even millions of surviving pieces, such as #20, the silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great (ruled 336 – 323 BCE) struck in vast quantities from the tons of bullion he captured from the treasure cities of the Persian Empire, and which continued to be issued in his name from many mints for over a century after his death.

Of the 100 greatest ancient coins, 17 have images of horses; five depict lions; and nine feature eagles. Only one (#25, Hannibal Coin, c.230-220 BCE) shows an elephant. Forty-five depict actual male rulers (rather than gods) while just 10 show actual historic women (rather than goddesses). Nike, the goddess of victory, is the deity who appears most frequently, followed by Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Poseidon, Mars, and the demigod Herakles. The current record holder for the highest price paid for an ancient at auction is #39 Panticapaeum Gold Stater, c. 340 BCE. A superb example of this coin brought $4,860,267 USD in a 2023 Swiss auction.

The layout and design of this book is superb, with thoughtful use of color and typography. At the bottom of each entry, there is a timeline that locates that specific issue in the span of 20 centuries. There is a good index, a bibliography, a glossary of numismatic terms, and a seven-page Gallery that displays all the coins in their actual sizes. There is also a gallery of examples of different denominations: 21 Greek, 13 Roman, and 22 Byzantine, including many types that are not among the 100 greatest.

To read the complete article, see:
First Read: 100 Greatest Ancient Coins, Third Edition (https://coinweek.com/first-read-100-greatest-ancient-coins-third-edition/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: 100 GREATEST ANCIENT COINS, 3RD ED. (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n50a05.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web