Gadoury

What is the purpose of numismatic books and numismatic catalogues?

Every numismatic enthusiast, uses numismatic books and magazines in order to have a reference point when creating his own collection and to further his knowledge of this sector.

When are the origins of numismatic books and catalogues?

The first numismatic books appeared during the XVI century. The majority were manuals written by exchange agents who used to describe in detail the metal, weight and title of those ancient coins. The exchange agents were therefore able to determine an accurate value for every single coin and create the conversion rate when dealing with other ancient coins.

These ancient manuals are still useful today as they provide a complete description of every kind of ancient coin that used to be in circulation. Some ancient coins that are described in numismatic books have still not been found yet.

How have numismatic books and numismatic catalogues evolved ?

During the XVI century different types of numismatic books and publications solely dedicated to ancient coins appeared; most of them referred to the Roman Empire. They usually detailed ancient coins that were part of the private collections of the Kings and Princes of that time.

Day by day, numismatic bibliography has developed. Numismatic books and numismatic catalogues became increasingly accurate and detailed and, moreover, every new numismatic book tended to specialize on a specific period of time, specific population or a determined geographical area.

Do people collect ancient numismatic books?

In recent decades a new trend in numismatic collecting has taken hold: numismatic book collecting. There are many old numismatic books and old numismatic catalogues that are sold with high auction prices. As