Customer Reviews

Ancient Coin Collecting III: The Roman World - Politics and Propaganda (No. 3)

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This is a good introduction to the fascinating world of ancient Roman coins, aimed at the general reader and beginning collector. Contains a useful photo gallery of Roman emperors and major usurpers as well as tips on how to attribute coins, read inscriptions and figure out the various images that may appear on reverses. Highly recommended.

This book has a lot going for it, it has over 300 illustrations, it is still only about 200 pages and is in the familiar format of it's two predecessors. The helps are good, it has a comprehensive portrait gallery and is written in Mr. Sayles usual easy to understand and engaging style - that of a writer who loves and cares about what he is describing. The one drawback is that the author felt it necessary to give at least a short bio for every emperor and to read it through can get redundant after a while as much of their history overlaps and repeats, particularly for those with short reigns.

However, if you decide to skip over the emperors who don't interest you and use the portrait gallery as more of a reference section than something that must be read - then it is a great and easy read. If however you really do love the regnal history of Rome - this might be a section of great interest to you and you may love it. Each emperor comes with his own brief bibliography and abbreviated family tree.

Like volume II, the section on "masterpieces" is beautiful and the focus on the coin as artform is a valuable contribution. If you enjoyed either of his previous 2 books this will not disappoint. This is a nice reasonably priced and accessibly written introductory work. It should prove enjoyable and useful for the newbie and experienced collector alike.

I've read all three books in Wayne Sayles's series on Ancient Coin Collecting and all of them have been a joy to read. I'm a new collector so I am a good prospect for these books as they are introductory in nature. Each book has hundreds of photographs which are very good. There is a history of the time, the coins, art, and much more. The author loves coins and history but what I like most is the treatment of coins as works of art. One can like and enjoy this book without really being interested in coins as such. The layout of the book is the best I've seen in any coin book. It is amazing how much information is contained in about 200 pages. I think all three books in the series are equal in quality and value. I have about 40 coin books and these three are in my top 10. New collectors should check these books out first. Many, if not most, coin books are very advanced and may not be of much interest to the new collector.

Mr. Sayles has written a beautifully presented introduction and reference to the hobby of ancient coin collecting. Any book on coins should have photographs and that's what's included in this book, along with terrific written explanations of the coins. Since ancient coin collecting is about history, Mr. Sayles spends a large part of the books detailing the backgrounds of the emperors who appear on the coins. There is also a section on "Masterpieces of Roman Coinage" which presents wonderful photographs of individual engraving art. All in all this is a "must" for anyone interested in ancient coins.

Wayne G. Sayles knowledge of Roman coins comes out in his amazing series. Wayne's book's are fun to read. His book's are easy to use. Ancient Coin Collecting III is nicely researched. The third volume focus's on coins from the Roman Imperial Age from Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.) to Anastasius (491-518 A.D.).
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Roman coins.

But, you really should have all six volumes of the series, plus his guide to counterfeit coins. You must have volume I, and volume II is very highly recommended. My advice: Get vol. I first, then III, then II, then go nuts. You can surely buy them over time.

Excellent overview of the Roman Empire and its' coinage. Good quality photos, but it could stand some color shots.

For those interested in collecting ancient coins, this book is a very good primer. The photographs and diagrams are instructive and clear, with a good small captured background on each cling and period covered.

Nice book on collecting Roman Coins and the politics of the time. Came as described. I would recommend.