Customer Reviews

Monumental Coins: Buildings & Structures on Ancient Coinage

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From beginning to end, I enjoyed reading this book.

Each chapter can be read on its own, as a series of articles on the subject, but going through them all, makes clear the wealth of information that can be gathered from the tiny masterpieces of art preserved on ancient coins. Buildings of all types are depicted on coins and on reconstructions; some history of the structures accompanies text.

Coins depicted alongside the text are hand drawn, something that was the standard on most early books. This allows the author to stress or fill in details that the actual photograph can't provide, and as they are in a larger size than the coins themselves I didn't have to struggle to notice them. Photographs at the end of the book (black and white, why not in color?) provide the feeling of the real size and appearance of what survives today.

So, if you are fond of ancient history, or numismatics, you'll find yourself at ease with this book. I ended looking for further information in both fields. It brought about for me a new awareness of coinage in the Roman world.

Monumental Coins by Marvin Tameanko is a wonderful book. The subject is the depiction of buildings, bridges, and other structures on ancient Greek and Roman coins. Each of the thirty-three chapters is illustrated with numerous drawings of the coins under discussion. One hundred of the coins are also supplemented on VIII plates at the end of the book. This is truly a wonderful work, Mr. Tameanko's passion for the subject definitely shines through. If you are interested in ancient coins, ancient architecture, or history than I recommend this book. It is no longer available form the publisher but can be readily found on the internet for a fraction of the cover price. $10-$20 for a wonderful hardbound book about coins is a deal no one should pass up.