Customer Reviews

Standard Catalog of German Coins

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Krause Publications has brought under one cover the vast numismatic production of the German cities, states, and colonies from 1600 to date. Every serious collector of German coins needs this book. This book is a real bargain because it eliminates the need for the German coin collector to purchase Krause's regular world coin books that are now broken down into different centuries (this single volume pulls information out of the four volumes that would otherwise be required).

Here are some good points:

1. Collectors of Thalers will be pleased to see Davenport numbers incorporated in their favorite areas.

2. Numerous illustrations aid the collector in identifying unknown coins.

3. Prices appear in at least four grades for each coin.

4. Helpful sections include an "Instant Identifier" with illustrations of various coin designs specific to a particular area, and "Legend Abbreviations" which give the collector a big leg up in identifying coins based on the legends alone.

5. A decent attempt is made at listing Pattern pieces (those coin designs never officially adopted).

Here are a few areas where the book could be better:

1. Prices appear to reflect the American market for German coins which, in many cases, is substantially lower than the German market for the same coins.

2. Some of the States higher in the alphabet (Saxony, for example) seem to be lacking data on the earliest coins.

3. I'd like to see the Pattern section expanded and possibly include the numbers from Schaaf's reference book on this area.

4. Cross-references to Jaeger (the German "Guidebook") would be helpful to our friends across the big pond.

Lest I appear too critical, let me state that the positive impact of this book and the obvious time and effort that went into its production are immensely important. No other reference on German coins comes anywhere close to matching the sheer volume of information contained herein. No other single book opens up the world of German coins like this book does. Thus, whether you're a beginning or an advanced collector, this book should be an essential part of your reference library.

Unless you speak/read German, this is as good as it gets. Not only is this most comprehensive compilation of relative values of German States issues, but the other information helps with the overall history lesson. This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST for anyone at the German coin beginner/intermediate level of collecting, and I suspect it has become quite useful to the advanced collectors/dealers.

I sleep with this under my pillow so when I look at the auctions at 2 AM I know what I am looking at.

I collect porcelain Notgeld that this book is useless. However, I also collect German States coins and this book comes in handier than the generic world coins catalogs.

* Over 18,00 photos
* Over 60,000 listing

Featuring:
* Accurate guides for determining intrinsic values and authenticity
* Actual silver weights (ASW)
* Actual gold weights (AGW)
* Actual platinum weights'
* statements of fineness
* Total weight of coins
* Silver and gold bullion values charts

The values may be out of date but with the addition of an online currency converter, you can get a ballpark feel for the price.

There are no color plates but the picture are quite clear.

Each of the German states has a small description of location and history.

The other thing that is missing in this catalog is a description of the person on the coin and what the different symbols represent. I know some from history but must evades me.

German war tokens "Notgeld"

Although an experienced U.S. coin collector, I am a novice in collecting German coins. This catalog has opened up the vast and varied world of German coins for me. This second edition was published in 1998 and is the only comprehensive catalog of its kind available in English. Krause Publications has not issued a more recent edition of this German coin catalog. I was fortunate to buy this out-of-print publication via Amazon.com in mint (new) condition at a very good value of $40 or about 32% off the original retail price (excluding postage and handling). The original retail price shown on the back cover is $59.00 US. This catalog compliments my growing interest in foreign coins and satisfies my current concentration on coins from Germany.