The World Encyclopedia of Coins and Coin Collecting: The definitive illustrated reference to the world's greatest coins and a professional guide to ... collection, featuring over 3000 colour images [Hardcover]

James Mackay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0754816141 | ISBN-13: 978-0754816140 | Edition: 1

Practical advice on collecting coins, with tips on how to research, organize and build your collection including the internet marketplace.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr James Mackay is one of the foremost and most prolific authors on collectables such as coins, stamps, antiques and bronzes in the world, and has written over 100 books and thousands of articles on the subject. He is co-editor of the annual Coins Yearbook and Banknote Yearbook (Token Publishing) and has also written The Beginner's Guide to Coin Collecting (Grange Books), Coins: Facts and Feats (Spink & Son), Value in Coins and Medals (Johnson Publications), Greek and Roman Coins (Barker) and Numismatics: A Language of its Own (Frederick Muller). A highly respected philatelist, he is also the author of The World Encyclopedia of Stamps & Stamp Collecting (also published by Lorenz Books)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Anness; 1 edition (January 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754816141
• ISBN-13: 978-0754816140
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,298,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Nicely illustrated, errors in text, September 23, 2008

By 

Kavan U. Ratnatunga "lakdiva.org" (Colombo, Sri Lanka) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World Encyclopedia of Coins and Coin Collecting: The definitive illustrated reference to the world's greatest coins and a professional guide to ... collection, featuring over 3000 colour images (Hardcover)

I purchased a copy of "The Complete Illustrated Guide to Coins and Coin Collecting" by Dr James Mackay. This is a paperback edition of encyclopedia with similar cover. I found it a beautifully illustrated book but was Shocked to read the text of the introduction to Sri Lanka. It contained many factual errors and reflected a total ignorance of the History and Numismatics of Sri Lanka.

Let me point out a few.

1) Lankan coinage is documented from 3rd Century B.C.

2) The Chola were from south India and invaded Lanka only in 985 and subjugated the Sinhala who migrated and took over the island from the indigenous Veddahs in the 5th Century B. C.

3) Images [1-2] is a Portuguese Tanga counter-marked by dutch

4) The rupee was not in par with the Rix dollar

1 1/3 (i.e. 4/3) rupees equaled 1 Rix Dollar in 1821

5) The 1/3 Farthing did not circulate in Lanka.

6) Images [3-4] is a half cent from 1870 not a fraction of farthing

7) There was no Local currency from 1839 to 1868 - Indian Silver was used along side British brass.

8) The new emblem was adopted in 1972 coins.

9) Images [13-16] were of commemorative coins issued after 1990

10) The Images [13-14] is slightly smaller than actual size.

In view of these numerous errors in a short bit of text of which I am an expert, I have lost all confidence in the text printed in the guide. I strongly suggest that like Krause, Anness publications, get experts in the numismatics to review and correct the text for each country.

In views of these errors I have corrected the text below and hope this modified text will be used in any future reprints of this Guide or Encyclopedia.

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A number of islands in the Indian Ocean, which were formerly part of the British or French colonial empires, issue their own coins. They range from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), which has a coinage dating back to the 3rd century BC, to the territories that have adopted distinctive coins only in quite recent times.

Following the capture of the island of Ceylon from the Dutch in 1796, and its proclamation as a British crown colony six years later, copper coins were issued by the British in 1802. They bore an Asian elephant on one side and the value or the effigy of George III on the other.

SRI LANKA

The earliest coins were Punch Mark silver of northern India. The Ancient coins of Lanka had the railed Swastika. Medieval Gold, Silver and Copper coins with Standing King "Ceylon Type" were issued from 9th to 15th Century. Coastal area of the island was under Chinese control from 1408 to 1438. Portuguese arrived in 1505. They, in turn, were supplanted by the Dutch in 1658, who counter-marked the Portuguese silver tangas [1-2].

The British took over the Dutch territories in 1796 and made the island into a crown colony in 1802. The British retained the Indo-Dutch currency system, based on the rix-dollar, divided into 48 stivers, or 12 fanams. From 1839 to 1868 British half and quarter farthings and silver three-half-pence also circulated in Ceylon, in addition to Indian silver coinage. In 1872 the currency was decimalized, and the rupee of 100 cents was adopted. Bronze coins of this series [3-4] bore the profile of the reigning monarch (obverse) and a palm tree (reverse) while the silver, or later nickel, coins had the value in numerals in an ornamental reverse [5-8].

Ceylon became a dominion in 1948 but continued to issue coins with the monarch's effigy until 1957. Thereafter the national emblem was substituted in a series introduced in 1963, with name of country in Sinhala and Tamil in addition to English [9-11]. In 1972 the island became a republic under the name of Sri Lanka ("resplendent island") and adopted a new emblem on obverse [12]. A few commemoratives have been produced since 1957, when the 2500th anniversary of Buddhism was celebrated, and many more since 1990 [13-16].

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coins of the World, March 5, 2008

By 

Donna Marie Ellis (Drexel Hill, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The World Encyclopedia of Coins and Coin Collecting: The definitive illustrated reference to the world's greatest coins and a professional guide to ... collection, featuring over 3000 colour images (Hardcover)

This is a great book, beautifully illustrated. Bought it for my niece who has just started collecting foreign coins. It is easy to use, fully illustrated, and gives great background on foreign countries and their history as well as information regarding the coins themselves. Would highly recommend this book.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fine illustraded encyclopedia, September 28, 2008

By 

Robert Hamulka (Poland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The World Encyclopedia of Coins and Coin Collecting: The definitive illustrated reference to the world's greatest coins and a professional guide to ... collection, featuring over 3000 colour images (Hardcover)

great book about coins around the world, many images, coin history facts and collecting guide for every collector, sure increase coin collector knowlegde