Customer Reviews

World War II Remembered: History in Your Hands, a Numismatic Study

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This is simply the most extensive work and study on all forms of paper money (also a little something for numismatists and scriptophilists) issued during the Second World War, thus the title of the book. It goes further than just being a "Catalogue" as it unveils the history behind the issues and disseminates data much like a detective novel, piecing together long forgotten information. Simply a must for all Military Notes enthusiasts and World War Two buffs and anyone interested in history and economic effects during the war.

I use this book almost daily, and it is an incredible book - it does an incredible job covering money during world war two. It lists a large number of monetary issues and it is just incredible what they've accomplished here. Just incredible. Admittedly there's a few things such as the numbering system, etc. that are frustrating for me, but those things are relatively minor and I'm sure those things are going to be resolved in the next edition. Its worth every penny I paid for this book. I highly suggest this book to anyone with an interest and I suggest this for every library to own as well.

This is the definitive WWII numismatic reference. It's 863 pages cover coins, currency and medals of all wartime issues by Allied, Axis, and non-belligerent countries. The scope is incredible when one considers the number of government entities involved. Currencies were issued, not only by countries, but literally all colonies who were cut off from the mother country. Armies issued their own military currency. Occupying powers issued currency to control the economies of occupied countries. This is more than a catalog, it is a history lesson, as the title implies. This is as the authors intended. The book includes short descriptions to introduce each country (as they were in 1940-45). It also addresses how countries financed their military forces, including bonds, lottery tickets, tax notices, etc. Currency control measures were complex almost beyond belief. For the numismatist (or economist) interested in the WWII era this book is an absolute must.

This is THE BOOK on the money of World War II. It represents hundreds of hours of research by two prominent numismatists: Fred Schwan and Joe Boling. Indeed, no other two humans could have produced this masterpiece. Over 850 large format pages with thousands of illustrations it remains the definitive word on the subject. What is needed is a new edition; the sooner the better since this book was published in 1995. This comment doesn't diminish whatsoever the importance and usefulness of the present volume. It was named Book of the Year by both the Numismatic Literary Guild and the International Bank Note Society. I highly recommend it to all readers interested in either World War II or numismatics.

For those of you who want to learn more about the history of WWII in terms of what you may hold in your hand, this book s for you!! Yes, it is in Black and WHITE... So what?! All the countries on both sides are covered, Allies and Axis, as well as the Neutral nations. This book is your bible for historical facts... Pricing information, pictures of notes, blls,names countries where each series was issued, etc. Great Book!!

What could have been a great book, isn't. I was very disappointed in this book; it contains a lot of information but it isn't well presented! Lack of any color is disturbing in a reference work; the currency all looks the same after a while! Some cheesy "artwork" appears to have been clipped from other publications, particularly the line art. The sections on medals could have been deleted, the subject is covered far better in many other books. This book is not a "must have"; hopefully the authors will come out with an improved second edition and then it will be.