One hundred years after the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander of Macedon, we see the emergence of a new Iranian dynasty that, by 140 BC, has extended its rule to Western Iran and Mesopotamia. The Arsacid Parthians, famous for their riding and archery skills, became Rome’s most dangerous enemy east of the River Euphrates. Encounters between Roman generals and Parthian envoys are vividly described in Classical accounts of a biased nature, and unfortunately no such sources are available from the Parthian side. Here, the most important primary source is the coinage of the period c. 248 BC – AD 224. These coins reveal important information about the development of the Parthian state, its expansion and the role of the king, who, by 111 BC, had adopted the ancient Persian title of King of Kings. Rome’s interference in the region begins during the reign of Mithradates II’s and culminates in the devastating defeat of the Roman army under the General Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC. Over the next 300 years these two superpowers fight for territorial control in the region, particularly over Mesopotamia and Armenia. This book will highlight the rise to power of the Parthians, the long conflict with Rome, as well as the culture and religion of the Parthian Empire as seen through the coinage of this period. It is co-published with the British Museum to accompany an exhibition of the same name which opens there in April 2020.

The debasement of coinage, particularly of silver, was a common feature of pre-modern monetary systems. Most coinages were issued by state authorities and the condition of a coinage is often seen (rightly or wrongly) as an indicator of the broader fiscal health of the state that produced it. While in some cases the motives behind the debasements or reductions in standards are clear, in many cases the intentions of the issuing authorities are uncertain. Various explanations have been advanced: fiscal motives (such as a desire to profit or a to cover a deficit caused by the failure to balance expenditure and revenues); monetary motives (such as changing demand for coined money or a desire to maintain monetary stability in the face of changing values of raw materials or labour costs); pressure from groups within society that would profit from debasement; misconduct at the mint; or the decline of existing monetary standards due to circulation and wear of the coinage in circulation. Certain explanations have tended to gain favour with monetary historians of specific periods, partly reflecting the compartmentalization of scholarship. Thus the study of Roman debasements emphasizes fiscal deficits, whereas medievalists are often more prepared to consider monetary factors as contributing to debasements. To some extent these different approaches are a reflection of discrepancies in the amount of documentary evidence available for the respective periods, but the divide also underlines fundamentally different approaches to the function of coinage: Romanists have preferred to see coins as a medium for state payments; whereas medievalists have often emphasized exchange as an important function of currency. The volume is inter-disciplinary in scope. Apart from bringing together monetary historians of different periods, it also contains contributions from archaeometallurgists who have experience with the chemical and physical composition of coins and technical aspects of production of base alloys.

The location known as ‘A Riverine Site Near York (ARSNY)’ represents a category of Viking site known from the historical record but one that until recently had remained largely undetected archaeologically: the Viking camp. The published investigations at Repton, Derbyshire, although undoubtedly important, created a false paradigm for the scale and character of such sites. The discovery and investigation of ARSNY, along with Torksey in Lincolnshire and Woodstown in Ireland, has revolutionised understanding of the size and character of such sites, with wider implications for the aspects of Viking warfare, urbanisation, precious metal economies and the transition from raiding to permanent settlement. This volume includes the detailed publication of the ARSNY site, along with the first detailed comparison of the sites as a group and of their wider significance.One particular feature of the site is that the finds shed new light on the character of Viking exchange in Northumbria on the eve of settlement. The volume concludes with a synthesis of the evidence from ARSNY and York with these other groups of finds to provide a comprehensive overview of the monetary developments which took place in Yorkshire in the period between the Viking settlement of the mid-870s and the expulsion of the last Viking king of Northumbria in 954, making this a milestone publication for the understanding of precious metal economies in the Viking Age.

From the Celts to the Tudors, the Georgians to our Queen - coins from all around the United Kingdom show many wonderful designs. With 22 full page illustrations to colour in, each providing a contextual history, this book will provide hours of fun for coin enthusiasts of all ages.

Between 58 and 51 BC Julius Caesar conquered Gaul. He campaigned across much of present day France and the Low Countries, crossed the Rhine to Germany, and sailed the Channel to invade Britain. In doing this he achieved immense personal wealth and glory and the loyalty of a battle-hardened army of veterans. Caesar’s eventual return to Rome began with the crossing of the Rubicon which started a bloody civil war from which he emerged victorious and as dictator. Roman historians have little to say on the consequences of the war on the Iron Age communities of north-west Europe. Their story is told instead by archaeology and numismatics. Huge numbers were involved in the war, at a vast cost in people and wealth. In the aftermath, leaders sympathetic to Rome were installed and sometimes whole peoples were resettled. The diplomatic relations created at this time directly affected the eventual incorporation of these peoples into the Roman Empire. This book presents the latest archaeological research on the Battle for Gaul and its aftermath. Based on an acclaimed 2017 conference, it is the first Europe-wide overview and much of the research is published here in English for the first time. After an introduction to recent trends in historical studies, thematic studies and regional surveys analyse the archaeological and numismatic evidence from across north-west Europe. Comparative evidence for the Roman conquest of Spain is also examined, along with the fundamental role that the study of the Battle for Gaul played in shaping the development of Iron Age archaeology. Written by leading international experts, this book will be of interest to archaeologists, numismatists, ancient historians and military historians.

By the IAPN Prize-winning author of The Coins of the English East India Company. The Coinage of the Bombay Presidency: A study of the Records of the EIC is a companion volume to Dr Stevens’ widely acclaimed catalogue of the Presidency Series of Coins of the East India Company. The latest book contains numerous extracts from the records, relating them to the known coins and showing why and when they were issued. It also contains much information about the working of the mint and the people who undertook that work.

In the early twentieth century there was a revolution in board games. Children’s games intended to teach morality were transformed into economic simulations aimed at adults. This book demonstrates how play and games reflect and shape our understanding of money, and explores the history of board games in the twentieth century. Why was a famous psychic so interested in the stock market? How did a feminist campaigner try to undermine capitalism with a game? And why has ‘German game’ become synonymous with a growing number of cafes all across the world dedicated to playing board games? Playing With Money will be published to accompany an exhibition at the British Museum, which opens in April 2019, drawing on the Museum’s collection of games and game money. In it Robert Bracey, curator of the exhibition, investigates how we think about money, and asks what mundane objects like games, and the universal experience of play, can tell us about society.

The second edition of this book presents a new and expanded exploration of the unusually varied coinage and currency of the ‘Great Rebellion’ of 1642-1660, a pivotal period in British history. It builds on further research available since its original publication in 1990, notably a fresh appraisal of the West Country mints of Sir Richard Vyvyan and new insights into the numerous hoards of the time. Along the way, we meet more of the people who willingly or unwillingly did business with the wartime mints. Following a description of the currency in circulation in 1642 and a survey of the organisation of royalist minting during the war, the royalist mint-franchises are considered in turn. Foreign coinage, siege issues and the emergency coinages of Ireland are all described; and the story of the Tower Mint under Parliament is followed through the Interregnum of 1649-60 to the Restoration of Charles II. Minting methods at a time of transition from manual to mechanised production form an important subsidiary theme.Edward Besly was Numismatist at the National Museum of Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru) from 1986-2018, having previously worked at the British Museum. He is best known for his studies of Romano-British coin hoards and of the coinages of the time of Charles I (1625-49). In 2003 he was awarded the John Sanford Saltus Medal of the British Numismatic Society.

The purpose of the book is to introduce the English speaking reader to the medieval Slavic coinages of the Balkans as a whole. Its objective is not to present an in-depth analysis of any individual coinage or an analysis of specific coin hoards. Rather, its intent is to make available, in one volume, a general synthesis of the up-to-date scholarship, and a catalogue of the main sorts and types of coinages from the different medieval Slavic Balkan lands and towns. Until now, these coinages have been examined only in specialised articles on the problems of attribution and identification of specific coins; and there are lists and catalogues of the coinages struck by specific rulers, states and towns. Significantly, no comprehensive review exists of the coinages issued by all the Slavic political authorities of the medieval Balkans, this study is the first attempt at such a survey.

Co-published with the Royal Collection Trust. The Royal Collection is famous as one of the finest art collections in the world, but little is known about its coins, medals and banknotes, which include many extremely rare pieces. This book, published by Spink in association with the Royal Collection Trust, describes and illustrates the most important items in the Collection, giving their historical background, how they came to be in the Collection, and their importance. The repeated development and dispersal of the early Collections under the great royal collectors Prince Henry, Charles I, and George III are described. No monarch since then has been a devoted collector of coins or medals, but occasional important additions have been made to the Royal Collection, particularly by George V and Queen Mary. Other major items have been received as gifts from visiting Heads of State; coin finds on Duchy of Lancaster land (eg the Cuerdale Hoard of 1840) have also contributed to the Collection, as well as items presented by the Royal Mint. Most of the items have never been exhibited before, and several are supported by descriptions and images of other relevant important objects from the Royal Collection.

The Spink Maury Catalogue has traditionally provided the highest level of detail for the stamps and covers of France and the French colonies, with thousands of top quality illustrations and prices updated every year. It was acquired by Spink in 2015, and the editors have since endeavoured to make this the premium reference work of its kind. The catalogue includes stamps on cover, tete-beche issues, blocks, reprints, military mail, specimens, telegraphs, officials, parcel post, booklets, essays, proofs, airmails, precancels, postage dues, imperforate issues, balloon mail, occupation issues, telephone stamps, siege mail and war stamps, and is the authoritative work for any collector of French stamps, or anyone interested in this fascinating area of philately. The 2019 edition showcased a wealth of new pages and is an absolute must for collectors of French stamps. ‘Layout and coverage are sumptuous … The trite phrase “mine of information” does not begin to do justice to this immense achievement. To any collector of France beyond the elementary stage, this would be a bargain at twice the official retail price … Highly recommended.’ Michael Round, Journal of the France & Colonies Philatelic Society

The Cunetio and Normanby hoards are the two of the largest Roman coin hoards from Britain. They both comprise mostly ‘radiate’ coins struck in the second half of the 3rd century and are the most important catalogues for people identifying radiate coins in Britain dating from AD 253 to AD 275. The Cunetio hoard was originally published as a single volume, The Cunetio Treasure by EM Besly and RF Bland (British Museum Press, 1983); the Normanby hoard was published along with several other hoards in The Normanby Hoard and other Roman coin hoards: Coin Hoards from Roman Britain VIII edited by RF Bland and AM Burnett (British Museum Press, 1988). This edition provides the two hoards in one volume with a note on more recent work on the radiate coinage of AD 253-96 and notes to aid identification by Sam Moorhead.

Dr CHV Sutherland was for many years Keeper of the Heberden Coin Room in the Ashmolean Museum, with a special interest in the Julio-Claudian emperors and their coinage from 31 BC to AD 69. From 1939 he was co-editor and part-author of Roman Imperial Coinage, successively, with Harold Mattingly and EA Sydenham, and with RAG Carson, devoting years to the fundamental revision and rewriting of Mattingley and Sydenham’s original Volume I (1923) of the series, published in 1984. Sutherland’s revised Volume I has been out of print now for some years, but his study of the Julio-Claudian coinage, being the formative period of the long imperial series, is made newly available by Spink in this handsome reprint.

This tenth volume of Roman Imperial Coinage completed the first edition of the series founded by Mattingly and Sydenham in 1923. Its layout is based on the division between the eastern and western parts of the empire, and the reigns of successive emperors. A further section deals with imitative coinages struck by certain of the barbarian peoples. There are detailed accounts of the monetary system and mints, and of the coin-types and legends. The catalogue comprises some 1,800 entries, each individually numbered, and illustrated by 80 plates. The coinage is discussed not only in its historical setting, but also in a comprehensive and documented conceptual context, making RIC X essential reading for students of the late Roman and Byzantine period, as well as for collectors. This seminal volume is reprinted by Spink in 2018 to make it available again to all those interested in this fascinating period of Roman Imperial coinage. Dr John Kent joined the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum in 1953, and was Keeper from 1983 until his retirement in 1990. As well as being an editor of the Roman Imperial Coinage series , he is the author of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume VIII (1981).

This guide is only intended to introduce the short cross coinage to new collectors and beginners generally and to assist in classifying these coins. It is not a scholarly work; it does not include any significant original material and some of the details and complexities have been simplified. If it enables collectors, archaeological site personnel, detectorists and others to identify the majority of normal coins at need, then its aims will have been achieved. The introduction sets out very briefly the historical context of the short cross coinage and the development of the classification system in used today. Numismatists have studied the coins for many years, but it is only since the original written records or 'Rolls' (some of which have survived from the time when these coins were struck) have been transcribed and studied that many matters have been determinded. The Rolls contain many references to financial matters of the time and the names and details of some moneyers and mint officials are recorded (sometimes with their dates of appointment, death or removal) and this information has provided to be invaluable in establishing a chronology and in placing coins of the different types in sequence.

The third revised editions of Jeffrey North’s two volume classic are newly reissued for 2018 to make them available to Spink customers for the first time in over ten years. Volume I includes hammered coins of the early Anglo Saxon, Viking, Regional Kings, Norman and Plantagenet periods up to the reign of Henry III, including 20 plates with hundreds of coin images, covering the dates c600 to 1272. Volume II covers the coinages of Edward I to Charles II from 1272-1662, the principal amendments to the third edition being in the coinages of 1279-1351 and the provincial issues of Charles 1; much new information was incorporated into the relevant sections in 2000 on the strength of important studies including the base shillings of Edward VI, the milled coinage of Elizabeth 1, the Tower shillings of Charles 1 and the mint of York of Charles 1.