Chats on Old Coins

Numismatic literature has hitherto been prepared for the specialist, and adapted to those who wish to posses in categorical form a complete–or as nearly so as the writer’s knowledge enabled him, to make it–list of the coins and medals of the period under review. Some books have been written for the beginner and those who at small cost were desirous of obtaining an elementary account of the particular branch of coin collecting in which they were interested. Few attempts, however, have been made to provide in condensed form a book dealing with the obsolete currencies which have, throughout the world’s history, been used by its most prominent nations. In this little work the author has endeavoured to "skim the cream" off the heavier and, to some, drier problems of numismatology, and to present in acceptable "popular" form the more interesting facts which should be known to every collector. Among the branches of study touched upon are those associated with the coins of the ancients most