A magnum opus about Greek coins continues to grow.

Another volume in the 13-volume series The Handbook of Greek Coinage by Oliver D. Hoover is now available from the publisher, Classical Numismatic Group. The newest work is labeled as Vol. 1 in the series, the Handbook of Coins of Italy and Magna Graecia, Sixth to First Centuries B.C., though other volumes have already been published since 2009.

Inside Coin World: Mint mark key to identifying counterfeit: A fake 1913-S Buffalo nickel, foreign coins pulled from Roosevelt dime rolls and 1873 Seated Liberty half dollars are column topics in the March 11, 2019, issue of Coin World.

The books build upon David Sear’s Greek Coins & Their Values, a revision of Gilbert Askew’s A Catalogue of Greek Coins published by B.A. Seaby in 1951. The series includes the most current numismatic information, lists many new types and varieties unknown to Sear, and determines a sense of the rarity for each issue. 

So far, 10 “volumes” (one volume required two books, so 11 separate books are available) are complete, with volumes numbered 8, 11 and 13 not yet released. 

The subject matter of each volume is arranged chronologically for royal issues, and regionally for the civic issues; within each region, cities are listed depending on the region. For those rulers or cities that issued coins concurrently in all three metals, these issues are arranged in the catalog with gold first, followed by silver, and then bronze; each metal is arranged by denomination, largest to smallest.

Known mints for the royal coinage are listed below the appropriate type, making an easy search for a specific mint.

Each entry includes a rarity rating based on the frequency with which they appear in publications, public and private collections, the market, and/or are estimated to exist in public or private hands. No valuations are listed, since such values are generally out of date by the time of publication. An online valuation guide will allowing interested individuals the opportunity to gauge the market, and reduce the need for repeated updates of this series. 

The latest published volume begins with Ancona in Picenum, and covers Italy and Magna Graecia. 

Coinage within each city is arranged chronologically, beginning with the archaic issues and continuing through the later civic issues. Issues in this catalog are arranged with silver first, followed by bronze; each metal is arranged by denomination, largest to smallest.

The book retails for $65 and is available from the publisher's website. 

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