The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 47, November 18, 2007, Article 6

BOOK REVIEW: 'MONEY' BY JOE CRIBB

Lots of books come across my desk, but usually I know
they're coming.  Coming home from the office Thursday I
found a surprise waiting for me - a copy of 'Money' written
by Joe Cribb for the Dorling Kindersley 'Eyewitness Books'
series.  It was #18 in the series (of over 125 titles) and
was published originally in 1990; this copy was from the
2000 edition.

My eight-year-old son Christopher had brought it home from
school.  "Did you read it?", I asked.  "No - I brought it
home for you."  OK, so much for interesting him in my hobby.
But it was thoughtful of him and I really did enjoy the book,
which I hadn't come across before.  The 64-page hardcover
is a visual delight, loaded with 20-25 photographs per page,
printed on glossy paper.  It's divided into 29 chapters;
several illustrate the coins and banknotes of various countries
and regions - others cover topics as diverse as counterfeiting,
wartime currency, checks and ATM cards, and finally "Collecting
Coins".  It may be aimed at young readers, but I found it a
delight to read.

Amazon.com lists a 2005 edition with 72 pages, so the book
has been updated periodically.  One online reviewer mentioned
an interesting factoid from the newer edition that I didn't
see in mine:  "The name for a piggy bank comes from pygg, a
type of clay used in Middle Ages to make pots for money and
other things. The idea to make banks in the shape of pigs
probably came from the similarity of the words."

The breadth of the book's coverage is stunning - this is
obviously an author who knows numismatics from A to Z and
beyond, no surprise given that Cribb is a Keeper of Coins
and Medals at the British Museum.  Included are not just
the obvious choices of Yap stone money, a 14th-century
Chinese note and a 1794 U.S. silver dollar - the book also
illustrates such diverse numismatic items as a Hell Bank
note, German notgeld, a telephone token, and a plastic $1
gambling token from Diamond Tooth Gertie's casino in
Dawson City, Yukon.

Of interest to numismatic bibliophiles is a catalog of
rubbings of Chinese and Japanese cash coins made by a
Japanese collector in 1812, and a Dutch Trader's Manual,
a cambist picturing circulating coins, published in Antwerp
in 1580.   There are few attributions for the photos,
although one can assume that items unlisted in the cryptic
Acknowledgements section on the last page are from the
British Museum collection.   As a product targeted at
young readers I won't fault the book for not having my
favorite components - an index, bibliography and footnotes
or endnotes.  Still, as a curious reader it's disappointing
not to find them.

New and used copies are available on Amazon for under $15,
so consider this book for holiday giving - it's another one
that I'd add to a list of books a newcomer to numismatics
ought to read, and further justification for the fascination
we all have for this hobby.

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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