Coinage and History of the Roman Empire

Rating:
Summary: A double resource for Roman history and Roman coins
Review: David L. Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" is perhaps reminiscent of the god Janus, facing in two directions at once. Volume One is squarely focused on history, Volume Two on coins.

Taking the History section first, this lengthy (over 600 pages) and physically impressive volume contains biographical essays about every person portrayed on a Roman coin (and even a couple who were not), 284 biographies in all. Although a few are limited to a single paragraph because virtually nothing is known of the person except for their appearance on a coin, most are multiple-page essays covering everything from origins to ultimate fate (and in the case of a good many Roman emperors, their fates were anything but happy). The biographies are arranged primarily on a chronological basis, beginning with Sulla who became Dictator in 82 BC and concluding with Leo, Caesar under Zeno in the eastern Empire in AD 477. The essays are grouped into chapters with such titles as "Collapse of the Republic (Imperatorial Period)" and "Civil War and the Severan-Emesan Dynasty", with each chapter prefaced by a separate essay providing a historical survey of events in that period. In all, more than five centuries of Roman history are covered. Many of the individual biographies include a "Numismatic Note" section specifically addressing information about or gleaned from the coin's bearing that subject's image. Volume One might be considered to be a counterpart of historian Michael Grant's "The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to Rulers of Imperial Rome", long a favorite of mine for its handiness as a source for quickly providing basic information (and more) about each emperor. Vagi's Volume One not only serves as an equally convenient source with additional material, but also provides such information about a broader range of personalities. By itself, I would rank Volume One as a 5-star production.

Volume Two is specifically geared towards numismatics, with over 180 pages devoted to discussions of various aspects of the coins: types, physical characteristics, how and where made, collecting, etc. The bulk of the volume, however, is given over to a catalog of Roman coins, including statements of value based upon grade of condition. It is here where Vagi's book may be considered short of some other Roman coin resources, depending on the needs of the individual reader. Because many of the coins for any given person depicted are grouped as being a generic or common type, with only the more interesting or rare coins given an individual listing, Vagi's numerical classification scheme may not deemed adequate by many serious collectors because it fails to differentiate between similar types which are given separate identification numbers in other sources. Vagi also limits himself to providing price range estimates for only three grades, typically Fine, Very Fine, and Extremely Fine. Within these limitations, however, Vagi's catalog is easy to use and does quickly provide a general guide to a given coin's scarcity and worth.

This is surely not a work aimed at the general reader, and it is in some regard unfortunate that the first volume is not separately available for those concerned with Roman history, but not Roman coins. But for those have a strong interest in both, Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" should be a welcome addition to their bookshelves.

Rating:
Summary: A double resource for Roman history and Roman coins
Review: David L. Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" is perhaps reminiscent of the god Janus, facing in two directions at once. Volume One is squarely focused on history, Volume Two on coins.

Taking the History section first, this lengthy (over 600 pages) and physically impressive volume contains biographical essays about every person portrayed on a Roman coin (and even a couple who were not), 284 biographies in all. Although a few are limited to a single paragraph because virtually nothing is known of the person except for their appearance on a coin, most are multiple-page essays covering everything from origins to ultimate fate (and in the case of a good many Roman emperors, their fates were anything but happy). The biographies are arranged primarily on a chronological basis, beginning with Sulla who became Dictator in 82 BC and concluding with Leo, Caesar under Zeno in the eastern Empire in AD 477. The essays are grouped into chapters with such titles as "Collapse of the Republic (Imperatorial Period)" and "Civil War and the Severan-Emesan Dynasty", with each chapter prefaced by a separate essay providing a historical survey of events in that period. In all, more than five centuries of Roman history are covered. Many of the individual biographies include a "Numismatic Note" section specifically addressing information about or gleaned from the coin's bearing that subject's image. Volume One might be considered to be a counterpart of historian Michael Grant's "The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to Rulers of Imperial Rome", long a favorite of mine for its handiness as a source for quickly providing basic information (and more) about each emperor. Vagi's Volume One not only serves as an equally convenient source with additional material, but also provides such information about a broader range of personalities. By itself, I would rank Volume One as a 5-star production.

Volume Two is specifically geared towards numismatics, with over 180 pages devoted to discussions of various aspects of the coins: types, physical characteristics, how and where made, collecting, etc. The bulk of the volume, however, is given over to a catalog of Roman coins, including statements of value based upon grade of condition. It is here where Vagi's book may be considered short of some other Roman coin resources, depending on the needs of the individual reader. Because many of the coins for any given person depicted are grouped as being a generic or common type, with only the more interesting or rare coins given an individual listing, Vagi's numerical classification scheme may not deemed adequate by many serious collectors because it fails to differentiate between similar types which are given separate identification numbers in other sources. Vagi also limits himself to providing price range estimates for only three grades, typically Fine, Very Fine, and Extremely Fine. Within these limitations, however, Vagi's catalog is easy to use and does quickly provide a general guide to a given coin's scarcity and worth.

This is surely not a work aimed at the general reader, and it is in some regard unfortunate that the first volume is not separately available for those concerned with Roman history, but not Roman coins. But for those have a strong interest in both, Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire" should be a welcome addition to their bookshelves.