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Rating: 
Summary: This book is a classic, but a poor guide to coin values.
Review: David Sear is probably the best known living authority on ancient coins, especially Roman coins. If a collector only owned one book on Roman coins, this would be the one. However, the values reported in his book for coins (supposedly those that grade approximately "Very Fine") only roughly correlate with market prices. Coin dealers often like to quote prices from Sear's book, especially if the book price exceeds the normal market value.
Rating:
Summary: A bit disappointing . . .
Review: For how much the name "Sear" comes up in connection to ancient coins, I had very high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, they weren't quite met. In the edition that I own (2nd), there are not very many illustrations, except at the end of the book. The rest of the pictures are just drawings of the coins. I do not know if this was remedied in later editions, though I don't think that it was. Also, the prices (in British Pounds) are given in just one grade of each coin. Still, one can judge from the prices the relative rarity of the coin. Add that to the fact that this is the book that EVERYONE refers to, that that in itself makes it quite valuable. A very brief history is given on each emperor or wife. There also are additional histories on certain periods of Roman history (The Tetrarchy of Diocletian, for example), which are both helful and interesting. Equally important is the quick overview of Roman coins found in the beginning of the book. Sear will cost you a chunk of money, and while quite helpful, it won't answer your every question. Still, if you are collecting Roman coins, you need this book, if for no other reason than that everyone else has it and will quote it.
Rating: 
Summary: Basic and necessary
Review: For how much the name "Sear" comes up in connection to ancient coins, I had very high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, they weren't quite met. In the edition that I own (2nd), there are not very many illustrations, except at the end of the book. The rest of the pictures are just drawings of the coins. I do not know if this was remedied in later editions, though I don't think that it was. Also, the prices (in British Pounds) are given in just one grade of each coin. Still, one can judge from the prices the relative rarity of the coin. Add that to the fact that this is the book that EVERYONE refers to, that that in itself makes it quite valuable. A very brief history is given on each emperor or wife. There also are additional histories on certain periods of Roman history (The Tetrarchy of Diocletian, for example), which are both helful and interesting. Equally important is the quick overview of Roman coins found in the beginning of the book. Sear will cost you a chunk of money, and while quite helpful, it won't answer your every question. Still, if you are collecting Roman coins, you need this book, if for no other reason than that everyone else has it and will quote it.
Rating:
Summary: Basic and necessary
Review: This is a standard reference work. Its value does not lie in its estimations of values, but in the well-chosen range of coins shown and identified, and in its long-time use by scholars and numismatists as a comparative tool (giving the Sear # for coins to identify them is standard practice in the field).
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