Mortensen Coin Price Yearbooks	Sydenham	Crawford	Sear 4th Edition	Vagi	RSC (silver only)	RIC
Date Printed	1997-1999	1952	1974	1988	1999	1978-1987	1923-1994
Period Covered	280BC-254AD	269-30BC	326-31BC	289BC-518AD	82BC-480AD	289BC-476AD	31 BC-491 AD
Types Listed
Republic	1,374	1,700	2,274	469	170	1403	0
Imperial <254 A.D.	6,434	0	0	2,066	1,625	10,561	17,500
Imperial >254 A.D.	0	0	0	1,456	1,539	4,215	27,500
Provincial	0	0	0	421	511	0	0
TOTAL	7,808	1,700	2,274	4,412	3,845	16,179	45,000
Price listings	33,903	0	0	4412	11,535	17,874	0
BOOK PRICE	$270	$65	$300	$75	$95	$225+	$1,000

Reviews (English language):

Roman Coin Price Yearbook

Wayne G. Sayles

One of the most frequently lamented voids in the hobby of collecting ancient coins is an accurate and functional price guide. To be sure, there have been attempts to produce such a tool.  The series of books by David Sear give a new collector some indication of rarities, however as a guide to absolute prices the series has its limitations.  Of course this is to be expected of a work that stays in print for decades.  The Classical Coin Newsletter, of a decade or so ago, tried to present average prices for coins commonly found in the market, but this was a mammoth job and was doomed to extinction. In the early 90s, Numismatic Archives [:Thomas Simmons] started offering bound offprints from an extensive computer database.  These were never mass produced however, and were not very widely marketed.

Now on the market is the first volume of a promised set dealing with auction prices realized for Roman coins sold in 1996 and 1997.  Roman Coin Price Yearbook 1996/97 is produced in handbook form and presents some 10,000 auction prices in a data­base format. The information is extracted from the auction prices realized of nearly 90 firms and more than 200 sales.  Volume I covers Roman coinage from 31 BC to AD 138.

The information provided is not simply a listing of prices.  Each coin is referenced by full description; RIC, Cohen, BMC and Sear numbers are also, date of issue and rarity.  Entries range from a single offering in the case of a rare specimen to nearly a full page of citations for more common types. Prices are listed in U.S. dollars and are accompanied by grade and preauction estimates. Comments with detractions or expanded information are also included, as are the weights of specimens sold. This information alone is quite useful. In reality, this price guide is a reference work in itself. Of course it is not as comprehensive as RIC, nor as handy as Sear. It does not include photographs or line drawings of the coins, although those auctions with illustrations are annotated so that the reader can look up the type in an auction catalogue. It does, however, provide a tremendous amount of information in a single volume.  But the big question is, does it provide useful pricing information?

The vagaries of ancient coin grading, and the emotional nature of auctions themselves, tend to result in wide disparities of pricing. This is immediately apparent to the browser of data in this work.  For example, a Nero denarius (RIC 60, Cohen 314) receives 27 line entries. This fact alone is useful because RIC lists the coin with a rarity of Rl. With 27 appearances in a two year span the type does not seem to be particularly rare.  Conclusion #l: there will be more of this type around if you don't buy the one offered at the moment.

The prices realized for this coin range from $50 in VG to $1,600 in EF.  VF prices ranged from $76 to $1,200.  With this kind of spread it is difficult to come to any meaningful conclusion.  Conclusion #2: prices and/or for ancient coins are wildly erratic. In fact, one can come to a number of meaningful conclusions by sifting through and analyzing the information in this book.

As a standard guide to pricing, this work suffers the same limitations as its forerunners. As a useful database for decision making and understanding the market, it is superb. We highly recommend it to anyone who intends to buy coins at auction.                                                     

   (The Celator nr. 6, Gainesville, Missouri June 1998, p. 35)  

[Reviews: RCPY REPUBLICAN, vol. 0]

Sam Kazmi  

Since publishing my very first web site on classical numismatics almost six years ago, I have received several hundred emails asking all sorts of questions about the hobby. “How to determine the current market value of a coin?” is probably the most frequently asked question.

The proper answer to this age old query can often only be given by an experienced dealer who has his/her finger on the pulse of the marketplace. This information is acquired by the dealers’ active participation in numismatic sales around the world and their “inside” exposure to the frequency at which a coin in various grades may make it to the market in a given period of time.

At least for collectors of Roman coinage up to CE 254, this “inside” information is now available in the three volumes of Roman Coin Price Yearbook, edited by Morten Eske Mortensen.

This unique work surveys over 250 public sales from around the world and catalogues them in a unique and easy to use format; providing over 33,000 hammer prices for coins from the Republican period to CE 254.

Additionally and importantly, each coin is fully described; including anything unique or special about the individual specimen on auction – right from the auction catalogue and converted to US dollars – while providing extensive cross-referencing information to most major numismatic references such as Crawford, Babelon, Sydenham, BMC, Cohen, RIC, Sear, Seaby, etc.

I am not aware of any other single work which gives this much information for every coin listed within!

This series does much more than fill the simple need for a “current” market price guide as it also provides some unique information for the wise:

1)     It can easily help to determine if a coin listed as "Scarce" or "Rare" in the (mostly outdated) reference works is actually so by observing the frequency at which it may appear on sale.

2)     It can help sellers determine the best venue to auction their coins as one notices the differences in prices realized from country to country, or from one auction house to another.

3)     It can help buyers determine the best venue to look for good buys!

4)     It works as a unique “attribution tool” providing a broader cross-referencing possibility than other works.

To better understand what this book offers requires that we compare it to some of the standard works currently used as references. For example, in the Republican series Sydenham, Crawford, and Sear cover approximately 1,700 coins, 2,274 coins, and 469 coins respectively, while Mortensen covers 1,374 with recent hammer prices.

For the Imperial period up to CE 254, Sear lists 2,066 coins and Vagi lists 1,625 coins while Mortensen lists over 6,400 with actual hammer prices.

In other words, for the same period (i.e., Republican to CE 254) Sear has a total of 2,535 coins with prices compared to Mortensen with 7,808 coins and 33,903 prices for the same based on various auction results.

As such, since our acquisition of the Roman Coin Price Yearbook series, we have heavily relied on this extensive research to price coins for sale as well as to acquire for our own collection.

I truly believe that this invaluable work is a must for every dealer library as well as in the library of every serious collector of Roman coinage.

( NI Bulletin nr. 1, Dallas, Texas January 2001, pp. 25-26)

Joseph T. Sermarini

 FORVM's Recommendation:  The Roman Coin Price Yearbooks are the first books I turn to.  Organized like Sear's "Roman Coins and Their Values," but with more listings and more information.  Coins are much easier to find than in RIC.  If I still feel it necessary to refer to RIC, the yearbook identifies the volume and page for rapid look-up.  After Van Meter and Sear, the Roman Coin Price Yearbooks should be your next purchase.  A must have reference.

(FORVM Ancient Coins' CATALOG)

 Theodore V. Buttrey

As its title announces, the book is intended to display prices for the individual issues of the whole of the Roman Republic, not editorially suggested but actually achieved in auction sales. The editor has surveyed several hundred sales for the period (actually 1995+1996) - - "a random selection", too modestly, for it includes almost every sale of any importance. For each coin the price estimated and realized is given wherever possible, along with the condition of the piece and any pertinent catalogue text. The prices themselves are converted to US$ so that a single comparison is possible through­out. Given the variety of dealers and collectors - - and of coin condition - - the results for any issue can only be suggestive within certain limits (and some dealers seem more successful than others in achieving high-value sales).

The book is crammed with detail, but is not difficult to use once the scheme has been absorbed. Seriation and dating follows Crawford Roman Republican Coinage, but references are included with each issue to Sydenham, BMCRR, Babelon, etc. Then the individual coins by dealer, date, condition, price, etc.

In short, anyone wishing to follow the market within these limits should find this a useful book.

But its value extends beyond, to serious study. First, in such a brief period of activity one cannot expect examples of every issue to have come to sale; yet the results are abundant. MEM lists references to (at a guess) perhaps 8.000 Republican coins. These are largely pieces otherwise unknown to us, for which the catalogues are the major evidence. So much material has been and is being put on the market that no one can keep up with it all; and the catalogues themselves can be expensive even if obtainable. Hardly any proper numismatic library today concentrates on building and maintaining a proper research library of numismatic auction catalogues and illustrated price lists. So that this volume contains numberless references in helpful concision which probably no scholar would have the time or the facilities to accumulate.

In addition, MEM notes the cases where the piece is illustrated (which is usual) in its catalogue. This is an immense help in viewing at once the specific material one is working on. In the past, our institutions provided this service by the construction of photo files - - e.g. at the British Museum, the ANS, or the Institut für Numismatik in Vienna. But the flood of new material which has come on the market over the past several decades, and the squeeze on museum resources, has meant that no-one can any longer maintain such a comprehensive service. Thus, the photo file of the ANS is still enormously useful for what it is, but hardly anything new has been added for the last fifteen or twenty years. It is now too late to recover.

So MEM's volume, while it is itself unillustrated, leads us directly to the catalogues which, for this period, illustrate the issues which particularly interest us. That includes some surprises. Everyone knows the denarius of Labienus, which we rarely expect to see; yet MEM has provided the reverences to no fewer than five appearances of the issue at auction.

Or again, while the material published here is limited to these ca. 250 auction catalogues, that ought to be enough to provide at least a general indication of relative rarity. Of course the rarer material, and the better preserved, will tend to appear in these sources; but it cannot be accidental that, in this survey, the Mars/eagle gold of the earliest denarius system appears in 56 examples of the 60-as coin, 0 of the 40-as, 3 of the 20-as.

(One caution: M., as he makes clear, has gathered the dealers' references. If these are awry the entry here can mislead. Such cases must be few, but I note the single reference to RRC 483/1, an immensely rare coin: the dealer's error, for the piece is actually the common 483/2.).

These are indications of the riches which this volume contains, and of course the same is true of the (so far published) two volumes of Roman Imperial coins. An earlier review put the point justly, "an invaluable tool for dealer and collector alike". But it is far more than a guide to prices. In this regard the title understates: with the practical demise of the comprehensive classical numismatic photo file a work such as this provides a most helpful alternative. In a perfect world MEM would continue to produce a series, with an annual or biennial volume. In any case this is a book which should be in every serious numismatic library, and which every student of the Republican coinages will find useful.

( Spink Numismatic Circular nr. 3, London June 2000, p. 108)

Italo Vecchi

This compilation is a true product of the computer age and exhaustively covers the auction results of some 9.000 coins of the Roman Republic, from c. 280-31 BC, offered in auctions by the principal international numismatic firms in over a staggering 200 public sales between 1995 and 1996.

The general introduction is comprehensive and properly translated by numismatists in six languages, followed by an interesting essay by Wayne Phillips on Roman Republican scholarship. Bibliography, indexes, lists of dealers' auction sales and price lists abound as well as currency exchange rates.

The rubric used fore this compilation starts with the date of the issue followed by the page number of the main reference, Michael Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (2. vols., Cambridge, 1974) followed by Sydenham, Babelon, BMC RRC, Sear and Cohen. This is followed by the mint, condition and estimates and hammer prices in US dollars. There is a brief description of the obverse and reverse of each type, followed by the list of sales in which it appeared as well as any defects noted and weight.

Luckily 1995 and 1996 saw some very important Republican collections on offer and here assembled and recorded in a most valuable index and cross-reference for dealers, collectors as well as scholars of a series widely collected and studied.

The commercial orientation of the numismatic trade has over the years evolved from its origins, the private knowledgeable dealer with a large and mixed stock of coins, gems and antiquities acquired mostly from casual finds and old collections. These stocks were in all grades and usually sold at reasonable prices that satisfied the needs of a large city of district with a large well educated middle class that considered a classical coin collection part and parcel of its cultural patrimony together with a library, decorative paintings, statues, and not least a specimen cabinet of curiosities that would encompass all manner of things from crystals to fossils. These early collections often were bequeathed to the local museums, as in the case of George III, king of England, whose collection formed that of the British Museum.

Scientific cataloguing based of national and private collections is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of the large body of coins published in trade sale catalogues often reflecting recent finds and new discoveries. This outstanding compilation greatly helps the study of the coinage it deals with and is part of greater series of coin price yearbooks published by the same editor. It suffers one shortfall in not covering a longer period. Let us hope others volumes will follow.

Kerry K. Wetterstrom  

This handy little price guide is the latest edition in a series by Morten Eske Mortensen of Denmark. It is a compendium of over 9,000 market prices taken from more than 200 international public auctions from 1995 and 1996 (all prices have already been converted to US dollars, a very useful feature for the American collector). It covers the coins of the Roman Republic from 280 BC to 31 BC.

As stated by the author in his preface: "This book is NOT COMPLETE; This book will NEVER BECOME COMPLETE; and it has NOT BEEN ATTEMPTED to make this book complete," but nevertheless, it is still an important tool for the dealer and collector, both advanced and novice. In order to determine the value and hence the price of a coin, it is necessary to know the past values (i.e., the price history) of a coin. This is knowledge that is usually gained from years of experience, and in the case of a dealer, the very knowledge that enables him to function and make a living from his trade.

The normal method to accumulate this type of knowledge (short of having a photographic memory) is to gather as many auction catalogues (with prices realized lists) and fixed price lists as possible. Then you can study the coins or series that are of interest to you and produce your own database of prices realized.

But now, thanks to Mr. Mortensen, he has undertaken this project for the benefit of all. Granted, the prices in the present volume cover only a two year period, but with over 200 public auctions represented, it makes for an excellent source and reference. Even more valuable is the addition of comments other than just a grade.

As most collectors know, grading standards can and do vary from dealer to dealer and auction house to auction house, hence one might suspect the usefulness of price comparison when just comparing raw price data without the benefit of an accompanying photograph. To help alleviate this problem, condition comments describing patinas, flan problems, metal quality, the presence of smoothing or tooling, etcetera are given for almost every entry. This is the key feature that makes this reference work especially useful.

Another important feature is the addition of weights, in grams, to the hundredth place. A collector or researcher that is trying to study a series and maybe even attempt a die-study will find this pricing guide an excellent starting point. The Roman Coin Price Yearbook is like the old "Cliff Notes" that many an American student has made use of during their academic careers (even if some of us will never admit to it). I suggest that the collector, dealer, and scholar think of this "Yearbook Series" as a sort of "Cliff Notes" for the numismatist. An excellent summary and starting point, but still no substitution for taking the time to read the original work ­assuming that you have the luxury to do so ! 

 (The Celator nr. 4, Lancaster, Pennsylvania April 2000, pp. 35-36)

Peter A. Clayton

The successor volume to the present one, listing Roman Imperial Coin auction prices, was published in 1997 (see Minerva Sept/Oct, 1998, p. 54). Here, the compiler/author has now produced the volume preceding, listing Republican coins from c. 280 BC to 31 BC, the battle of Actium that saw the end of Antony and Cleopatra's aspirations, and the short Imperatorial period that preceded Octavian/Augustus' fiction of restoring the Republic but in effect instituting Imperial Rome from 27 BC. The format of the present volume follows essentially that of its predecessor on Imperial coins, but the coins are listed here in date order based on Michael Crawford's magisterial work, Roman Republican Coinage (2 vols, Cambridge, 1974). References to the pieces (outside of their auction appearances) are given to Sydenham, Babelon, BMC Republican, Seaby, Gebhardt, and Cohen numbers in that order. Prices cited are given in US dollars for uniformity, both estimates and hammer prices, and there are useful tables of currency exchange rates on pp. 70-81, arranged in date order of the auction catalogues cited so that parity can be easily ascertained.

Much of what was said about the first Imperial Roman coin book holds good here with the major features of the structure repeated. Hammer prices realized from over 200 international public auctions held world-wide in 1995 and 1996 include some 9,000 auction prices for Republican and Imperatorial coins. In addition, two guest articles should not be overlooked: 'Roman Republican scholarship: Salis, Mommsen, Babelon, BMC Rep, Sydenham, Crawford', by Wayne C. Phillips, and 'What determines a Roman coin's value', by Gregory Cole.

The many laudatory reviews that greeted the Roman Imperial volume world-wide are reprinted on pp. 55-62. There can be no doubt that this volume listing Republican coins will be greeted with the same acclamation, and will be the vade mecum for all collectors and dealers concerned with the series.                                                 

 (Minerva nr. 2, London March/April 2000, p. 53)

Bruce R. Brace

(The Anvil nr. 1, Canada March 2000, p. 14)  

John W. Mussell

[Reviews: RCPY IMPERIAL, vol. I]

Peter A. Clayton

This book is an invaluable compendium of prices realized at public auctions for Roman coins from 31 BC (Octavian's victory at the battle of Actium) to AD 138, the end of the reign of Hadrian.  It is ten years since the publication of the last edition of David Sear's Roman Coins and Their Values (although a new edition is in preparation), so the present volume is extremely welcome for dealers and collectors who like to keep an eye on market trends.  Sear has the advantage of more description of the emperors and the types, as well as illustrations, but in the present volume there is the advantage of indications of grade and dif­ferences due to that and, by virtue of the greater or lesser appearance at auction, there is a very good guide to rarity.

An initial glance at the close packed tabulated pages may be daunting, but persevere because you will find the basic types listed with date, references to RIC, Cohen, BMC, Sear, and Kankelfitz, plus mint followed by auction sale identification, and specific comment, grade, estimate and hammer price realized in US dollars.  There are over 10,000 auction prices listed drawn from some 200 world-wide public auctions held in 1995 and 1996.  Obviously not all of the rarest Roman coins have necessarily appeared under the hammer in those years, this could not be expected, but the range and coverage is, nevertheless, quite incredible.  Some coins that appear infrequently have a few lines of information added but other, commoner types can fill a page and therein lies the true value of the compilation to the collector ~ he can assess a particular type or indeed the coins of a specific reign at a glance.

Not to be overlooked are the introductory pages which set out the way to use the book to best advantage, and describe the basic reference works cited and other details.  Bearing in mind that coin lists in tabular form can be understood by almost anyone, the compiler has provided the introductory pages in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Danish - that really is forethought for a work of international interest ! Hopefully, volume two, which is promised and takes the listing from AD 138 down to AD 253, will soon be available. There can be no doubt that a sequence of revised editions of the Roman Coin Price Yearbook will become an invaluable tool for dealer and collector alike.

                                              (Minerva nr. 5, London Sept./Oct. 1998, p. 54)

John W. Mussell

The Roman Coin Price Yearbook is, as its name suggests, exactly that, a price guide to virtually every Roman coin sold at auction throughout the world during 1995 and 1996, comprising Roman Imperial coins from 31 BC to AD 138.  The Editor has amassed a huge amount of data from all of the major auction houses in over 500 pages and presents it in a tabular form that is easy to follow, making the task of discovering a specific coin realization relatively simple. The references are for single coins offered as individual lots and wherever possible the item is identified by in-depth description of the piece, auction house, date of sale, lot number, standard reference number, state of preservation (in the language of the auction house), estimated value and the hammer price achieved.  The listing is in chronological order under emperor or personality and subdivided under denomination.

Although the prices included are not necessarily the prices that one would be able to purchase the coins for from a dealer, as auctions can sometimes distort prices, particularly when two collectors are both determined to out-bid each other, they are nevertheless a valuable barometer of the market.  The book has no illustrations but this does not detract from the usefulness of a book that every collector of the Roman series should have in their library.

(Coin News nr. 11, Honiton, Devon November 1998, p. 53)

  Ian Dickson

As the title page tells us, this book provides the hammer prices realized from more than 200 international public auctions held world-wide during 1995 and 1996.  This venture provides some 10,000 auction prices down to and including the reign of Hadrian.

Careful attention needs to be paid to the introductory sections which explain how the book is arranged by ruler, metal, denomination and reverse legend. The extensive "Preface" is provided in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Danish. Although this is a thick volume, it is not feasible to record every coin, but the entries are extensive. The author emphasizes that "This book is not complete. This book will never become complete. It has not been attempted to make this book complete." Yet the utility of the volume will quickly become apparent.

The composition of this volume is best illustrated by looking at one example from the book, a "Vesta" as of Caligula (= 38) on p. 160.

Examination of this entry will reveal that its basic structure is self-explanatory, but a few observations are useful:

· The basic entry to RIC (Roman Imperial Coinage).  In this instance the 1984 revision is used.  Other references are to Cohen, BMC RE, Seaby, Roman Silver Coins, Sear, Roman Coins and Their Values, and so on.  Varieties are recorded where appropriate.

· Each coin is described.

· The list of the sales has the name of the auction house abbreviated, but these are explained in an extensive listing toward the front of the book.  Sale dates, lot nos., and illustrations are noted.

· Condition is given in the conventional grades used in various countries, but is expanded according to patination, surface, cleaning, flan and so on.  Grading, itself, is a subjective thing.

· Pricing is converted to U.S. dollars and extensive table of conversion rates for different countries is provided.  Careful attention should be paid to the explanations related to how the prices realized are to be interpreted.

Examination of the prices realized will provide some initial amusement. But, prices, like grading, are somewhat subjective in that a number of factors such as markets and economic conditions in various regions, the "reach" of the auction house, and the ambiance at a particular sale, greatly influence prices realized. Hence, the apparently disparate price variations can be seen to have a certain rationality after all.

After using the book a few times, the reader will realize that using it really is easier than first impressions conveyed.

This reviewer was amused to read the use of "aes" for "as".  Collectors and dealers will find this book to be a good addition to their various price catalogues.  We can look forward to future volumes extending this useful information for later rulers.                                                                                          

  (The Anvil nr. 4, Canada December 1998, pp. 60-61)

Donald S. Yarab

This work records over 10.000 hammer prices for coins sold through 251 international auctions held during 1995 and 1996 from dozens of auction houses. It includes reference numbers to RIC/BMC/Cohen/Sear/Seaby/Kankelfitz. The coins covered are those covered in Imperial, vol. I: 31 B.C. – A.D. 138. Thus the coins of Agrippa, Augustus, Britannica, Caligula, the civil wars, Claudius, Clodius Macer, Domitian, Drusus, Gaius, Galba, Germanicus, Hadrian, Livia, Nero, Nerva, Otho, Tiberius, Titus, Trajan, Vespasian, and Vitellius are potentially covered.

    (NI Bulletin nr 7, Dallas, Texas July 1998, p. 203)

[Reviews: RCPY IMPERIAL, vol. II]