October 30, 2014 – In September 2014, Whitman Publishing has released the first volume of the “Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money”, by Don and Lois Bailey. The 496-page hardcover book is the first in a series of four.
Don and Lois Bailey, Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money, volume 1, Whitman Publishing, Atlanta (GE), 2014. Hardcover, 496 pages, full color, 6 x 9 inches. ISBN 0794834074. $39.95 U.S.
Volume 1, the first book in the four-volume “Encyclopedia”, is an introduction for collectors and historians—an overview and history of Mexican coinage and currency, richly illustrated with 1,182 images. It was written by award-winning scholars Don and Lois Bailey with the cooperation of numerous collectors, coin dealers, museum curators, government officials, bank officers, and other experts. It covers pre-Columbian money to the colonial era, the independence movement, revolutions, modern coinage reforms, commemorative programs, and silver, gold, and platinum bullion.
Volume 1 covers all regular coinage issues by type, with years, mintmarks, assayers, and relevant comments; plus confirmed die varieties. It catalogs Mexican coinage with the comprehensive new Bailey-Whitman (BW) numbering system, cross-referenced to older systems. The “Whitman Encyclopedia” includes many coins unlisted in earlier reference books.
A new, specially designed font system for Mexican mintmarks improves on earlier, less accurate typographical treatments.
In addition to coins, volume 1 explores Mexican primitive money, patterns, tokens, sets, orders and decorations, medals, paper money, and other specialized numismatic topics.
Additional resources for collectors and researchers include charts of the precious-metal content (and resulting bullion values) of Mexican coinage going back to the first milled coinage of 1732; a glossary of terms relevant to Mexican and general numismatics; a bibliography; and an index.
“Everyone interested in the history and coinage of Mexico will find this book enjoyable and comprehensive,” said Dr. Manuel Galán Medina, retired Director General of Currency Issues for the Banco de México.
Future volumes in the “Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money” will focus on the following topics in even greater detail, with more photographs, coin values, and information: modern coinage of the reforms of 1905 and 1992 (volume 2); media of exchange from pre-Columbus days through Republican decimal coinage (volume 3); and the coins and tokens of the 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution (volume 4).
The book is available from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide, and online.
Click here to go to Whitman’s Online Shop.
The books can also be borrowed for free as a benefit of membership in the American Numismatic Association, through the Dwight N. Manley Numismatic Library.