Books

Essential new books about numismatics and specialized in shipwreck coins and artifacts

The following books are generally in print and available in quantity. For more specialized references and rare books and catalogs, please visit www.workmansbooks.com , run by my colleague and friend, Alan Workman, whose site is dedicated solely to books and catalogs pertaining to treasure-type items, including coins and militaria. Any old books or auction catalogs that I had in small quantities went to this site!

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Description

Item#

Price

THE "TUMBAGA" SAGA: TREASURE OF THE CONQUISTADORS, by Agustín ("Augi") García-Barneche (2010). Soft cover, 152 pages, limited first edition (400 copies). Before there were coins in the New World, before there were Spanish Treasure Fleets, and even before there were any kind of European colonies in Mexico, the conquistador Hernan Cortés and his men, through the Tarascan Conquest by Cristóbal de Olid in 1522, discovered a new precious-metal mix that led to an improvised manufacture of so-called "tumbaga" bars: a group of over 200 silver and gold ingots discovered in the remains of an unidentified ca.-1528 shipwreck off Grand Bahama Island in 1993.These rare silver "tumbaga" bars found in 1993 are now a step closer to full understanding. (read more)

$29.95 each

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THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF COBS, 20th Anniversary (4th) Edition, by Daniel Frank Sedwick (2007). Soft cover, 254 pages, illustrated with maps, diagrams and photos. This popular book has been out of print since 1995 and unavailable for a number of years now, so this new edition should be a most welcome addition to the market! Greatly expanded from the previous edition (more than 100 pages longer!), this 20th Anniversary edition contains a long new section on the shipwrecks that have yielded cobs over the years, complete with a foldout map and specific bibliographies for each wreck. For further information about this book  click here.

$25 each

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ISLA EL MUERTO AND THE TREASURES OF THE CONSOLACION (2nd ed), by William Gene Seliger (2008). This new book about the Consolación wreck of 1681 off Ecuador was written by one of the salvagers, and as such is a unique perspective you don't usually get in writing! Published in Ecuador in limited quantities, this book is actually in shorter supply than the thousands of silver cobs from this wreck currently on the market, for which this book is an excellent accompaniment. 173 pages, large format, softcover.

$40 each

THE COB COINAGE OF COLOMBIA, by Joseph R. Lasser and Jorge Emilio Restrepo (2000). Quickly becoming a classic, this 150-page hardbound book covers all that was known in 2000 about Colombian cobs, with excellent photos throughout and very well organized for such a difficult area, a must for all collectors of Colombian cobs.

n030510120001

$40 each

8 REALES COBS OF POTOSI, by Emilio Paoletti (2006).  Beautifully hardbound with dust jacket, 402 pages, with tons of great photos, this is the much-anticipated English-language edition of Paoletti's esteemed work on Potosí cob 8 reales of all periods.  Truly there is no more accurate reference on the subject today!  A Spanish translation is also provided at the end (text only).  Autographed by the author.

$90 each

THE MACUQUINA CODE, by Agustín "Augi" García-Barneche (2006).  A Spanish-to-English, English-to-Spanish glossary of over 1500 terms relating to cobs (macuquinas in Spanish) and treasure, a very useful guide (for even native speakers of Spanish often struggle with some of the terminology!).  Not huge (92 pages, soft cover), but priced accordingly.  Autographed by the author.

$10 each

SPAIN, PORTUGAL AND THE NEW WORLD, by Krause-Mishler (2002).  With forewords by Daniel Frank Sedwick, David Fiero, and Roberto Jovel; soft cover, large format (8½” x 11”), 645 pages, covering all Spanish and Spanish colonial issues, plus Republican issues to present from former Spanish colonies (in addition to the Portuguese material), including counterstamps, hence a great boon to readers of my catalogs, with listings of every date in every denomination and values for up to 7 grades, and of course many photos.  Now offered at 40% off the former retail price!  Wholesale discounts for quantities.

$30 each

TUMBAGA SILVER FOR EMPEROR CHARLES V OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, by Douglas R. Armstrong (1993). Until our new book comes out later this year, this Armstrong text will remain the one and only reference on the fascinating "tumbaga" silver ingots found in a Bahamas wreck in 1992 and proven to be the spoils of Cortez' conquest, and it will always be the best source for original field notes and conclusions by the very person who conserved the bars. Soft cover, comb bound (hence rare first printing), approx. 200 pages, much in demand but only limited quantity available.

$75 each

THE GOLD COINAGE OF GRAN COLOMBIA, by Frank Sedwick (1991).  Still considered the most complete and accurate reference on post-independence Colombian gold coins (including Ecuador and Venezuela, as they were once part of "Gran Colombia"), with values and rarities for all known issues.  Soft cover, 90 pages, brand new (please inquire for bulk discounts to dealers).

$12 each