In conjunction with the American Numismatic Association, author David W. Lange and researcher Mary Jo Meade present a fascinating look into the history of the United States Mint. From its roots in the pre-colonial eras, through independence and confederation, the intriques, tribulations, and triumphs of the 1800's, and into the modern day-through war, peace, famine, earthquakes, gold rushes, good times and bad-we follow the twists and turns of one of the federal government's most intriguing bureaus. This hard cover book features vintage photographs and documents throughout. Hundreds of enlarged, high-detailed images of American coins, tokens, medals and much more to enjoy!

Traces American coinage from its tentative beginnings in 1792 Philadelphia into the 21st century. Vermeule explores the artistic heritage and merits of each coin, and analyzes the influence of the popular arts upon coin design.

"Money may seem hopelessly mundane and culturally meaningless, but it has dominated--and documented--world history since the time of the ancient Greeks. This heavily illustrated book provides a spirited account of the first coinages and their living descendants in our pockets and purses. It explains how people from Jesus to The Beatles have used numismatics to explore the social, political, economic, and religious history of the world"--

What can one discover through the study of medieval Islamic coins? It appears that the regular gold dinars and silver dirhams issued by the Ikhshidid rulers of Egypt and Palestine (935-69) followed a series of understood but unwritten rules. As the first part of this book reveals, these norms involved whose names could appear on the regular currency, where the names could be placed (based upon a strict hierarchical order), and even which parts of a Muslim name could be included. The founder of the dynasty, Muhammad ibn Tughj, could use the honorific al-Ikhshid; his eldest son and successor could use his teknonym Abu al-Qasim; his brother, the third ruler, could use only his name Ali; and the eunuch Kafur, effective ruler of Egypt for over twenty years, could never inscribe his name on the regular coinage. At the same time, each one of these rulers was named in the Friday sermon and most had their teknonym inscribed on textiles. Presentation coins, the equivalent of modern commemorative pieces, could break all these rules, and a wide variety of titles appeared, as well as a series of coins with human representation. The second half of the book is a catalogue of over 1,200 specimens, enabling curators, collectors, and dealers to identify coins in their own collections and their relative rarity. Throughout the book numismatic pieces are illustrated, along with commentary on their inscriptions, layout, and metallic content.