Watercraft on World Coins: America and Asia, 1800-2008 v. II: Volume II: America & Asia, 1800-2008 - Softcover

Dotan, Yossi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 189859550X ISBN 13: 9781898595502

Publisher: Liverpool University Press, 2010

Synopsis

This volume is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the Americas and the second with Asia. The entries include a 1920 US half-dollar commemorating the tercentenary of the Mayflower, a 1995 Cuban series celebrating pirates of the Caribbean, and a five-yuan piece honouring the medieval Chinese admiral Zhen He.

About this title

Review:

The format is identical to Volume I, which I reviewed in November 2007. Much of what I said then still applies to Volume II: I have to say this is probably one of the best books I've ever seen on a topical numismatic subject. No mere catalog, the book delves deeply into the background of each coin, providing anywhere from a few sentences to a full page of information about each coin, its history and design, and the history of the watercraft depicted. Krause Mishler (KM) numbers are used, providing easy cross-reference to the standard price catalogues. This is ideal, for a topical book has a far longer shelf-life than price catalogs, and had any prices been included they would quickly become outdated. QUICK QUIZ: which coins in the U.S. Statehood Quarter Dollar series picture watercraft? They are all listed and pictured here. How many other U.S. coins (including commemoratives) picture watercraft? This chapter of the book would make a great guide for building an interesting collection and exhibit of U.S. coins. There are quite a few coin designs that I really like. Some of the U.S. design are among them, but I also like a 1964 25 fils coins from Yemen, picturing a traditional fishing dhow (p. 331). The volume passes my back-of-the-book test: there is a detailed six-page index and an impressive five-page Select Bibliography. Thoughtfully included is a section with additions and errata to Volume I, Europe. "Numismatic Bibliomania""

The first thing I did when I got my hands on Dotan s "Watercraft, Volume II," was to turn to the section on Canada to see how he described our famous voyageur silver dollar. He devotes a page and a half to our iconic dollar coin, with detailed descriptions of the voyageur, the aboriginal guide, the rays of the aurora borealis and the rocky island in the background with the wind-swept pines. (He even includes a footnote about the disappearance of the voyageur dies that were supposed to have been used for the aureate circulating dollar coin. The loss of these dies forced the Royal Canadian Mint to use a backup design to produce the dollar coin known as the loonie. ) Yossi Dotan is described as a numisnautical researcher. He has collected ship coins for over thirty years. Since his retirement as an accountant he has done extensive research on ships on coins and written the appropriate narratives. Dotan s attention to detail is evident in the descriptions of nearly every coin in the book. For the numismatist, he writes about the coin s size, metallic content and year (or years) of issue. For the mariner, he provides details about the ship s size, function, history, destination, and, in some cases, the ultimate fate of the vessel. Even if the ship is only a tiny part of the coin s design, we get a detailed description. For example, the Caribbean island of Dominica has its coat of arms on the four dollar coin dated 1970. In this case, the ship is a small native craft in the lower left quadrant of the shield. You almost have to look twice to find the ship. All types of sailing vessels have been described on coins, from Noah s Ark (Israel) to the Titanic (North Korea), from a rowboat (USA) to a large ocean liner (Bermuda), from an Olympic catamaran (Aruba) to a threemasted in full sail (China, among others). Dotan has incorporated several improvements in Volume II. There are about 500 coin photos, more than twice as many as in Volume I. He has three pages of Additions and Corrections to Volume I. Also there is an extensive index and bibliography. The only typos that eluded his proofreaders were his description of coins from the British Antarctic Territory. These coins mark the 100st (sic) Anniversary of the Declaration of British Sovereignty in the area. This book will appeal to the casual topical collector, to the dedicated numismatist and to the naval historian. I look forward to Dotan s Volume III, Africa and Oceania, 1800 which is in preparation. "Review""

"The format is identical to Volume I, which I reviewed in November 2007. Much of what I said then still applies to Volume II: ... I have to say this is probably one of the best books I've ever seen on a topical numismatic subject. No mere catalog, the book delves deeply into the background of each coin, providing anywhere from a few sentences to a full page of information about each coin, its history and design, and the history of the watercraft depicted. ... Krause-Mishler (KM) numbers are used, providing easy cross-reference to the standard price catalogues. This is ideal, for a topical book has a far longer shelf-life than price catalogs, and had any prices been included they would quickly become outdated. ... QUICK QUIZ: which coins in the U.S. Statehood Quarter Dollar series picture watercraft? They are all listed and pictured here. How many other U.S. coins (including commemoratives) picture watercraft? This chapter of the book would make a great guide for building an interesting collection and exhibit of U.S. coins. ... There are quite a few coin designs that I really like. Some of the U.S. design are among them, but I also like a 1964 25 fils coins from Yemen, picturing a traditional fishing dhow (p. 331). ... The volume passes my back-of-the-book test: there is a detailed six-page index and an impressive five-page Select Bibliography. Thoughtfully included is a section with additions and errata to Volume I, Europe." --Numismatic Bibliomania

"The first thing I did when I got my hands on Dotan's Watercraft, Volume II, was to turn to the section on Canada to see how he described our famous voyageur silver dollar. He devotes a page and a half to our iconic dollar coin, with detailed descriptions of the voyageur, the aboriginal guide, the rays of the aurora borealis and the rocky island in the background with the wind-swept pines. (He even includes a footnote about the disappearance of the voyageur dies that were supposed to have been used for the aureate circulating dollar coin. The loss of these dies forced the Royal Canadian Mint to use a backup design to produce the dollar coin known as the 'loonie.') ... Yossi Dotan is described as a numisnautical researcher. He has collected 'ship coins' for over thirty years. Since his retirement as an accountant he has done extensive research on ships on coins and written the appropriate narratives. ... Dotan's attention to detail is evident in the descriptions of nearly every coin in the book. For the numismatist, he writes about the coin's size, metallic content and year (or years) of issue. For the mariner, he provides details about the ship's size, function, history, destination, and, in some cases, the ultimate fate of the vessel. Even if the ship is only a tiny part of the coin's design, we get a detailed description. For example, the Caribbean island of Dominica has its coat of arms on the four dollar coin dated 1970. In this case, the ship is a small native craft in the lower left quadrant of the shield. You almost have to look twice to find the ship. ... All types of sailing vessels have been described on coins, from Noah's Ark (Israel) to the Titanic (North Korea), from a rowboat (USA) to a large ocean liner (Bermuda), from an Olympic catamaran (Aruba) to a threemasted in full sail (China, among others). ... Dotan has incorporated several improvements in Volume II. There are about 500 coin photos, more than twice as many as in Volume I. He has three pages of 'Additions and Corrections' to Volume I. Also there is an extensive index and bibliography. The only typos that eluded his proofreaders were his description of coins from the British Antarctic Territory. These coins mark the 100st (sic) Anniversary of the Declaration of British Sovereignty in the area. ... This book will appeal to the casual topical collector, to the dedicated numismatist and to the naval historian. I look forward to Dotan's Volume III, Africa and Oceania, 1800 - which is in preparation." --Review

About the Author:

Yossi Dotan is numisnautical researcher and a recognized expert in modern coins depicting watercraft. He is a contributor to the Standard Catalog of World Coins.

About this edition

• Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 189859550X
• ISBN 13: 9781898595502
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 346