The Very Highest Quality Book Reviews...


Coin Book Reviews Return to Coin Book Reviews Chard 24 Carat Home Page

2006 Standard Catalog of World Coins by Krause
2006 Standard Catalog of World Coins by Krause
Standard Catalogue of World Coins
by Chester L. Krause and Clifford Mishler, Colin R. Bruce II Senior Editor
Publisher: Krause Publications

The Telephone Book
First published in 1972, as a single volume, "Krause" as it is usually called grew to the size of a telephone directory, and was sometimes called the "Coin Dealers Bible". Originally covering world coins from about the mid 19th century, the original volume expanded so much, it has now been split into two volumes each covering one century, plus a further two volumes each covering a preceding century.

The 2006 Edition
Our copy of the 2006 (33rd) edition contains 2,290 pages, over 40,000 full size illustrations, and we estimate over 200,000 different coins listed, each in up to four different grades of preservation. Includes almost every known coin since 1901, covering the entire 20th century, and most of the 21st so far.
See below for information about 2007 edition.

Contents
It is worth reading the opening sections of the catalogue before starting to use it. These include Country Index, Foreign Exchange Tables, User's Guide which gives a lot of practical advice on identifying coins, Coin Sizing Chart, International Numerics, Instant Identifier, Hejira Date Conversion Chart, Coin Denominations List, Grading Chart, Silver Bullion Chart, Gold & Platinum Bullion Chart, Mint Index, Mint Data, Monograms and Eastern Mint Names. These sections are followed by the main listings section of the book. There are two photographs of almost every coin type, showing the obverse and reverse sides full size. This makes it easy to find the right coin by size, although it does make listings for small coins more difficult to work with, however this is a minor quibble as the book would be even larger if it had to include a larger photograph of each coin. Each country has a brief but very useful and informative demographic and historical summary before its coin listings.

Price
$54.99 US / £39.99 UK

2007 Edition
The 2007 edition which was due for publication as we edited this page, has now been split again. From 2007, it will become two volumes, the first covering 1901 to 2000, the second covereing 2001 to date. This will undoubtedly double the cost. For this reason, many collectors may prefer to buy the 2006 edition.

The Three Earlier Volumes
Each of the three earlier volumes covers a different century. Although they have fewer pages, they are printed on thicker better paper, and are every bit as encyclopaedic as their more recent volume. They cover:-

19th Century, 1801 to 1900
4th edition, published 2004
Price: $60 US / £37.99 UK

18th Century, 1701 to 1800
3rd edition, published 2004/5?
Price: $60 US / £48 UK

17th Century, 1601 to 1800
2nd edition, published 2004/5?
Price: $65 US / £45 UK

It's our experience that we don't use the earlier catalogues as much as the most recent one, but conversely, when we do use them, we appreciate their existence even more because we are looking up older, more obscure coins, often from states which no longer exist, or have changed their names. We are hoping that the publishers won't be too long before they delve back even further and produce a 16th century edition, we would place our order for it today!

Other Krause Publications
There is also a "World Gold Coins" which covers 1601 to date, as a bonus it also includes platinum and palladium coins. Although most of the information is included in the general catalogues, we find it pays us to have this book also, even though it carries a $100 price tag.

World Gold Coins
5th edition, published 2005, 1220 pages
Price: $100 US / £59.95 UK

KM#
Some pages on our site may refer to KM numbers. These are the reference numbers in the relevant Krause Catalogue.

A Note to Krause
If you fancy sending us review copies of your publications we will be happy to review them here!


...at the Lowest Possible Price

32 - 36 Harrowside, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 1RJ, England.
Telephone (44) - (0) 1253 - 343081 ; Fax 408058; E-mail:
The URL for our main page is: https://24carat.co.uk
Chard(1964) Ltd