1745 – English Silver & Gold Coins – Martin Folkes | First Edition, Illustrated

A Table of English Silver Coins from the Norman Conquest to the Present Time by Martin Folkes is a 1745 first edition treatise on the value of English money. This history of British coinage contains descriptions of weights and metals used in coins, the values of sterling silver and angel gold, as well as sections on unminted coin proposals, gold coin tables, and values of pennies. One particularly interesting section covers the effects of the English Civil War on the value of silver and how the coins changed following the union of the Scottish and English crowns.

It is, however, the 42 pages of plates that make this book so desirable, each filled with dozens of engraved figures of coins. Truly, a remarkable work on British coinage and numismatics.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Table of English Silver Coins from the Norman Conquest to the Present Time: With Their Weights, Intrinsie Values, and Some Remarks Upon the Several Pieces
• Author(s): Martin Folkes
• Publisher: London, Printed for the Society of Antiquaries
• Edition: First Edition, 1745.
• Binding: Leather
• Format: (4to), two volumes
• Size:  11.75 in x 10 in (30 cm x 25.5 cm)
• Collation: Vol. I: 161, [1], 12 pp; Vol. II: 42 leaves of plates
• Illustrations: 42 engraved plates
• Contents Include:
  • Coins of Scotland After Union
  • Table of English Gold Coins
  • Valuations of the Penny
  • Unissued Coinage Designs
  • Weight and Metal Standards
  • Rates of Silver and Economic Context

Condition:

Very Good. Bound in full leather with rubbing to edges and spine ends. Text blocks are firm. Plates remain clean. Complete and intact internally.

Why Collect This?

• First printing issued by the Society of Antiquaries
• Complete with original engraved coin plates
• One of the most significant 18th-century British numismatic studies

Item Number: #29858