English Copper Tin and Bronze Coins by C Wilson Peck

[Marc]

On ebay but ouch! See here

[argentumandcoins]

That's actually not a bad price for a second edition.

I have 2 coming into stock and they weren't too far off that for me to buy.

[£400 for a Penny ?]

Is this a normal level of Peck trading or are there quite a few appearing at the moment ?

[argentumandcoins]

Seems to be a few more around at the moment. They usually turn up about 6-12 times a year in the auctions I check (all major coin houses and quite a lot of provincial rooms). A good proportion are ex-library examples.

[£400 for a Penny ?]

Just as long as Spink aren't reprinting it and this is everyone rushing to get rid before the bottom falls out of the market

One could easily make a case for them doing it - they are known to have bought from ebay, copper is on fire and they might take the view that making Peck widely available will pour petrol on the flames - and above all else, if the price is £150 then there is probably a good market for the book.

I hate it when they do that.

Hope I'm wrong...

[argentumandcoins]

So do I or my fingers just got burnt again!!!!

I would guess that Peck is so out of date that they wouldn't bother reprinting? I know there is nothing else in the market that is similar but would the reprint costs justify the project? They would probably have to sell them at around £90-£100 to recoup the outlay and if it wasn't an updated version who would buy it as most of us already have one or three?

[£400 for a Penny ?]

So do I or my fingers just got burnt again!!!!

I would guess that Peck is so out of date that they wouldn't bother reprinting? I know there is nothing else in the market that is similar but would the reprint costs justify the project? They would probably have to sell them at around £90-£100 to recoup the outlay and if it wasn't an updated version who would buy it as most of us already have one or three?

I dunno - I got roundly stuffed a few years ago when they printed British Battles and Medals by Major L.L.Gordon.

I'd taken years to track down a beauty for £65 and then they reprinted and I sold it for £1.50.

And that isn't a joke.

I hate it, it's worse than forgery in my 'book', pun intended.

Wankers.

[argentumandcoins]

They wouldn't would they?

I haven't heard any whispers (did before Freeman was reprinted and managed to offload my 2 stock ones at a healthy price).

I didn't know that their book department was run by Master Bates?

[Peckris]

Is this a normal level of Peck trading or are there quite a few appearing at the moment ?

Examine the creases and foxing minutely - if two copies are exactly the same, then they are Chinese forgeries

[Red Riley]

They wouldn't would they?

I haven't heard any whispers (did before Freeman was reprinted and managed to offload my 2 stock ones at a healthy price).

I didn't know that their book department was run by Master Bates?

Wasn't Chris involved in some project to re-issue Peck?

Might be worth trawling through the old postings.

Edited December 13, 2010 by Red Riley

[Peckris]

They wouldn't would they?

I haven't heard any whispers (did before Freeman was reprinted and managed to offload my 2 stock ones at a healthy price).

I didn't know that their book department was run by Master Bates?

Wasn't Chris involved in some project to re-issue Peck?

Might be worth trawling through the old postings.

Yes he was - I think it may have been an online print-on-demand exercise, having obtained the rights to do so from the current rights owners? And before him, I know that Colin Cooke was working on the farthings volume of a three part modernisation of Peck's meisterwork.

[Red Riley]

I dunno - I got roundly stuffed a few years ago when they printed British Battles and Medals by Major L.L.Gordon.

I'd taken years to track down a beauty for £65 and then they reprinted and I sold it for £1.50.

And that isn't a joke.

I hate it, it's worse than forgery in my 'book', pun intended.

Wankers.

This is a go and hide in the air-raid shelter moment.

I have a copy of Peck, not because it looks nice but because it is useful. I paid a three figure sum for it and as things stand, consider that good value. Frankly however, I would be just as happy with a loose life binder full of photocopied sheets (now there's a thought...). I am not an antiquarian and in my view a book is there to convey information.

In the unlikely event that pressure from those of us who have 'invested' in copies of Peck on the secondhand books market prevented Spink or whoever from re-printing the book at a reasonable price, then surely we would be guilty of denying information to those who might need it, purely to protect our investment. Call me old-fashioned but that just don't seem right to me.

[Rob]

In the unlikely event that pressure from those of us who have 'invested' in copies of Peck on the secondhand books market prevented Spink or whoever from re-printing the book at a reasonable price, then surely we would be guilty of denying information to those who might need it, purely to protect our investment. Call me old-fashioned but that just don't seem right to me.

Nobody is going to stop Spink reprinting anything. If the numbers add up, it will be done. The copyright for Peck will I assume still be held by the Trustees of the British Museum, so Spink wouldn't be in a position to print it in anyway, shape or form without their agreement. The amount of work required to update it is considerable and then you have to consider how much of the revision would be original. The exponential increase in the number of "recognised" varieties is essentially down to their inclusion in one or another specialised tome. Do the writers hold the copyright for the variety? What are the limits to the extent of the revision? The ideal book would cover all varieties compiled from all references, but obviously would be out of date the minute it was produced due to the absence of varieties not previously communicated (of which there will be many). Expanding your library by buying the latest reference is probably the best way of doing things. You need old and new references in any case to tie in descriptions from past periods be it Montagu, Brooke, Peck, Freeman etc. A range of literature is not an impediment because there cannot be an all encompassing volume.

Sorry folks, you will have to dip into your pockets until your reference library matches your collection aims.