Category: Reviews

“Diamond – The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair”, by Matthew Hart, 2002

Front cover of Diamond by M Hart

History... Here's another cool book which at first glance may not appear to be of any use to coin collectors...but it turns out that it includes a run down of the origin of De Beers - the era of Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato (I kid you not!). So we can learn about the 1870s … Continue reading “Diamond – The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair”, by Matthew Hart, 2002 →

“Australia’s Early Whalemen”, by Margaret and Colin Kerr, Rigby 1980

Sperm whale flinging whaleboat and men into the air, in Beale's 1839 History of the Sperm Whale

Interesting Find I came across this hardback at a library sale - it's complete with the dust jacket in pretty good condition (maybe only a few people borrowed it!), but, of course, being an ex-library item it may not appeal to some collectors... Pics! It's very nicely written with illustrations including old photos on practically … Continue reading “Australia’s Early Whalemen”, by Margaret and Colin Kerr, Rigby 1980 →

Latest Renniks (with hindsight)

I came across a copy of the 1975 'Renniks Australian Coin Guide Part 1' by Dion H. Skinner the other day, which prompted me to consider more closely the latest release, available for a few months now - 'Renniks Australian Coin & Banknote Values 30th Edition', subtitled 'The Leading Guide for Australian Coin & Banknote … Continue reading Latest Renniks (with hindsight) →