Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: A good workman-like effort but certainly not life-changing (4 stars to collectors)
Comment: I bought this book on the wildly enthusiastic endorsement of it by a medals dealer (who just happens to specialize in one of the entries). While I agree this book is good for the hobby and is not a bad effort; owning it is not a wholly satisfying experience.
First the good stuff: The authors have done a fine job of compiling the list of 100 different medals and tokens representative of a broad spectrum from the mundane to the sublime. They also did a generally good job with the background essays on their selections because they are easy to read and sometimes informative. Cross reference numbers from numbering systems found in various books that have catalogued the items are supplied, as are population estimates and some then current pricing information. The presentation and layout of the book are also outstanding. Actually, the book is a pleasure to look at because the full color reproductions are excellent and the layout is top notch.
In fact, I like almost everything about the book so why only three stars?
This is a three star book because while it is very likable, it really isn't lovable. This is because the editors didn't give us enough of the kind of information that makes a thing the 'Greatest'. Just throwing together a collection of 100 different examples within a genre because a survey of experts tells one to isn't reason enough, in my opinion.
The book misses the kind of background stories that caused the collectors, writers and dealers to love them enough to vote them as '100 Greatest'. For instance, I too love the Higley Coppers found on pps. 14-15. I think they are cute and cuddly but I want to know why Samuel Higley was compelled to mint his own coins, for God's sake. What about the coin shortage at the time; how they were used; was there any competing specie circulating at the time? Or take entry No. 47, 'George H. Lovett's Nod to Coin Collectors' which is a fine entry but no mention is made of the Lovett family's long and illustrious relationship to the medallic arts which is doubtless why the medal was voted on the list.
This book misses the inside information that personalizes what are otherwise just objects. Granted, many of the book's entries are beautiful works of art, but mere beauty is not enough to carry a project such as this. Rest assured that the world teems with beautifully struck medals, aesthetically pleasing medals but this doesn't necessarily make them deserving of greatness.
Also this book is Made in China. One day China may produce high quality art books but today is not that day. As a book collector it is of utmost importance that art books such as this are produced with the best of values from the best of materials and this book, sadly, was not.
Just three stars, my friends, but I do agree with the reviewers below this is a great library book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: NUMISMATISTS: TOKENs and MEDALs
Comment: This book is a wonderful collection of KEY MEDALS and TOKENSs. With beautiful pictures, this books tells the story of the medal or token featured as the Top 100 by a select group of Numismatic Experts on the subject. Fun to read; fun to see what medals and tokens made the Top 100 list.
I liked the book so much, I even bought a copy for my local library... JAS
Customer Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary, exceptional detail
Comment: Libraries catering to collectors as well as any interested in the history of American medals must have this oversized, lavish survey of rarities in the medal and token world, which explores the U.S.'s first coinage, medals and tokens and includes a foreword by numismatics Russ Rulau and David Alexander. Full page, large-sized color photos of coins and metals provide extraordinary, exceptional detail making this a 'must' reference for any library catering to coin collectors or American history buffs.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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