This book will find its place alongside Manville's other works on the bookshelves of all serious numismatic institutions, collectors and scholars, and it will become an extremely useful tool to be consulted whenever any piece of numismatic information eludes the mind if anyone is venturing into an area which is not his or her own. However, this will not be the limit of its appeal, for this book will undoubtedly be used by those who are not serious numismatists and may not therefore have had occasion to make use of his earlier volumes. For any member of the general public who wishes to understand more about the history of coins and medals or who simply has a question on the subject, this book should provide the answer. For those that then want to go on to investigate the given topic a little further, they are given the opportunity to do so, for the fruits of Manville's own extensive knowledge are supplemented here by mini-essays contributed by a range of specialists from the United Kingdom and the United States.