My interest in colonial coins and related stuff began as an adjunct to reading the history of the period. I find interesting parts in the whole ofthe period from Columbus to the Revolutionary War and its aftermath. I collected coins when I was young, typical stuff, Lincoln pennies, Jeffersonnickels, etc. As is common, I lost interest when I got to high school. I got reinterested in coinage of the colonial period only after finding my wayback to the history. Perhaps, I like being able to touch history. But my main point here is that I continue to read the history and I find that keepsme engaged. I have some suggestions for those looking for a way into the history of the period. Sometimes history books can be a hard slog and I haveread my share of those kinds of books. I tend not to finish those or read only parts for a specific area I am studying. But there are others that aregood reads from start to finish. Sometimes those books are not strictly history but rather historical fiction -- but so what.

The first book I will mention is Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. By the title you might suppose it is about the pilgrims wholanded at Plymouth in 1620. Well, it is about them, but the book then covers the 50-year period until the end of King Phillip's War. If you havenever heard of this war, that alone is a good reason to read this book. How did that war affect the development of the colonies? What was going onwhile John Hull and Robert Sanderson were operating their Boston mint? Read this book to find out.

The next book is Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto. A little more difficult than Mayflower but not much. Shortowrote about the origins of New Amsterdam (Manhattan), the period of Dutch rule to when the English and the Duke of York took it from the Dutch. Thisbook was based on a rediscovered trove of original documents in Dutch found in the New York State Library and only recently translated. How did whatthe Dutch started come to define a lot about what America has become? Yep, read this book.

The last book I will recommend is one about Washington and the end of the Revolutionary War, i.e., Yorktown. In the Hurricane's Eyealso by Nathaniel Philbrick. This is a recent book, published 2018. Lots of books have been written about Washington. Some like Ron Chernow'sbiography of Washington, I also recommend. Some not so much. This one I was unsure of and figured I might read only part. A few days later, I hadfinished it. One other point I want to make is that I often find numismatic related tidbits in these books that aren't found elsewhere.

For example, did you know that the American troops involved in the Yorktown siege were rarely paid and when they did get paid it could be indifferent currencies?...

I am interested in hearing from members about books they liked or good reads they think I have missed! Email me or find me at the C4 convention inthe fall.

For more information about the Colonial Coins Collectors Club (C4), see:
http://colonialcoins.org/