Here's one for the books�the world coin books, to be precise.

Whitman Publishing has come out with a Japanese-language edition of A Catalog of Modern World Coins, 14th edition. Aside from the obvious difference, this new version is slightly larger than the English-language edition (published in 2008), at 7 x 10 inches compared to 6 x 9, and has 504 pages compared to 544. It lists coins in Japanese alphabetical order by country (so, for example, coverage of the United States starts on page 24, instead of page 472).

In the book's foreword, Arthur Friedberg, editor of the 13th and 14th English editions, discusses the significance of this most recent Japanese-language version of Modern World Coins. Yes��most recent�! Many readers will be surprised to learn that it's not the first of its kind.

It was exciting to help rejuvenate this international connection 25 years after the first Japanese-language edition. Masahiro Oka and his team were a pleasure to work with. We met several times at various American Numismatic Association shows to discuss and plan the book. The logistics were interesting�having such a large and complex manuscript translated into Japanese, figuring out the best page layout, working with specialists around the world. Publishing against the backdrop of numismatic legends like R.S. Yeoman and Masamichi Oka lent the project an air of historical importance. Art Friedberg's involvement was another bridge to the past; not only editor of the 13th and 14th editions, he was instrumental in bringing about the Japanese formats of each.

E-Sylum readers who are completists when it comes to their numismatic bibliophilism might find a worthy challenge in the Japanese-language 14th edition. Perhaps 20 copies of the book exist in the Western Hemisphere�archival and reference copies at Whitman headquarters in Atlanta. Collectors can buy theirs directly from Taisei Corporation (www.taiseicoins.com). Get a copy, have Art Friedberg and Masahiro Oka autograph it, and you've got a fine numismatic collectible with an interesting and significant story.