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An Interview With David R. Sear
By Kevin Barry
Biography ....
David Sear was born near London during Hitler's ‘Blitz’ (not good timing!) and Educated at
Downer Grammar School in Queensbury, Middlesex. He joined the staff of B.A. Seaby Ltd. in 1958 as assistant to Lt. Col. Juliusz Kozolubski, the Seaby specialist in ancient coins (and co-author with H.A. Seaby of the 1959 edition of “Greek Coins & Their Values”).
He authored his first book (“Roman Coins & Their Values”) in 1964 (winner of the Lhotka Memorial Prize awarded by the Royal Numismatic Society) and the same year became head of the
Seaby Ancient Coin Department on the death of Col. Kozolubski.
In 1973 he left Seaby and moved to East Anglia to concentrate on writing. Two reference works followed, “Byzantine Coins & Their Values” followed in 1974;“Greek Coins & Their
Values” in two volumes in 1978 and 1979; and “Greek Imperial Coins & Their Values” in 1982
(winner of the 1983 IAPN Book Prize as best numismatic publication of the year).
He left England and moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and with Catharine Lorber co-authored many
of the classic auction catalogues produced by Numismatic Fine Arts of Beverly Hills. Since then “Roman Coins & Their Values” has been through four revised editions (1970, 1974, 1981, and 1988) whilst “Byzantine Coins & Their Values” was revised in 1987.
His most recent publication was the popular “The History and Coinage of the Roman
Imperators, 49-27 BC (1998). He currently contributes a very informative bimonthly column to “The Numismatist” published by the ANA.
The Interview....
“Roman Coins and Their Values” was first published in 1964. The most recent edition is the 4th and was revised in 1988. The 5th edition is, without a doubt, one of the most eagerly anticipated refeence works of the 90s. While most collectors would be satisfied with
updated valuations, David Sear has much more in mind. As you will see.....
1. First and foremost in everyones mind is, when will the 5th edition of 'Roman Coins
and Their Values' be published?
The 5th revised edition (which probably will be known as the “Millennium Edition”) will be
published in two parts. The first volume will cover the Republic and the Twelve Caesars, 280
BC — AD 96; the second will cover the Adoptive Emperors to the Fall of the Western
Empire, AD 96-491. The principal reasons for expanding the work into two volumes are the
vastly increased scope of the listings, which will now cover a far more comprehensive range
of types, and a dramatic increase in the number and quality of photographic illustrations
appearing in the text. Work on Volume I is almost complete and hopefully it will appear
before the end of the year. Work on Volume II is ongoing and the book will appear during the
coming year (regretfully I cannot be more precise at this stage).
2. Will the publisher be Seaby as with the previous editions?
The Seaby titles were acquired from B.T. Batsford by Spink & Son several years ago and the
new edition of RCTV will be a Spink publication (as was my most recent book “The History and
Coinage of the Roman Imperators, 49-27 BC”).
(My apologies to our readers, but I had forgotten that Seaby was acquired by Spink. - KEB)
3. Will it be published in Octavo format and will the binding remain the same?
As far as I know the format and binding will be the same as previous editions.
4. Is this to be a limited publication run like so many other ancient coin
references?
As this title has always been a “best seller” by numismatic standards I am sure that Spink
are not planning a “limited publication run”.
5. A question dear to the hearts of many collectors is, do you know what the price
will be?
The price of the book is clearly a factor of cost and until this has been accurately
ascertained I am afraid I have no information on what the retail figure is likely to be.
However, because of their unrivaled experience in numismatic publishing I feel confident
that Spink will set the price at the most reasonable level possible within the constraints
imposed by the production costs and edition size.
(As a comparision, David's recent reference work 'The History And Coinage Of The Roman Imperators 49 - 27 BC' published by Spink has a street price in the neighborhood of $85 USD.
At least that was the latest price at Ed Waddell's site.)
6. Are you adding new coins? Specifically will you be expanding the Republic section,
adding more silver coins or expanding any other section?
Both the Republican and Imperial sections of the catalogue will be greatly expanded,
especially in the case of the former. It should now be possible to reference virtually any
Roman Republican coin which a collector may acquire. The greater extent of the Imperial
coinage precludes a similar treatment for this series (otherwise the work would run into at
least half a dozen volumes!) but collectors will find the listings far more comprehensive
than in previous editions.
7. If you are adding new coins, will the numbering system be revised? And if it is
revised will there be an offset number that can be applied to go from the new and old
numbers?
The numbering system will be completely different from previous editions. I am not planning
a concordance between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ numbers as the new edition will include so many
types not previously listed that such a time-consuming exercise would not serve any really
useful purpose.
8. One popular question/speculation involves the valuations. The speculation floating
around the Internet says that you may include valuations for more than one grade per
coin. For example, rather than the VF base grade used in the valuations for Republic
and early Imperial bronzes you may include valuations for F and VF. Is there any
foundation to this rumor?
The valuations for precious metal coins (Republican and Imperial) in the new edition will be
expressed in two grades (VF and EF) and values will be given in both US $ and Ł Sterling.
Republican bronzes will be priced for F and VF, whilst Imperial bronzes will be valued in
three grades — F, VF, and EF.
9. One area of confusion for new collectors who do not have access to other works
like RIC involves the treatment of mint marks for the later Roman bronzes. Very often, if
they find their coin but with a different mint mark they will assume it is an unlisted
variety. So, the question is will mint marks be treated the same for late Roman bronzes
as in the earlier editions?
Mint marks in the later Roman Imperial coinage are so incredibly diverse that there is
simply no way to deal adequately with the subject in a general catalogue of this scope. In
the new edition I shall endeavor to make this clear in the catalogue listings so that novice
collectors will be fully aware of the complexity of the subject.
10. Will there be any other significant changes to the revised edition?
Other than the expanded listings and improved quality and quantity of illustrations, readers
will notice that each entry will now include a mint attribution and precise date.
Explanatory notes relating to types of special historical interest have also been added to
many of the entries and a detailed chronological table provides information on all of the
imperial titles and powers combined with the Alexandrian regnal dates for each reign.
Treatment of the Alexandrian coinage has been greatly expanded because of the importance and
popularity of this series which received only summary treatment in “Greek Imperial Coins &
Their Values”. Listings of other provincial issues have been omitted from this work as
they are now dealt with in the Greek Imperial catalogue.
11. Do you have any plans on releasing updated editions of your other references? Do
you have plans for updating 'Roman Silver Coins and Their Values'? Or perhaps an
expanded 2 volumn edition of 'Greek Imperial Coins'?
The next project after the completion of the Roman catalogue rewrite will be a thorough
revision of “Greek Coins & Their values” which is now more than two decades old. The “Roman
Silver Coins” series also requires considerable attention, as the RIC references for the
period Augustus to Vitellius still need to be changed to Sutherland's revised edition of
Volume I. Further, I would like to add a new volume of RSC to cover the important
three-decade gap in the series from the death of Gallienus to the reform of Diocletian. Many
years ago I was opposed to H.A. Seaby's decision to exclude the post-Gallienus antoniniani
from this series and would now like to correct the omission. There are no immediate plans
for revisions of either “Greek Imperial Coins & Their Values” or “Byzantine Coins &
Their Values”.
Follow-up question: Since I was always curious about the gap in Roman Silver Coins and
post-Gallienus antoniniani, I asked David if he recalled the reasoning behind it.
From what I recollect (though it was nearly 30 years ago!) Bert Seaby's views were based
solely on the metal content of the ‘silver’ coins which, by the end of Gallienus' reign, had
fallen to an almost negligible level. This, of course, can hardly be disputed on purely
technical grounds, but my contention was that the series of antoniniani represents an
unbroken sequence from Caracalla until Diocletian's reform. How, therefore, can one make a
purely arbitrary decision on where to break that sequence for the purposes of a publication?
However, once Bert Seaby had made up his mind on something there was no moving him, hence
the present inexplicable gap between RSC vols. IV and V.
12. When the book is released, will we be able to order it directly from you? And for
the Bibliophiles among us, will you be offering signed copies?
I will be happy to take orders for the new edition of the Roman catalogue and will certainly
autograph and dedicate individual copies on request. Orders may be sent to me at P.O. Box
5004, Chatsworth, CA 91313 or via his web site at: http://www.davidrsear.com/
13. What are your plans for new reference works? Or perhaps the more general question
of what are your plans for the future may be better.
The projects outlined under item 11 will be more than enough to keep me fully occupied over
the next several years and I have no specific plans beyond that. New ideas are always coming
to me, however, and I am sure that by the time I have completed the revisions plans will be
well in hand for one or more new publications.
Bonus Questions....
As long as I had the 'Ear of David Sear' (to recall a thread on NUMISM-L earlier in the
year) I wanted to ask a few general questions about the state of ancient coin collecting
on the eve of a new millenium.
1. It has been said that we are living a Golden Age of ancient coin collecting. A
number of factors combine to give this impression, from the advent of metal detector
technology to the opening up of the Baltics. All of which mean more coins are available
in better grades than ever before. Would you agree with this assessment?
2. If we are living in a Golden Age...from your viewpoint do you see any signs of it
ending soon?
(Answer to 1 & 2) In general I would agree that we are currently in a “Golden Age” of ancient coin collecting which has been so enhanced by the scope of new discoveries in recent
years. However, what does seriously concern me is the drastic decline in emphasis on the
Classics in the modern education system. Many young people today — even those who are
graduating with otherwise impressive qualifications — are emerging from the process with
virtually no comprehension of the origins of our western culture on the foundations of which
so much has been built. On the large scale, I believe this may have serious repercussions
for the future of our society. Looking at it from the viewpoint of ancient coin collecting,
my belief is that although we now have an almost unprecedented availability of
collectible material from these remote times there is simply not going to be the collector
base which has existed in the past. Personally, I think this is a tragedy, not just for
coin collecting but for our culture as a whole.
3. One possible dark cloud on the horizon for US collectors is the strengthening or
tightening of Treasure Trove laws in the European Union. Do you have any comments on the
Treasure Trove laws in general as they relate to the millions of ancient coins that have
been found?
I do not want to get into the thorny question of Treasure Trove laws in the EU as this will
inevitably lead me to start expounding my views on European politics and bureaucracy in
general. Suffice it say, I believe the old Treasure Trove laws in Britain struck a nice
common sense balance between protecting the interests of both archaeological research and
the finders of coins and other ancient artifacts. Finders knew that they would be fairly
rewarded for the value of their discoveries and were thus content to hand over their
‘treasures’ to the authorities. Things appear to be a little different these days with
less common sense in evidence and a consequent hardening of attitudes on both sides. This is
not good for anyone, but appears to be typical of what is happening in many fields
affected by politically driven legislation. I wish I could predict that goodwill and common
sense will prevail, but frankly I doubt it. A good system should protect the rights and
interests of all, not just those who have the greatest influence in government (end of
sermon!).
4. On a personal note, do you have a favorite area of collecting? Or a better question
may be, what do you collect for enjoyment?
I have never seriously collected coins at any time in my life. My pleasure has come from
researching and writing on the subject without ever having felt the need to personally
possess the coins. My real weakness is for books and I have spent a lifetime gradually
building up a library which has proved invaluable in facilitating my study of ancient
history and numismatics.
Many thanks to David Sear for taking the time and effort to clear up some of the
rumors surrounding Roman Coins. I am sure all of us are eagerly (and in some cases impatiently) waiting for the Millennium edition. - KEB
Additional note: The first 2 volumns of what will be a 4 volumn series are currently available.
The final 2 volumns are expected in the 2004 - 2005 timeframe.
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