Knowledge of the correct literature is essential for identifying, dating and describing coins, tokens and paper money. This bibliography brings together the abbreviations and standard works that we use at Schulman in auction catalogues, valuations and knowledge texts. So you can quickly find the right source for every reference, from RIC and SNG upto KM and Vanhoudt.
Our auction catalogues have used these abbreviations for decades, with fixed use per domain (Antiques, World, Netherlands, Tokens, Paper Money). Recent editions illustrate this consistency and provide context when applied in practice.
How to use this bibliography
Read this overview as a “key” between abbreviation and full title.
- Search strategy: first identify period and geographic entity (e.g. Kingdom of the Netherlands, William III, silver), then link the appropriate corpus (e.g. Sch., PW., Vanhoudt).
- Quote in your notes: use “abbreviation + part/volume + number/page”, for example ERIC II.3 123 whether Vanhoudt 12.45.
- Variant control: consult, where applicable, both the “classic” corpus (e.g. van Loon, Frederiks) as more modern additions (e.g. PW. 2006/2009; Vanhoudt 2019).
- Paper money and tokens: handle PL, AV, Mrs., P (Pick) and country-specific catalogues.
Core abbreviations and their domain
Below is a compact guide to the most visited series. Use this as a starting point; detailed titles and additional series can be found in the full list you provided.
Antique coins
- RIC — Roman Imperial Coinage (multivolume, revised by volume). Standard for the Roman Empire.
- RPC — Roman Provincial Coinage. Provincial issues.
- RRC/Cr./Syd. — Roman republican (Crawford, Sydenham).
- HGC/HN/S (Sear) — Greek coins, quick valuation and typing guides.
- SNG — Syllogue Nummorum Graecorum (collections by museum/collection).
- BMC/BN — Old but still useful museum catalogues and corpora.
Middle Ages and Early New Age
- MEC — Medieval European Coinage.
- Levinson — The Early Dated Coins of Europe 1234—1500.
- PdA./Prou/MG. — Feudal and Carolingian corpora.
- Shaving/DT/LT — Celtic and Gallic corpus and atlases
Netherlands (provincial, Burgundian-Austrian, Kingdom)
- PW. — Purmer & Van der Wiel, handbooks for Dutch copper money and provincial coinage.
- Vanhoudt — Coins of the Burgundian, Spanish and Austrian Netherlands and of the French and Dutch periods 1434—1830.
- vL. (van Loon) — History medals; basis for medals with historical context.
- Sch. (Schulman) — Handbook of Dutch Coins 1795—1975.
- H./Grolle/vH. — Standard works for regional and urban coinage.
- Shots. — Overseas 1601—1948 (VOC and colonial).
World and modern
- KM. (Krause & Mishler) — Standard Catalog of World Coins (per century).
- Fr. (Friedberg) — Gold Coins of the World.
- ESC/Spink (S) — British silver and general British overview.
- Bath./God./Dupl./Ci. — France (revolutionary, royal and modern).
- Bitkin/Severin/Uzd. — Russia, silver/gold/platinum.
- Cal./Cayon/CCT — Spain and Spanish America
- Kann/Hartill/Schj. — China (modern and cast coins).
Tokens, awards, weights
- Eimer/Med. Ill./Niggl/Kienast — British and European medalist catalogues.
- MMW./Werlich/Sanders — Orders and honors.
- WKH. — Weights in the Netherlands
Paper money, tokens and emergency money
- Pick (P) — Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.
- PL/AV/Mrs. — Dutch paper money and VOC paper money.
- Verk./T/J — First and Second World War emergency money.
Hint: in our auction texts, we refer to the leading corpus for each lot. In “duplicate” standard works, the primary number follows first, the secondary number in brackets.
Guidelines for correct citation
- Consistency: choose one leading series per lot and keep it in title, description and iterations.
- Granularity: name part, band, page number, or record number where relevant.
- Variant Management: mention trial, piedfort, off-metal strike and origin with literature link.
- Digital addition: where possible, we link to online datasets (e.g. SNG sharing with open access) in addition to the printed corpus.
- Transparency: deviations from standard references are justified in the footnote to the lot.
Example notation from the catalog
- West-Friesland, Dukaton 1791, silver; PW. II 123; Vanhoudt 12.45; vL. IV, p. 56 (context badge).
- Roman Empire, Trajan aureus; RIC II.3 123; Beckmann (AJN 19, 2007) p. 77—129 (die study).
This way of writing is in line with the recent catalogues and their categorization by session and series.
Quality Assurance and Updates
- Editorial touch: each literature reference is double-checked during the “lot-review” process.
- Edition Management: in case of revisions (such as RIC II.3 2019 or new Delzanno for Sweden), we migrate references into new catalogues.
- Transparency in the room and online: the abbreviations and sources used are at the front of the catalog and online with each lot.
Practical: this is how you can find sources at Schulman
- In the catalog: in the front, you will find the bibliographic key and auction information (hall, schedule, fees, viewing days).
- Online lot pages: complete photo series and literature links are available on the auction platform for each lot.
- Questions about literature or scans: contact our team; we'll help with page references
