Standard Catalog of World Coins - Overview

Overview

The by-century volumes list by date virtually every coin type, most of which are photographed, with mintage and other information, plus market valuations in up to 5 grades. Listings are by denomination rather than series, as in earlier World coin catalogs. The proprietary Krause-Mishler (or KM) numbers are widely used; for just a few countries earlier systems such as Y (Yeoman) and C (Craig) numbers are given instead.

The century format is often considered inconvenient and expensive for those who collect geographically, and date listings are clipped at the century mark. Originally covering 1800-date, the main catalog (first edition 1972) evolved into an annual 20th century-only work, plus separate 17th, 18th, and 19th century volumes which are revised less frequently. Beginning with the 34th (2007) ed, listings after 2000 are dropped, and an annual 21st Century catalog covers 2001-date.

Data from the by-century volumes are collated together in special editions for Crowns, Gold, German, and North American coins. Fantasies and medallion issues, which do not appear in the other catalogs, are covered a product called Unusual World Coins. There is also a publication called Collecting World Coins that includes only 20th & 21st century coins that circulated regularly

The 12th (1986) and 19th (1992) are two-volume hardcovers covering 1700-date; 13th (1987) is the last edition to include cross-references to Yeoman and Craig; 23rd (1996) is the last main edition covering 1800-date; 33rd (2006) is the last 20th century edition including 21st century listings.

List priced at $73 to $85 ($25 for the shorter 21st century catalog) they are often discounted, and can be found in many public libraries. Older editions are steeply discounted even though revisions between editions in many areas are minimal. Following the appearance of pirated DVD versions, DVDs were included with the 1601-1700 4th edition, the 1901-2000 36th edition, and possibly others, but are now sold as a separate product.

Early editions attribute authorship to the publisher Chester L. Krause, and Clifford Mishler, although starting with the second edition Colin R. Bruce II was the actual chief compiler and is given an editor or senior editor title on later editions. George S. Cuhaj is the current editor, with Thomas Michael credited as market analyst, although Krause collate contributions from many collecting experts and dealers.

As of February, 04 2013, the most recent editions are as follows:

• 1601-1700, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 5th Edition - digital copy available
• 1701-1800, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 5th Edition - digital copy available separately
• 1801-1900, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 7th Edition - digital copy available separately (7th edition was released November 2012)
• 1901-2000, 2013 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 40th Edition - digital copy available separately, 2014 41st Ed. will be available after 06.30.2013
• 2001-Present, 2013 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 7th Edition - digital copy available separately, 2014 8th Ed. will be available after 06.30.2013

Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-2011, was released in a greatly expanded 3rd edition in Fall 2010.

Digital downloads are now available for many areas.

The online version of the Standard Catalog series is a product called Numismaster.com. One can search for catalog numbers and information for free, and a small monthly or annual subscription is available for full listing and pricing information.