DetectingWales.com

Hi.   Its the nuisance again (try in to get my post ratings up see) LOL.
        Are there any recommended 'must have' books for identifying objects and coins?  I know there is a plethera of books with info out there , but are  there recommended ones that would  cover a wide range of objects/ materials etc.
    I would rather purchase 3 or 4 more expensive books than 20 cheappie ones, if you get my drift.     
       Cheers.

you may like this series by gordon bailey

http://www.greenlightpublishing.com/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=9452075 (http://www.greenlightpublishing.com/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=9452075)


or a spink coins of england book, [cheaper to buy one a couple of years old, rather than brand new!] .. Chef may have a few for sale, unless he's  got rid of them by now!


then theres the buckles book, by whitehead

God Alan that was 3 years ago since I was selling Spink catalogues :-\
It really does to a certain extent depend what you expect to find, it's pointless investing £70 in a Roman brooch catalogue if you are unlikely in finding them because of location.

As Alan says the Spink "Coins of England and the United Kingdom" is a must to help id your coins, the new one is only £16.75 from Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/England-United-Kingdom-Philip-Skingley/dp/1907427317/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393526364&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/England-United-Kingdom-Philip-Skingley/dp/1907427317/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393526364&sr=1-1)

"Benet's Artefacts of England and the United Kingdom" is a handy reference work to have as it contains a broad range of possible finds, not cheap but good
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Benets-Artefacts-Paul-Murawski/dp/0953617211/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393526747&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Benets-Artefacts-Paul-Murawski/dp/0953617211/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393526747&sr=1-1)

"Identifying Roman Coins" by Richard Reece, a very handy book to pop in your bag as a field guide. currently out of print but look for a reasonably priced one on the Bay (no more than £15)

"A Visual Catalogue of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches" again a great field guide and indispensable if you have the area that throws them up.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catalogue-Richard-Hattatts-Ancient-Brooches/dp/1842170260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393527330&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catalogue-Richard-Hattatts-Ancient-Brooches/dp/1842170260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393527330&sr=1-1)

There are some great downloadable archaeological reports (PDF and legal lol)  that include finds which are used by FLO's to help id finds;
http://www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/resources/AY17-15-Medieval%20Finds%20from%20York.pdf (http://www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/resources/AY17-15-Medieval%20Finds%20from%20York.pdf)

http://cat.essex.ac.uk/reports/CAR-report-0002.pdf (http://cat.essex.ac.uk/reports/CAR-report-0002.pdf)

The Gordon Bailey books are OK but very expensive and not enough references for my liking.

mind you ,you can just use your computer  ;D

books by nigel mills are ok , an old thames mudlark mate of mine  who has dug up most of what he writes about

I started off with (at that time Seaby's) Coins of England / the Uk.

It's cheap and it'll cover enough of the coins to give you a fairly good idea.

In answer to Chef and his books on brooches, some of us by the books because they have pretty pictures in them :)

But seriously - the Spinks book is gold dust - I check things in it a couple of times a week probably - anything else, and you can post it here - it's amazing what you can learn from a forum - I've certainly learned a lot on this and other forums.

had hattats brooches book,havent found 1 brooch in all my time detecting ,,think i opened it a few times ,sold it last year

Typical Oxford grad ;D ;D ;D

  Thanks again everyone.  You've all been a great help.
     Im old school see and I rather have it in black and white in front of me other than researching non stop on the NET.  Suppose I will still be doing loads of that anyway, but a few basic books will cut my PC time down a bit .....    I HOPE.     lol,