In the present edition, the part of the homonymous book that primarily deals with the Christian symbols depicted on the coins of the Eastern Roman Empire is republished; the remaining parts of the first edition are not related to numismatics and are therefore omitted as falling outside the scope of this series.
Despite the one and a half centuries that have passed since its first publication in 1873, the book—a classic of its kind—retains its enduring interest and certainly deserves to be reissued.
The author, Charles W. King (1818–1888), was a classicist and a specialist in gems, though neither an archaeologist nor a numismatist. However, drawing on his extensive knowledge of Greek and Latin authors, he was able to trace the evolution of Christian symbols in the coinage of the Roman emperors in a remarkable way.