Reviews of Touchstone, Trade and Transgression by Robert Grice - TB17000

Highly recommended. Written with a passion stemming from a lifetime of hands-on experience, the author blends historic events and factual accounts of court cases with poetry and literary references. Comprehensively researched the book chronicles many centuries of fascination with precious metal, from the earliest known alchemists to the most recent fraudsters. Clearly divided into sections, the book tells a very human story reflecting how the desire for precious metal has impacted people’s lives. Individual victims and villains, regulators and rogues, prospectors and prosecutors all feature. Dip in and out of its chapters at your leisure, each includes a mass of information. The result of years of painstaking research, the comprehensive appendices detailing Historical Milestones and Court Cases spanning almost nine centuries are unique. Touchstone, Trade and Transgression is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the story of precious metal trade.

A beautifully produced hard back book, consisting of more than 600 pages and more than 100 photographs. The story of hallmarking is told in an engaging and unique way, combining literature, poetry, prose and song to tell the story of hallmarking. The book also includes 24 pages showing the milestones of hallmarking history up to 2021. Additionally, it contains stories of fascinating cases enhanced by a comprehensive index of approximately 600 prosecution cases. This book won't disappoint anybody interested in hallmarking, fraud in silverware and precious metals.