We took a day trip to the Fiskars forge over the weekend. Among the cafés and artists boutiques was a bookshop specializing in antiques/art/collecting/etc. I came across this book at a decent price (by Finnish standards) and had to get it.
Its starting point is modern nations and gives brief details of that nation's coinage history. A few small example pictures of each country's coins are given., often including historical maps when refering to past borders, empires, nations, etc.
This does not give major details of individual countries, but does offer a broad overview of world coinage. While Krause is fun to look at, this makes for entertaining reading. I know other similar type books exist, which may be more thorough. But for a general world view, this makes for fun reading.
The Coin Atlas. Joe Cribb, Barrie Cook, Ian Carradice. TimeWarner Books: 1999 (1990). 223pp. Paperback, 16cm X 21cm. ISBN: 0-316-72707-5.