Standard References
Comprehensive Catalogs
Renaissance Medals, Volume One: Italy
Renaissance Medals, Volume Two: France, Germany, The Netherlands, and England
John Graham Pollard An extensive cataloging of the holdings of the National Gallery of Art, mainly consisting of the excellent Kress Collection. Extremely extensive, and with excellent descriptions and images that are included within the text.The Currency of Fame: Portrait Medals of the Renaissance
Stephen K. Scher (ed.) Perhaps my favorite book on this list, this is an excellent catalog of an exhibition of Renaissance medals. With excellent descriptions and images (including some in color) of a selection of only the best and most important medals, this is ideal reading for anybody interesting in Renaissance medals.Italian Medals
A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini
George Francis Hill The standard reference for early Italian Renaissance medals, being a corpus of all medals of the period which has yet to be superseded since its publication in 1930. Reprinted in 1984 with addenda by Graham Pollard.Italian Medals c. 1530-1600 in British Public Collections
Philip Attwood Technically a catalog of medals in British museums, the holdings are so extensive and are organized so that this book acts as a continuation of Hill's corpus for the remainder of the sixteenth century. Unfortunately, papal medals are omitted.Le Medaglie Italiane del XVI secolo
Giuseppe Toderi and Fiorenza Vannel A full corpus of all sixteenth century Italian medals, including papal medals.Medaglie Italiane del Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Volume I: Secoli XV - XVI
Medaglie Italiane del Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Volume II: Secolo XVII
Medaglie Italiane del Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Volume III: Secolo XVIII
Medaglie Italiane del Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Volume IV: Secolo XIX
Fiorenza Vannel and Giuseppe Toderi A full cataloging of all the Italian medals in the Bargello museum in Florence, but lacking any background descriptions of the medals.Die italienischen Medaillen der Renaissance und des Barock (1450 bis 1750)
Lore Börner This catalogue of the Italian medals in the Berlin Coin Cabinet has become an oft-referred to reference due to the breadth of the collection, especially in baroque medals which are not well catalogued elsewhere.La Medaglia Barocca in Toscana
Fiorenza Vannel and Giuseppe Toderi The standard corpus of Florentine baroque medals, listing all pieces from Soldani and the artists who followed in his style.Papal Medals
Corpus Numismatum Omnium Romanorum Pontificum (C.N.O.R.P.), Volume I: da San Pietro (42-67) a Adriano VI (1522-1523)
Corpus Numismatum Omnium Romanorum Pontificum (C.N.O.R.P.), Volume II: da Clemente VII (1523-1534) a Paolo IV (1555-1559)
Corpus Numismatum Omnium Romanorum Pontificum (C.N.O.R.P.), Volume III: da Pio IV (1559-1565) a Gregorio XIII (1572-1585)
Corpus Numismatum Omnium Romanorum Pontificum (C.N.O.R.P.), Volume IV: da Sisto V (1585-1590) a Paolo V (1605-1621)
Adolfo Modesti The standard corpus for papal medals of the Renaissance, with extensive descriptions and notes on differences between original medals and later restrikes.Il papato dal 1605 al 1669 attraverso le medaglie
Il papato dal 1669 al 1700 attraverso le medaglie
Il papato dal 1700 al 1730 attraverso le medaglie
Walter Miselli The standard corpus for papal medals of the Baroque, with brief descriptions and listings of specimens known to the author in various museum collections.Roma Resurgens: Papal Medals from the Age of the Baroque
Nathan T. Whitman and John L. Varriano An exhibition catalog of papal medals. While the image quality is not the best, the interesting descriptions for each medal, especially regarding an estimate of when each specimen was struck, make it important reading for those interested in the period.French Medals
A Catalogue of the French Medals in the British Museum, Volume 1: AD 1402-1610
A Catalogue of the French Medals in the British Museum, Volume 2: 1600-1672
Mark Jones While only cataloging the pieces in the British Museum, the holdings are so comprehensive that these two volumes have become the standard reference for French medals of the period.