A followup volume to the 1842 work by the same authors (A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of all Nations), this book describes developments in gold and silver coinage in the preceding decade, including California discoveries, Mormon gold, and various foreign pieces. The most valuable copies retain the California gold samples that were mounted on p. 45.

Memoranda (in Newman's hand) in the Newman papers notes:

A portion of the 1850 edition is reprinted in the September 1850 issue of Bankers Magazine, vol. 5, pp. 193-202. Most of the 1851 edition including the Pledges of History (by Du Bois only) is reprinted in the September, October, November, and December 1851 issues of Bankers Magazine, vol. 6 (Boston 1852), pp. 175-191; pp. 314-321; 322-323; 337-360; 432-453; Table & 5 plates are also in the January 1852 issue.