Croatia Wartime Currency part 2
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
And that is everything that was in the box! Why was this collection assembled? The concept I came up with back then, years ago, was simply that I was curious about what the peoples of wartime Europe carried about with them for Money. Everyone has seen and heard of the camp scrips and military notes, but I wanted to know what was the coins and currencies that Everyone used-from Hitler himself on down to a Polish farm wife buying vegetables in the small town marketplace. No matter if you were a KZ Kommandant or a common peasant in the countryside, Everyone used and needed to have Money, and so I decided to hunt down and find a specimen of each denomination and coin that was made in the wartime era throughout Europe. As I remember, it took a long time to find some pieces(several years) and others were as common as dirt, but no matter, they were part of the "series" and so they needed to be collected.
Some countries, such as Romania and Hungary were fairly tough, but for most it was simply a matter of spending the time hunting through endless coin and currency dealer's stocks and sending out still more endless "want lists" throughout the World. About the only criteria I had to stick to, was, first of all, I did Not want minty unused pieces-banknotes that laid in a bank vault and were never touched or used, but instead hunted for decent condition but Used specimens-moneys that had been Carried and Spent by God only knows Who and for What and How many times, not to mention Where. Money that had History to it, in other words. In the end, I succeeded in locating, perhaps, 95% of the Period produced coins and bills. Some pieces were only in price, maybe, a dollar, while some go as high as, perhaps, a few thousand dollars. A Few, frustratingly, could not be located at Any price. And, as a second criteria, they had to be produced in the 1939-45 era. A person could Easily multiply the list needed by tenfold if they would want to include any moneys that were in Use during the period, rather than simply Produced during the time, but a person has to call limits Somewhere eventually or you would never be finished.
It's interesting to see, as the war progressed, the Changes in the moneys throughout the Continent. Silver all but vanished, as did Nickel-Silver and quality Bronze. They were replaced by cheaper non-vital to the war effort materials such as the ubiquitous Zinc as well as some Brass, Aluminum and Iron. But, anyway...if you've ever wondered as I did what was in people's pockets besides holes and lint, here is your answer. Some countries continued to produce quite a number of bank notes and coins without interruption and in some countries you can see the debilitating effect of the conflict reflected in their coinage. As far as I know, I'm the only one I've ever heard of that was idiotic enough to do such a collection, but, for what it's worth, here it is.
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
A very interesting series of posts William. And superbly presented, well done!
Excellent stuff. I have pinned this thread.
Cheers, Ade.
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All the best
Dave
Show me the Money
Here are some currency and a zinc coin brought home by father after WW2. timothy
Several unusual examples of Prämienschein (premium coupon), issued at KL-Mittelbau-Dora near Nordhausen - site of the secret V-weapons construction facilities.
The camp itself is addressed within the thread attached below:
KL-Mittelbau-Dora
Hi there! What is this? It's looks cool but I have seen some ugly coins who seems to be produced postwar in India.
These pieces were not actual true Coins, but rather were Donation Tokens to the NSDAP. They are fairly collectable in their own rights! They were issued early around 1933 or so. They generally bring in the neighborhood of $75 dollars or so in this condition.
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
Great thread, unbelievable collection Wagriff, that is true dedication!
Here's a link to some banknotes I found yesterday, only one TR actually, but all interesting.
Local small coin shop finds, cool bills, I'm RICH!!!
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Great thread, unbelievable collection Wagriff, that is true dedication!
Here's a link to some banknotes I found yesterday, only one TR actually, but all interesting.
https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/photos-papers-propaganda-third-reich/local-small-coin-shop-finds-cool-bills-im-rich-587513/#post1515445
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