Most countries loudly celebrate their national victories and accomplishments. I'd like to see a list of coins which memorialize the great defeats and disappointments. We have the Kennedy half-dollar and the 9-11 Memorial coins. What are others?
My entry would be Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Few leaders save him and Richard Nixon tried to run the country by their own set of "rules".
Hmm, the September 2001 pieces are medals rather than coins. Whether Spain will issue anything in two years (10th anniversary of March 2004) I don't know. Maybe ten years are still "too close" for commems. Here are a few commemorative/collector coins that may fit in. The first one is a Belgian piece issued in 2006 to commemorate the 1956 Bois du Cazier mine disaster in Marcinelle: http://fr.numista.com/catalogue/photos/belgique/g1633.jpg http://fr.numista.com/catalogue/photos/belgique/g1634.jpg Then there is a 5M coin from the GDR that reminds of the 40th anniversary of the Dresden bombing. The ruins of the depicted church were a memorial until about 20 years ago (the church was rebuilt a few years after the end of the GDR): http://www.muenzen.eu/tl_files/bilder/ddr/5-mark-frauenkirche-dresden-1985.jpg Poland has issued several coins that commemorate disasters and attacks. Here are two (of four) coins, issued in 2011, that remind of the 2010 Smolensk plane crash: 2 zl http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety...nsk-pamieci_ofiar_10_kwietnia_2010_2_zl_r.gif / http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety...nsk-pamieci_ofiar_10_kwietnia_2010_2_zl_a.gif 20 zl http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety...sk-pamieci_ofiar_10_kwietnia_2010_20_zl_r.gif / http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety...sk-pamieci_ofiar_10_kwietnia_2010_20_zl_a.gif In 2009 they commemorated the German attack in 1939 that was the beginning of WW2, and the Soviet attack in the same year. Here are two of the three issues: 2 zl http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety...e/2009/2009_10___wrzesien_1939_2zl_rewers.gif / http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety...we/2009/2009_10___wrzesien_1939_2zl_awers.gif 10 zl http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety.../2009/2009_10___wrzesien_1939_10zl_rewers.gif / http://www.nbp.pl/banknoty_i_monety...e/2009/2009_10___wrzesien_1939_10zl_awers.gif As for the motivations, well, the Belgian piece for example may combine the mourning and the idea of learning from the disaster (investing more in safety etc.). The Dresden Frauenkirche ruins, and the GDR coin, commemorated the attack but also conveyed the communist regime's anti-nazi message. And those Polish coins, well, the plane crash was sure a tragedy. The WW2 related pieces, apart from the obvious, also seem to say, look, we were attacked but we still (or again) stand ... Christian
Canada produced some nice-looking coins this year that remembered the Titanic sinking. They were gobbled up very quickly.
The soviet three rouble coin commemorating the earthquake in Armenia is one of them. http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Soviet-Russian-3-Ruble-Rouble-Coin-Armenia-Earthquake-/00/$%28KGrHqIOKjQE0idK54%29RBNYiQYWTnQ~~_35.JPG
Let's do a coin commemorating some obscure anniversary (in years) of the Great Depression. Maybe put a sack of potatoes on one side and Hoover and a Hooverville on the other.
