I have quite a few 5 and 2 Reichsmark coins from WWII and have a question about them. I've heard rumors where people try to say that much of the silver used to make them was from melted down tea sets, silverware, religious artifacts, and possibly silver dental fillings. Is there any truth in this?!?? The sources of the silver I'm refering to is of course said to be from captured Jewish items. I doubt this is true but has anyone else heard anything like this? Thanks either way!
Who knows, but I doubt it. First, no silver coins were made by Nazi Germany in WW2. The last 2 and 5 RM coins with silver in them are dated 1939, and the war (attack on Poland) did not begin until Sep-1939. Yes, before the war quite a few Jewish people who were able to get out of Germany had to leave valuables behind. Also, during and after the Pogrom Night (Nov-1938) many Jews in Germany lost their valuable items including gold and silver. But those were mostly hoarded or sold then, not melted. Later, during the war, golden rings and dental fillings of people who were killed in "camps" like Auschwitz were indeed taken out, and the nazis made, in one way or another, money with them. But none of that material is in the coins you have. If you really badly want a coin that might contain gold from people killed at a concentration camp, buy a Swiss 1935 "Vreneli" gold coin with an added "L". Those were made (shortly after the war AFAIK) with gold from bars that include some of the Melmer gold ("named" after Bruno Melmer, an SS storm leader) which Nazi Germany sold to Switzerland. Much of that gold and other valuables, however, never left Germany but was stored in a mine in Merkers, Thuringia until the American forces opened that in 1945. Christian
Chrisild, I'm not familiar with the coin you mentioned but what then hell, I'll look into it. I like collecting rare coins especially having to do with war. I really like this site so far sinse people here seem to really know what they are talking about. I know plenty myself about many different types of coins and will do my best to add some input when it may help someone. What I really want are some ancient Greek coins. But anyway, thanks for the input! :kewl:
