Dictators and bad men on banknotes.

Hi All
I am new to the forum. I collect world banknotes that feature Dictators and Tyrants on them as well as counterfeit world banknotes. To date I have examples of the following individuals
Idi Amin (Uganda)
Jean Bokassa(Central African Republic/Empire)
Milton Obote (Uganda)
Francisco Macias Nguema (Eq.Guinea)
Hasan Bourgiba (Tunisia)
King Farouk (Egypt)
Sapurat Niyazov (Turkmenistan)
Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire)
Mao (China)
Chiang Kai Shek (China)
Jean Claude "Papa Doc" Duvallier (Haiti)
Jean Claude "Baby Doc" duvallier (Haiti)
Hafez Assad (Syria)
Sekou Toure (Guinea)
Modibo Keto (Mali)
Sukhabator (Mongolia)
Ghengis Khan (Mongolia)
Kim Jong Il (N.Korea)
Ayatollah khomeini (Iran)
Moamar Khaddafi (Libya)
Synghman Rhee (S.Korea)
Aung San (Burma)
Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam)
Mohammed Daoud (Afghanistan)
Sukarno (Indonesia)
Suharto (Indonesia)
Sultan of Brunei (Brunei)
Jomo kenyatta (Kenya)
King Leopold (Belgian Congo)
Murtallah Mohammed (Nigeria)
Joseph Kasavubu (Congo)
Siakah Stevens (Sierra Leone
Joseph Momo (Sierra Leone)
Juvenal Habyarimana (Rwanda)
O. Bongo (Gabon)
Samora Machel (Mozambique)
Samuel Doe (Liberia)
Julius Nyrere (Tanzania)
Jafar Nimieri (Sudan)
Anastazio "Tacho" Samoza (Nicaragua)
Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
King Carol II (Romania)
King Fahd (Saudi Arabia)
Fidel Castro (Cuba)
Kaiser Wilhelm II (German East Africa)
I finally got oneI have long been wanting (see scan): Rafael Trujillo (Dominican Republic)
I think it is a pretty comprehensive list, of course there are a few that are too expensive and Dictators who chose not to appear on currency.

 

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Welcome to Coin Talk.

Where's Russia (USSR) ?

 

Hi
You are right I forgot to put Lenin on Russian notes. The real nasty ones like Stalin never appeared on notes...I do have a Stalin but it is on a Chinese "**** Note."

 

I think I can already guess the answer, but are there any French banknotes featuring Robespierre?

Chris

 

Not sure Lenin is considered dictator and tyrant. Stalin - yes, definitely.

How about this one, since there are no real Soviet banknotes with him?

 

Don't think you will find a generally accepted list of "dictators and bad men" anywhere. For example, every time I see a 20 dollar bill from the US, I wonder whether it was wise to honor somebody like Andrew Jackson (of "Indian Removal" fame) that way. Then again, he sure had his merits too.

Lenin, well yes, I would include him too. Others may well say he should not be on such a list. As for your Stalin note, would that be the H. Money mentioned in #3?

Christian

 

Yeap, I can only see "Chinese **** Note" in #3, did't realize its H. note. This is a family forum, you see, kids must not know about places like H., it should come to them a pleasant surprise on later life stages.

 

Another note that would be OK to include, I think, is the short-lived 100 Kčs from Czechoslovakia of the late 1980s. It features Klement Gottwald, was issued in 1989 and taken out of circulation roughly a year later, after the end of the communist regime ...

Christian

 

Nope

Dave

 

I was just thinking about France...no Robbespierre but they did put Cardinal Richlieu on one of there notes, and he was pretty nasty. Gottwald is a good one...thanks

 

Yeah, I think I'm detecting a certain cultural/political orientation in that list of "bad men".

I understand that there are still quite a few people who are plenty sore about Abraham Lincoln... :devil:

 

True Lincoln and Jackson were no prize (steven Spielberg notwithstanding)...

 

Carol II of Romania does not fit on that list. He was hardly a tyrant and he only joined Germany during WWII because the alternative of joining the Soviets was far worse. Also Romania was historically an ally to Britain and France but they were in no position to help.

 

Problem with such lists is that they reflect a "black and white" world view, with no shades in between. Carol did establish a dictatorial regime, but with the obvious intention to keep the Iron Guard from gaining power. Now if somebody wants to collect paper money depicting people who ruled their countries by force, without democratic legitimation and with all power in one hand (or few hands), why not? Can lead to learning more about history and politics, which is always helpful. That learning process will then involve some differentiation too.

Christian

 

As a historian that specializes in Romanian history I would say Carol II did what needed to be done under the circumstances. He was dealt a losing hand. If someone wants to collect money depicting people that ruled by force and with power in the hands of the few I'm afraid that would be all currency depicting any kind of world leader. Anyway I have some banknotes of Carol II if anyone is interested in seeing them let me know and I will post them some time. They are quite beautiful and many of them were printed by the Bank of England. (I apologize if this posted twice, I am on my phone)

 

Great theme, I looked through my collection to see if I had a few to add.
Here are my nominees:
Kenya - Daniel Arap Moi 10,20,50,100 shillings Pic 20 -> 27
Cuba - Fidel Castro (on back of note) 1 peso Pic 112

I'm sure there are more; just hope political correctness does not interfere with the discussion. I find in general that if a politician is still alive when he puts his face on currency, he's a bad dude.

 

May work as a general rule of thumb. But I do not think that, for example, Urho Kekkonen (on the Finnish 500 markkaa note, mid-1970s) was a bad dude.

Christian

 

Agreed, that was probably too broad a generalization. I was referring to the usual brand of tin-pot dictators.
I would also exclude crown heads of established nations with a tradition of putting living monarchs on coins and currency. Queen Elizabeth is on the notes of nearly all Commonwealth countries. Obviously not the kind of person to make this list.

 

That's a good idea for a topical set. How about the France 1955-58 10,000 francs with Napoleon Bonaparte? The travel writer Rick Steves said, "Few people have built so much or destroyed so much."

 

Controversial, sure. Then again, history is usually written by the winners, and that certainly influences our views regarding events or persons. If you want him to be in your "gallery" of bad guys on paper money, go ahead and include him. Others would pick others. That is the nice thing about such lists or collections.

Christian