History lesson via Numismatics This really tickled me, so I wanted to share it with all of you. Which you all probably know of this type of thing. I like foreign coins, so I am always looking through ebay at the auctions. Today I found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=45156&item=3919727202&rd=1 It aroused my curiosity because I have customers in a city, Kosciusko Mississippi, named after that guy. Of course, you deal with customers in a city with a name like that, you always wonder where they came up with that name. I assumed it was an Native American term. I was wrong. Seeing that auction peaked my curiosity, so I did a search and found this: http://www.nps.gov/thko/indepth.htm http://www.polishworld.com/polemb/const/tk.html and more. Am I the only one that finds this kind of thing really cool? And to think that Poland thinks so much of our nation, that they honor a man that helped US win our Liberty. Too cool!!
Hmm, Very interesting. It's not everyday that I read about a Polish revolutionary war hero. I wonder if he came over here just to fight in the revolution or for another reason.
There were a great many people from other nations who helped us win our independence. Perhaps that's why we have always helped other nations ever since then. But if you like history with your coins - check this one link
Well, the piece in that auction is one of four coins commemorating the 200th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence. Another one shows Kasimierz Pulaski; both came in silver (100 zl) and gold (500 zl). But Tadeusz Kosciuszko was even on the regular 10 zl circulation coins (Cu-Ni) issued between 1959 and 1973. And after the end of communism in Poland, a silver commem with Kosciuszko on a horse (100,000 zl 1990) was issued as part of the Great Poles series. Christian
Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Nathanael Greene Are two Revolutionary war heros who fought in the local area where I live. We owe a great debt to men like this. It seems the least we can do is to try and learn as much about history and as we can and share the stories with others. Thanks, Mitchell, for bringing this subject up, and for posting the links.
Mitchell- Thought you might be interested to know that there are Kosciusko and Pulaski counties in Indiana and that Illinois celebrates Kasimierz Pulaski day as a state holiday WK
I guess it depends a lot on where you grew up and what you were taught in school. In Cleveland, Ohio, we learned about Kusciusko as well as von Steuben (Steubenville, Ohio), and Lafayette, and the other professional soldiers who helped train the American troops. There is Kusciusko in Indiana, also. (Interestingly enough, names that end in KO are typically "Ukrainian." Timoshenko, the name of a Soviet general and a "Russian" engineer, is a perfect example. Poland's plight was a popular romantic and nationalist cause in the 1800s... Chopin and all that, right?)
Somewhat of an over-generalization. In Japanese many women's names end in "ko" (Empress Michiko for one), using a character meaning "child".
Hai. Wakarimasu! Sukoshi nihongo hanashimasu. Kawasaki Robotics de hataraite-imashita. Desho wa... there is an accidental 5% correlation across any two languages, or so claim some philologists. Clearly, I was only differentiating Poles from their Ukrainian neighbors. As for those Eastern European folks, it so happens that many "oriental" features can be found in the cutlures of what is really not so much "Europe" as the western tip of Asia. For instance: among some people of Eastern Europe family names come first and given names come last. "Ma-ro-ta Maikeru desu." would be "Marotta Mihaly a nevem." As for the numismatics of the area, note the names of the coins: "denga" in Russian, similar to "tangka." Ma-ro-ta (Hemp Road Stranger)
Its one of the many reasons why we should pull our bases out of Germany and go to Poland where the populus sees American with a 75% approval rating and it is better strategicly for the United States. If Germany and France hate us so much, then we should take our billions spent in their economy and go elsewhere. Watch what will happen to the people in West Germany if this would happen! they will scream, "Don't Go", we love America! (with their fingers crossed behind their back). Also, there is a statue of General Kosciusko on Pennsylvania Ave in D.C., 3 blocks from the White House at the intersection of 13th Street. If you love history, everybody should make one trip to D.C. and see why we live in the best country in the world!
Always good to know that at least some people in God's Own Country know how to deal with those rotten Europeans ... Christian
Be patient with us, Christian! Pleasant tact is sometimes lacking - but on the whole most Americans are not painted with the same brush. Politics is what it is. It really has very little to do with numismatics once the coins are struck. Hopefully that will sentiment will ring with those who link the two. How is the weather in Germany these days, Christian?
Don't worry, I know that some have this "if you are against our administration, you are against our country" attitude while others don't. Hope this will all calm down in, say, four months, whatever the outcome will be. Uh oh, another sore subject ... About 20C/70F these days, and quite a lot of rain. Ask me again in summer ;-) Back to coins - seems there was not a single bid. But thirteen bucks may have been a little high as a starting point. Don't have that coin, but several others from Poland. The Polish Mint has made quite a few beautiful pieces, especially after the 1990 currency reform ... Christian
Good It sure is an interesting piece, and maybe one day you get the Pulaski coin, too. But as I just wrote, $13 would have been a little too much indeed. Christian
Even if I just see one of those, it will stimulate me to google and learn. The seller has a "Polish sounding" last name and gave me a little back ground on Kosciuskzo. Nice lady too. I remember learning of Von Steuben, but Kos doesn't ring any bells. It was nice little learning experience for me, and makes the hobby a little more rewarding because I have always loved history. Chrisild: even though I vote against Al Gore in 2004 (I am from his home state of TN), I still respect and appreciate other people views and opinions of all things political. So many people were running around crying "remember WWII" about France, like they still owe US. My thing was "remember the Revolution" where France made the difference in our favor. Funny how easily they forgot about that. I understand France wanted to protect a trading partner and I can understand that. Freedom gives me the ability to be open minded. So think what you want about the war and our President, no problem for me, but hey..... let's talk about coins.
