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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;lordmarcovan, post: 2689963, member: 10461&quot;]<b>&quot;Souvenir of an Invasion&quot;: WW1 German trench art on 1904 Belgian 10-centime coin)</b></p><p><b><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/feldzugbelgien-010000-coin-draft-png.600215/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></b></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/feldzugbelgien-010000-obv-draft-png.600216/?temp_hash=e20c5f5e0e90bb859382c3ed6d855aea" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/feldzugbelgien-010000-obv-draft-png.600216/?temp_hash=e20c5f5e0e90bb859382c3ed6d855aea">Larger obverse picture</a></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/feldzugbelgien-010000-rev-draft-png.600217/?temp_hash=e20c5f5e0e90bb859382c3ed6d855aea" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/feldzugbelgien-010000-rev-draft-png.600217/?temp_hash=e20c5f5e0e90bb859382c3ed6d855aea">Larger reverse picture</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Host coin:</b> 1904 Belgium 10-centimes, <a href="https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/belgium-10-centimes-km-53-1903-1906-5-cuid-1067836-duid-1282929" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/belgium-10-centimes-km-53-1903-1906-5-cuid-1067836-duid-1282929" rel="nofollow">KM53</a>.</p><p><b>Obverse:</b> host coin details unaltered, red (glass?) &quot;jewel&quot; mounted in original center hole. Bail ring mounted at top.</p><p><b>Reverse:</b> host design planed off, re-engraved in German: <i>&quot;Feldzug in Belgien</i>[Campaign in Belgium] <i>1914-1915&quot;</i>, iron cross at left.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ex- &quot;acsb-rich&quot;, eBay, 03/17/2017.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve had some interesting pieces of World War I &quot;trench art&quot; coins come and go in recent years, but this is the first piece with German engraving I&#039;ve had, and also the first &quot;love token&quot; piece I&#039;ve had with a mounted stone in it. (I&#039;ve always kind of liked those, but one has eluded me until now). It was rather stiffly priced and the seller drove a hard bargain, but after some deliberation I decided to go for it.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was probably made into a souvenir for a German soldier to send home to his mother or sweetheart. Though there is no name nor initials to associate it with an individual soldier, it does describe itself as a relic of the German campaign in Belgium (<i>&quot;Feldzug in Belgien&quot;</i>) in 1914 and 1915. </p><p><br /></p><p>The 1914 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_invasion_of_Belgium#Atrocities" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_invasion_of_Belgium#Atrocities" rel="nofollow">German invasion of Belgium</a> was a brutal affair and there were a number of<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Belgium" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Belgium" rel="nofollow">atrocities</a>, though these were somewhat exaggerated by British and French <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocity_propaganda#World_War_I" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocity_propaganda#World_War_I" rel="nofollow">propaganda</a>. Many civilians were killed and cultural sites destroyed. </p><p><br /></p><p>Eventually the German advance was checked by Allied forces and the war along the Western Front devolved into the muddy stalemate in the trenches we so often see depicted in films today. </p><p><br /></p><p>Of course the Germans learned their lesson and never invaded Belgium again.</p><p><br /></p><p>Haha. If only that were true! The Nazi blitzkrieg swept through again in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belgium" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belgium" rel="nofollow">1940</a>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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