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<p>[QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 8080256, member: 128351"]It seems that since ancient times there is a rule about who may be portrayed on coins: only gods or kings (whose authority must be considered of divine nature). In the Roman Republic they assimilated deceased persons with gods, and put portraits of ancestors on coins. We still follow the same rule today.</p><p><br /></p><p>In Europe we can compare the €uro coins in our wallets. Coins from Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Monaco, have the portrait of the kings of Spain, Belgium, the queen of Netherlands, the Grand Duke of Luxemburg... But in Republics such as Germany, France, Italy, etc. there are no portraits of presidents or prime ministers, for they are elected magistrates. It sometimes happens that limited series of 2€ coins are minted with portraits of famous people, but only deceased persons. </p><p><br /></p><p>Even during WW2 German coins did not have portraits of Hitler, only an eagle and a swastika. In France, in 1941, the Vichy regime wanted to mint new coins with the portrait of Marshall Pétain. They minted some but the German occupation authorities said it was streng verboten and blocked their introduction. Because Pétain was not a king: even their Fuehrer did not have his portrait on coins![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 8080256, member: 128351"]It seems that since ancient times there is a rule about who may be portrayed on coins: only gods or kings (whose authority must be considered of divine nature). In the Roman Republic they assimilated deceased persons with gods, and put portraits of ancestors on coins. We still follow the same rule today. In Europe we can compare the €uro coins in our wallets. Coins from Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Monaco, have the portrait of the kings of Spain, Belgium, the queen of Netherlands, the Grand Duke of Luxemburg... But in Republics such as Germany, France, Italy, etc. there are no portraits of presidents or prime ministers, for they are elected magistrates. It sometimes happens that limited series of 2€ coins are minted with portraits of famous people, but only deceased persons. Even during WW2 German coins did not have portraits of Hitler, only an eagle and a swastika. In France, in 1941, the Vichy regime wanted to mint new coins with the portrait of Marshall Pétain. They minted some but the German occupation authorities said it was streng verboten and blocked their introduction. Because Pétain was not a king: even their Fuehrer did not have his portrait on coins![/QUOTE]
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