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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Iceman57, post: 2790009, member: 16712&quot;]Although Iceland and the Faroe Islands were never part of the British Empire, these coins are illustrative of an interesting and important chapter in British history, and are including here for this reason.&nbsp; All the coins illustrated are from my collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>Early in WW2, on 9 April 1940, Germany invaded neutral Denmark and began an occupation of Denmark that would last until 1945.&nbsp; Britain feared that Germany would establish bases on Iceland and the Faroe Islands, which were both possessions of Denmark.&nbsp; On 12 April 1940 the British peacefully established an occupation force on the Faroe Islands.&nbsp; Later, on 10 May 1940, Britain would invade and occupy Iceland after unsuccessfully trying to convince Iceland to give up its neutrality and align with the Allies.&nbsp; The invasion was non-violent, and Iceland protested the action, to no avail.</p><p><br /></p><p>During the occupations of the Faroe Islands and Iceland, Britain struck coins for both at the London Mint.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>I suspect that the work load involved in striking the issues for the Faroes (5 denominations in 1941 and 1942) and Iceland coinages (5 denominations in 1942), explain why the WW2 minting of coinage for the British territories of Australia and Fiji were transferred to the US Mint starting in 1942.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Icelandic coinage minted in London. From </b><a href="http://www.coinfactswiki.com/wiki/Iceland_1940_5_aurar" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.coinfactswiki.com/wiki/Iceland_1940_5_aurar" rel="nofollow"><b>http://www.coinfactswiki.com/wiki/Iceland_1940_5_aurar</b></a></p><p><br /></p><p>{Coins were} <i>struck for Iceland in 1940 </i>{and}<i> 42 at the London mint. Previous issues were struck at the Copenhagen mint 1926-39 and bear the heart mintmark. In 1940, as Nazi troops occupied Denmark, British troops occupied Iceland.&nbsp; </i></p><p><br /></p><p>As with the Faroe Islands coins struck in London, the designs were faithfully reproduced, and mint marks and initials were not included.&nbsp; The compositions of bronze or copper-nickel were maintained in 1940, but former copper-nickel coins were struck in zinc in 1942.&nbsp; Designs were maintained in the 1942 zinc coinage, and well as all others.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>History of the British occupation of the Iceland </b></p><p><br /></p><p>Excerpts from Wikipedia in italics {my additions in curly brackets}:</p><p><br /></p><p>-&nbsp; <i>The invasion of Iceland was a British military operation conducted by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines during World War II to occupy and deny Iceland to Germany. At the start of the war, Britain imposed strict export controls on Icelandic goods, preventing profitable shipments to Germany, as part of its naval blockade. Britain offered assistance to Iceland, seeking cooperation &quot;as a belligerent and an ally&quot;, but Reykjavik </i>{the Capital of Iceland, hence the government} <i>declined and reaffirmed its neutrality. The German diplomatic presence in Iceland, along with the island&#039;s strategic importance, alarmed the British.&nbsp;&nbsp; After failing to persuade the Icelandic government to join the Allies, the British invaded on the morning of 10 May 1940. … Meeting no resistance, the troops moved quickly to disable communication networks, secure strategic locations, and arrest German citizens. </i></p><p><br /></p><p>-&nbsp; <i>The government of Iceland issued a protest, charging that its neutrality had been &quot;flagrantly violated&quot; and &quot;its independence infringed”, noting that compensation would be expected for all damage done.&nbsp; The British promised compensation, favorable business agreements, non-interference in Icelandic affairs, and the withdrawal of all forces at the end of the war.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>-&nbsp; <i>Resigning themselves to the situation, the Icelandic authorities provided the invasion force with de facto cooperation, though formally maintaining a policy of neutrality.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Later Canadian forces would replace the British, still later US forces would replace the Canadians.</p><p><br /></p><p>-&nbsp; At the start of WWII Iceland was a fully sovereign state in a personal union {two states that are independent but have the same monarch} with Denmark.&nbsp; In 1944 Iceland voted to terminate the Union and established a republic.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I thought you would like to see the Royal mint in London&#039;s handy work of Icelands 1940 proof coins[ATTACH=full]647743[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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