The Problem with German Coins!

Sighhhhhhh its all relative. He is still a hunk !!!! ) Traci

 

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I just joined this forum and came across this post. I actually collect Russian, Nazi German, and general WWII currency. I have actually lost family members in WWII and the holocaust, but I still keep Nazi banknotes and coins in my collection because it's one of the most raw pieces of history. It's a reminder that what happened is not just a textbook article, a Wikipedia entry, or an old black and white photograph. These notes and coins, which carry one of the most discomforting symbols in the world, is something that reminds people of history's reality. And I intend on passing this collection on to my children so that they, too, can have this piece of history. Painful, yes, but absolutely necessary. I bet there's people out there who collect these for fanatical reasons, but I believe most see things the way I do.

 

Well put Traci. I have a few coins from the Third Reich for historic reasons and that alone. I detest what the Nazis did to the Jewish people and the rest of Europe, but I don't let that stop me from collecting coins that I find interesting. As a few members have said, the swastika is an ancient symbol used long before the Nazi party was even thought of. Sadly, it was Hitler who twisted and perverted the symbol, and it is now looked upon as a symbol that evokes terror. As for the Neo-Nazis, they are just a bunch of losers who have a desperate need to believe that their pathetic existances have more purpose than everyone elses. The same was true for most of Nazis back in 1930's and 40's. They were thugs and criminals, and they probably believed that wearing flashy uniforms made them more than what they actually were and that was common murderers. However, all countries have black marks in their history, and ours is certainly no exception (USA). I'm not proud to admit this, but I'm stating that we've had our dark points. All anyone can do is learn from history, and hope not repeat it.

~Daniel

 

Nice German Coins :

 

Very nice Traci. Here are a few from my collection.



GERMANY (WEIMAR REPUBLIC)~3 Reichsmark 1930 A



WEST GERMANY~5 Deutsche Mark 1978 F



EAST GERMANY~20 Mark 1990 A

 

Some nice pieces among those. Keep in mind though they are from three different countries (German Empire, Federal Republic, GDR) and one city. A few weeks ago I bought that Aachen coin for my own collection. Don't usually collect notgeld, but it is from around here, and that dog just looks great ...

Christian

 

I love that Graf Zeppelin coin. That is high on my want list, unfortunatly they are out of my price range.

 

Very impressive coins up there!! I can't believe this thread is still up here! I don't collect nazi coins of course but by the examples you can see not all German coins repeat that timeframe in history. That said, this is a free country and collectors should be able to collect what coins they want even if the coins they collect depict an ugly timeframe in history. Just my honest opinion but who the heck are we to say because it was an ugly time in history, then we shouldn't collect them? I think for the most part that ppl who collect these Hitler era coins have honorable intentions for doing so and I don't see a problem with it. just my 2 cnts.
Oh and I like that Graf Zeppelin and the Notgeld as well...

 

I love your Gaff Zeppelin coin. Here is mine in silver mintage 20,000. Traci :bigeyes:

 

I saw a lot of Nazi coins that had been for sale that were all marked "sold" just yesterday and in watching a movie earlier this week an actor was asked a question by his g/f -- why do people want to collect Nazi stuff? Well ... it's just that the Nazi era was so rife with conflict that it still occupies folks' minds and to own a Nazi coin is to own a part of that history. There is a fascination with the Holocaust because (IMO) it was so mind boggling that Hitler got away with everything he did for so long before the world woke up and stopped him. My mother-in-law was a nurse under Patton who went into the concentration camps after the war was over and for the rest of her life she couldn't even talk about it -- or watch a movie or read a book about it -- not until she was in her late 70s when it all started coming out. "The Horror," she called it. Most of us can only imagine. I think another reason is there are a lot of Nazi-type folks out there that, sick as it is, revere such hatred for anyone who is different and admire Hitler. Right or wrong, and I of course believe it's wrong and wouldn't buy any of those coins, I believe those are some of the reasons. I think also others are dispassionate about the war even now and would buy the pieces for curiosity's sake. Just my thoughts.

 

I own some because I collect coins and they're historical. History has to be positive to have a place in a coin collection?

 

LOL Chris.... the Doggie is irresistible. Traci

 

Yours is nice too. What country is that from? It says $20 at the bottom.

 

Zan, its a year 2000 silver proof from Liberia. They made a wonderful series of aviation coins, before their civil war. Traci

 

I collect all coins from germany from the earliest date up until 1950.. The coins with swastika are part of German history and cannot be avoided, anymore than English/British, Irish, welsh, American, Roman, Spanish etc.. (England...Cruel to the Scotts..Whoops..Ican't have medieval English coins..) Irish..(whoops! can't have irish coins because of terrorist activity), Welsh... Whoops! can't collect Welsh coins, because we destroyed all there Castles during the 15th century... Whoops! can't collect USA coins bcause they almost obliterated the "Native Indians" ....Cannot collect Roman Coins...They treated the JEWS more cruelly than the "Third Reich"...
And as for the Spaniards... Aztecs.. who cares... Do I need to go on... (Forgot to mention "hiroshima" ..don't collect coins or banknotes from Vietnam... The USA forbid it...

 

You're very right 'commandosniper'. Just about every country has a black mark on their history, and it's no different in my country (United States). If we let every infraction in history steer us away from collecting specific coins, coin collecting and numismatics would disappear completely. I think the main reason the atrocities by the Nazis is so notorious compared to other similar acts in history is that, unlike most other governments, is that hate, terror and expansion was it's primary policy. The Nazis specifically targeted the Jewish population for isolation and extermination. What made it all the worse, is so many people were killed in relatively short period of time. Even the swastika on the German flag and state arms, was used as a political weapon, and to strike fear into the Jewish people and other minorities. The red, white and black colors of the flag, were used because Hitler vilified the previous regime (Weimar Republic), and thus reverted to the colors used under the imperial government, in a modified form. Sorry if I got long winded, but I wanted to make the point. I have a few coins issued during the Third Reich, even though I detest the Nazi order and what it stood for. But I make it a rule never to get political when collecting coins, this is just my stance though.

~Daniel

 

:bow: Well put, Daniel.

 

True. Another explanation is that WW2 was pretty much the last time that military action against an aggressor was basically agreed upon in pretty much every country. No matter whether you ask in the US, Russia or even Germany, you will hear that it was necessary to bring the war and the nazi regime to an end. Every single war after that did not have that kind of almost unanimous support. And then there is the issue of "symbols" that you mentioned. Nazi Germany used the Fraktur script and (except for the first few pieces) the swastika on its coins. Hard to find a "numismatic equivalent" when it comes to, say, the Yugoslav Wars of the late 20th century ...

Christian

 

Leaving politics totally aside will be difficult though. Pretty much every coin is a statement that a government makes about "its" country. Very negatively put, a coin is political propaganda. Be it the pieces with a royal effigy that is accompanied by lots of hypothetical titles ("King of Miceland" even though Miceland has been part of some other country for a long time), be it political mottos, or even the designs ...

Christian

 

Thanks Daniel, a good answer to a difficult question..