Coins of foreign states during World War II.

 

Italian fascists much earlier than the beginning of World War II, back in October 1935, began to seize new territories. In the beginning there was Ethiopia, then Albania, Greece, Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, British Somalia and Corsica. Just during this period, Italy is updating its line of negotiable coins.

 

The average denominations of coins in denominations of 20, 50 centesimi, 1, 2 lira were issued on nickel blanks with a circulation of just over 100 thousand copies. With the beginning of the active phase of hostilities, nickel coins were withdrawn from circulation and replaced with stainless steel coins. The resulting nickel went into remelting for the manufacture of armor for tanks.

 

Senior denominations of 5, 10 and 20 lira were produced on 835 silver blanks.

 

Officially, fascist Italy entered World War II on June 10, 1940, declaring war on Great Britain and France. Around this time, the material for issuing coins changed while maintaining the design. Bronze was diluted with aluminum, and nickel, as I mentioned above, was replaced with stainless steel.

 

For all types of stainless steel coins, there are varieties with magnetic and non-magnetic properties of the workpiece.

In April 1939, four months before the official date of the outbreak of World War II, Italy attacked Albania. The newly created Albanian kingdom lasted until 1943 and ceased to exist after the surrender of Italy and the occupation of Albania by the now German troops . During this period, coins in denominations of 0.05 to 10 leks with the profile of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy were issued for circulation on the territory of the protectorate in various editions.

 

10 lek, silver 0.835, was produced only in 1939, the circulation is only 175 thousand (not yet in the collection). It is noteworthy that steel coins issued in 1939 in denominations of 0.20 to 2 leks were issued in both magnetic and non-magnetic versions. Coins of 0.20 and 0.50 lek, issued in 1940 and 1941, react positively to a magnet. The mint of all denominations is naturally Roman.

Monaco in 1943 was occupied by Italy, and then, after Italy switched to the side of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, already by German troops. During this period, coins of 1.2.5 francs were issued similar in design, but different in material.

 

Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. In the same year, Germany issued commemorative coins in denominations of 2 and 5 marks in honor of the 450th anniversary of the birth of the German theologian, the founder of Lutheranism as a separate trend of Christianity - Martin Luther.

 

In 1934, for the first time , a swastika appeared on German coins. These are commemorative coins commemorating the anniversary of Hitler's rise to power, depicting the garrison church in Potsdam, where he took the oath of allegiance to Germany. Moreover, the coat of arms on these coins is still old - without a swastika.

 

 

In 1935, the coat of arms of the state changed. The NSDAP symbol proposed as the state emblem - a left-looking eagle with an oak wreath framing a swastika, has undergone some changes and "turned" its head to the right. However, the issue of regular coins at this time (1933-1936) is still ongoing in the old design of the Weimar Republic.

 

 

In addition to small denominations, in 1933, 1935, the Reich issued new types of coins: 50 pfennig, 1 and 5 marks. The coat of arms on the coins is still old - the coat of arms of the Weimar  Republic.

 

 

 

 

In 1936, the first regular issue of coins with a new coat of arms took place. The changes affected all denominations, from 1 pfennig to 5 marks, with the exception of 1 Reichsmark, which continued to be produced in the same design until 1939.

 

 

With the outbreak of war, in 1939-1940, Germany changed the types of coins of regular issues. Bronze and aluminum-bronze alloy coins were replaced by zinc. At the same time, the issues of bronze 2 pfennigs, nickel brand and silver 2, 5 brands stopped altogether. A swastika appeared on the aluminum 50 pfennig. Coins of this type were minted until 1945.

 

 

For circulation on the territory of occupied Albania, Belgium, Greece, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Serbia, Croatia and other states, in addition to the coins indicated in this topic, the Reichskreditkassa occupation coins in denominations of 5 and 10 Reichspfennig, issued in 1940 and 1941.

 

 

In the period from 1945 to 1948, denominations of 1, 5 and 10 pfennig were issued for circulation in Germany occupied by the Allied Forces. Coins differ from military issues in the absence of an eagle swastika. The name of the country remains the same: "Deutsches Reich" (German state). There is nothing seditious in this, Germany called itself that even before the Nazis came to power . Coins are most often found in excellent condition, as they were in circulation for a short time. Already in 1948, the territories controlled by the USA, Great Britain and France were united into "Trisonia," and there, in June of that year, a monetary reform was carried out. In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was formed in these territories.  

 

 Here is another sample of a coin of 50 kopecks (copy). This is not a fantasy coin, the coin stamps are stored in the Museum of the Berlin Mint.

 

 

The coin was planned to be released from iron on 22 mm blanks in 1943, but the situation on the Eastern Front changed, the Red Army began the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazis and, perhaps, in view of this, the issue of the coin did not take place. You cannot find this sampler in the catalogs, it is not known where the sampler that came from in a single copy was sold at auction in 2008 for 11 thousand euros. The medalist of the coin was Franz Paul Krischker. Later, in 1948, he used the design of the probe when issuing the first coins of the GDR (I want to draw your attention to the symbol "spike and gear").

With the outbreak of World War II, Belgium declared its neutrality, but, nevertheless, was captured by Germany in May 1940. The occupation government of Belgium issued zinc coins in traditional versions for this country in French and Flemish. It is noteworthy that centimes repeat the "pre-war" design, the model of 1938-1940.

 

 

The occupation continued until the liberation of Belgium on September 29, 1944 by the Allied forces, after which, for circulation in the liberated territories with a circulation of 25 million copies. 2 franc coins were issued on zinc blanks from American one-cent coins of 1943.

 

On March 14, 1939, after short negotiations, Czechoslovakia capitulated, and on the same day the creation of the First Slovak Republic was announced, led by Joseph Tiso, controlled by the Third Reich. The republic was recognized by a number of states: Germany, Italy, Japan, the pro-Japanese state of Manchukuo, Spain, Croatia, Lithuania, Estonia and.... Soviet Union. During the period of the existence of the Republic from 1939 to 1944, coins were issued:

 

Coins in 1 coruna of 1942 have pronounced varieties of stamps with different spellings of the number "4" per year.

For a denomination of 5 korun, there are variations in the form of a rosary over "A" in the word "NAROD."

For this denomination, coins were issued in two versions of stamps : with a cross and without a cross on the church building.

The coin was issued in two versions: with a double and with a single cross.

In 1939, in honor of the formation of the Slovak Republic, a coin with a face value of 20 korun was issued with the smallest circulation - 200 thousand ex.

 

After the secession of Slovakia and the formation of the First Slovak Republic, on March 15, 1939, by Hitler's personal decree in the territory inhabited by ethnic Czechs, the German protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was declared with its capital in Prague, dependent on the Third Reich. Just like in other occupied territories, local money was issued on zinc blanks.

 

Bulgaria officially entered World War II on the side of the Axis countries on December 13, 1941, but was the only one of Germany's allies who did not directly participate in the hostilities against the USSR. Coins issued in the period 1941-1943 mainly repeated the design of coins of the "pre-war" type , but were made of iron and nickel-plated steel - materials less in demand for military purposes.

 

The time of Finland's entry into the war on the side of Germany is June 25, 1941. At the same time, clashes between Finland and the USSR took place back in 1939, during the Winter War . In the minting of coins of the war period, it is worth highlighting two stages: the exclusion of nickel from the composition of the blanks of coins of small denominations (1941-1943) and the complete transition to iron blanks (1943-1945). The design of the coins, while, basically, remained "pre-war."

 

It is noteworthy that in the period from 1943 to 1951, coins in denominations of 1 mark were simultaneously issued on both copper and iron blanks.

Coins of this denomination, after refusing to mint coins of 10 and 20 marks in 1939, remained the largest issued coin in Finland until the monetary reform of 1952, continuing after 1946 to be issued on brass blanks.

Hungary in the war sided with the Axis countries, including participating in battles with the Red Army. Wartime coins are presented below.

 

For 2 pengos of 1941 release, there is a variety released in a limited edition of 40 thousand copies. The difference from the 1st variety affected the execution of the face value of the coin - for the number 2, the lower bar is wavy, not straight.

The commemorative coin is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Admiral Miklos Horthy. The design vaguely resembles the 1938-1939 silver 5 pengos.

On September 5, 1940, under the influence of growing radicals, King Carol II of Romania abdicated in favor of his son Mihai I, who began to nominally remain in power, but was a puppet in the hands of the nationalist government led by Ion Antonescu. The Romanian Kingdom entered the war on the side of Germany on June 22, 1941, actively fought on the Eastern Front . During World War II, coins of regular coinage of a new design were issued in Romania in the following denominations:

In 1944, during the liberation movement, pro-fascist authorities were arrested, Mihai I rightfully ascended the throne, and the country sided with the anti-Hitler coalition. This explains the fact that the profile of Mihai I was minted on coins of the military, as well as the post-war period, despite the fact that Romania changed its "camp" by the end of World War II.

Another state that declared its neutrality after the outbreak of World War II, but was also attacked by Germany on May 10, 1940 . Immediately after the invasion, Queen Wilhelmina flew to London, receiving temporary asylum there. In 1941, the pro-German government issued coins in denominations of 1, 2 ½, 10, 25 cents of the old type with her portrait . In the same year , 1941, coins were issued in a new design and on zinc blanks.

 

From April 9, 1941 to May 8, 1945, Norway was occupied by Germany. The occupation authorities issued coins of a new type from "military" materials: zinc and iron. The monograms of the current monarch traditional for this country are absent on coins due to the presence of Haakon VII in exile in London.

 

It all started with a provocation, which was staged by SS men dressed in Polish uniforms, who instigated an attack on a German radio station in Gleiwitz. On the air, Polish speech was heard, screams about the attack of the Poles and shots... "Retaliatory measures" followed immediately, already on September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland . By the beginning of hostilities in Poland, the forces of the allied states of France and England significantly exceeded the armed forces of Germany in everything. After the attack, Poland appealed to the allies for help, but they were in no hurry to enter the war. If the opposite happened, World War II with its catastrophic consequences might not have happened - Germany would have been defeated in 1939. These are the historical facts.

 

The German occupation authorities did not bother with the development of coins of a new design, so the denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 20 pennies were minted with old, pre-war stamps, only on zinc blanks. Therefore, the year 1923 is indicated on 10 and 20 pennies.

 

 

The design of 50 pennies of the 1938 model was developed in peacetime - it was planned to update the entire line of bargaining chips. The Second World War prevented the issuance of coins. We used ready-made stamps - the occupation authorities. Coins were issued in two varieties of blanks: iron with nickel coating and without coating.

 

A special place in the row of military coins of Poland is occupied by coins issued for the Lodz Jewish ghetto. In total, two varieties of coins were issued in denominations of 10 pfennig from aluminum-magnesium alloy, as well as aluminum 5, 10 and 20 brands. Unpretentious coins are made on aluminum blanks, are expensive and are often counterfeited, so when buying (especially when it is "cheap") it is very easy to "run into" a fake.