Coinage and War

Just a thread where people can share their coins that were issued during wartime. Instead of just listing coins that were issued by nations at war I think it would be more interesting to share those where the coin itself has been impacted in some way. such as changes in design, the striking of coins in new materials in order to cope with wartime conditions, or occupation coinages etc.

I'll start with this 1689 'gunmoney' 6 pence, issued by James II. These coins were struck in Ireland to provide funds for James II's war against the forces of Kings William III. They were struck in base metal and the coins (except from the crown) listed the month they were issued. This was done to allow a gradual replacement of the base coins with silver coinage in the event of James II's victory, it also would have allowed soldiers to collect interest on their wages. This particular example was issued in August. Ultimately, the coins were never redeemed as James II lost the war.



More information: https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2014/06/15/james-ii-gunmoney-a-photo-blog-of-the-known-variations/

Oh boy have I got a lot!
None as nice as that gun money piece, though; I'll post pictures later.

I totally fell in love with Dutch zinc coins from 1941-1945. The only problem for me is that I'd prefer to have them in bronze, but anyway they have nice designs.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?mode=avance&p=1&l=&r=&e=pays-bas&d=&ca=3&no=&i=&v=&m=zinc&a=&t=&dg=1941-1944&w=&u=&f=&g=&c=&tb=y&tc=y&tn=y&tp=y&tt=y&te=y&cat=y

Also Belgian coins minted during the WWI look nice:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?mode=avance&p=1&l=&r=&e=belgium&d=&ca=3&no=&i=&v=&m=Zinc&a=&t=&dg=1914-1918&w=&u=&f=&g=&c=&tb=y&tc=y&tn=y&tp=y&te=y&cat=y

Good choice for the opening topic.

I don't find the 20th century wartime issues very appealing, a mixture of unwise material choices, insipid designs (mostly) and large enough mintages to deprive one of even the satisfaction of completing a difficult set..... what's to love? Collecting 3rd Reich coins has given me plenty of exposure to the nightmare that is zinc coins, so I've opted out of the occupation issues. There's only so much love I can give to zinc coins.

No, when I think of money impacted by war I immediately think of Gun Money and the Civil War plate issues. As you've already covered the first quite succinctly I reckon that leaves me with the second.



I should begin by saying that I don't own any of these coins* and probably never will. For two reasons, they predate my collection plus they're bloody expensive. I did however have the opportunity to examine what I believe was the most comprehensive collection ever, at a Coin Expo at the Newcastle Guildhall. Despite being crude even by mid 17th century standards they do have a certain magnificence individually, when combined into a substantial collection they are quite breathtaking. It's one of those experiences I will never forget and one which I've always been grateful for the opportunity.

In brief, these coins were crafted from donated or captured silver plate by various Royalist garrisons under siege during the period 1645-1649. While some are barely recognizable as coins others are identifiably so and given the emergency nature, limited resources and hurried production they are quite a testament to the moneyer's skills.

Further reading:
https://coinweek.com/world-coins/the-story-of-english-civil-war-siege-money/


* There is a slim possibility that I do actually own a piece of siege money. Some while ago I got a small piece of cut silverware in a lot of coins. To quote from the above article - "it is often obvious that they were made from crafted objects rather than featureless metal. The value was determined by the weight of the silver." It does raise the intriguing possibility that what I have is one of those pieces of silver cut to the required weight and handed out to craftsmen or mercenaries serving with the Cavaliers. In the absence of any kind of provenance or an identification it's impossible to prove but it's an interesting speculation. Maybe I'm just a hopeless optimist. I'm not sure what I'll do with the "coin" but I definitely won't be scrapping it for the few cents of silver content. You can see the item along with fuller details here -

https://en.numista.com/forum/topic63570.html

Comments are welcome and in the unlikely event that anyone can actually identify it I would be forever indebted.

After taking inventory it would've taken forever to photograph and upload pictures of my wartime issues... so since I'm guessing most other members have already seen the standard zinc/aluminium coins issued under occupation authorities in WWII, and US steel pennies and war nickels, I present some of my examples of the less infamous wartime issues from the East Asian theatre of WWII:


Year 26 (1937) East Hopei 2 Jiao (20 cents)
East Hopei [Autonomous Council] was created by the Japanese Army in China's Hopei/Hupei province from 1935-38 for administrative purposes. It was merged with the Reformed Government of China afterwards.



Year 27 (1938) Mengjiang 5 Jiao (50 cents)
Mengjiang was a Japanese puppet state set up from 1939-45, though not as well known as Manchukuo. I believe this silver coin was it's only coinage issue.



Year 30 (1941) RF'd Govt. of China (Beijing) 1 Fen / Year 29 (1940) RF'd Govt. of China (Nanjing) 10 Fen
Speaking of the Reformed Government of China, after Japan stepped up it's military expansion on the Asian mainland following the Marco Polo bridge incident (1937), they set up a puppet government in Beijing, which later merged with Wang Jingwei's based in Nanking. Comparable to Pétain's Vichy in Europe.


Kangde Year 12 (1945) Manchukuo 1, 5 Fen
As the war turned against Japan, the empire resorted to making coinage in increasingly worthless materials, from aluminium to zinc to baked clay and even porcelain by 1945. These coins issued for Japan's puppet state of Manchukuo also reflect that situation, made of Red Fibre.

Citeer: "pnightingale"​No, when I think of money impacted by war I immediately think of Gun Money and the Civil War plate issues. As you've already covered the first quite succinctly I reckon that leaves me with the second.
​
​

​The siege pieces crude appearance really drive home just how desperate the situation of the besieged was. You are incredibly lucky to have been able to handle some original pieces, I've never seen one in person. The most appealing thing about them for me is that they provide a rare example where an individual coin can be concretely connected to a single moment in history. It's incredible to think that those coins have been handled by people who went through a major action of the civil war. The only similar experience I have had was when I was allowed to handle the sole surviving Scottish touchpiece given out by Charles I on the 18th June 1633 . Its simply incredible to handle something that Charles himself had touched. Whereas with the siege pieces you are handling coins that are guaranteed to have been used by those who were willing to die for him. They bring history to life, suddenly events four centuries in the past don't seem so distant.

On the topic of siege money: the final year of the reign of King James II of Scotland provides examples of coins issued by the attackers in a siege. James had groats struck at Roxburgh while he was besieging its castle in 1460. It remains an extremely rare issue as James' cannons made short work of the castle and James was killed during the siege. Ironically, James died at the hands of his own guns as he was killed when one of his cannons exploded. The next two proceeding kings would also meet bloody ends.

I don't have a photo of the siege piece, but it looks very similar to this: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces125191.html The only major difference being the reverse legend, which identifies the mint as Roxburgh (VILLA ROXBVRGH).

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​
​Kangde Year 12 (1945) Manchukuo 1, 5 Fen
​As the war turned against Japan, the empire resorted to making coinage in increasingly worthless materials, from aluminium to zinc to baked clay and even porcelain by 1945. These coins issued for Japan's puppet state of Manchukuo also reflect that situation, made of Red Fibre.

They really make you wonder what was going through the heads of the general public when the coins entered circulation. They must have known that the end was near.

Citeer

​Absolutely, but I imagine by then they'd had plenty of bigger signs that the end was near than the coins they spent; for example Allied firebombing raids launched across Germany and Japan towards the end of the war.

Anyway here's another war-related coin I own:

1813 Catalonia (Spanish states) 4 Quartos (cast variety)
Made of cast copper in Barcelona (then in a French department, 1812-14) towards the end of the Peninsular War, Napoleon's invasion of Spain and Portugal (1808-14). The means of casting was why I originally thought this coin was a fake; wonder if this cast variety are contemporary counterfeits?

I got this one. This is an As struck by the Roman republic. In the beginning, the As were very heavy (327g), but it has known several weight reductions due to several factors, and war was one of them. They were very expensive for the Roman republic.

In 211, the as was finally reduced by the Lex Flaminia to a weight of 27,79g to cover the costs of the war against Hannibal, the second punic war.

Regarding of mine's weight (39,03g), it can be dated to around 218 BC, the beginning of the war against Hannibal. It was in 218 reduced to approximately 42g.
This coinage was used until the end of the Republic. For that reason, they are often very worn (like mine).
Fun fact, my coin has something that no other as has, will you find it ?

I don't know a whole lot about the Roman As coins, but I love puzzles. That led me to do a bit of research with regards the Roman Republic As, and so therefore I learned something new.

As to your puzzle "Fun fact, my coin has something that no other as has, will you find it ?", I note the double facing bust of Janus on one side, and the prow of a galley upon the other. The lettering of ROMA can still be seen under the prow though it is heavily worn, but these things would be common to an As of this date. So what else can we see on your coin that might be unique?

It would have to be something that was added later, and given the metal is soft, it would be something engraved or scratched in. My guess is that the marks upon the bust side of the coin are actually letters. What I see is some form of lettering that has been etched into the coin beginning from the bottom of the bust side and moving up the right side of the coin. My guess is these letters may be a reference to the Roman SPQR or something along the lines of that. Can't make out the first for letters, but the last three (or scratches?) do seen to resemble "LVS".

I bet I'm completely wrong. Lol.

You are right Kipsley! Actually the engraved characters are DIPILVS. It is very clear while in hand despite the fact it doens't clearly show in the picture. It is a name (third roman name : cognomen) but I haven't got any further information on it. It seems like the other names are on it but too worn to be seen.
I know that a graffito was found in Pompei with this name :
C PVMIDIVS DIPILVS HEIC FVIT
A D V NONAS OCTOBREIS M LEPID Q CATUL COS
CVM

Dated from 78BC. Maybe the same fellow, who knows ?

Citeer: "Choucas"Choucas
I got this one. This is an As struck by the Roman republic. In the beginning, the As were very heavy (327g), but it has known several weight reductions due to several factors, and war was one of them. They were very expensive for the Roman republic.

327g coin? wow. It gives the George III cartwheel 2 pence a run for its money. How large is the diameter of your coin?

I noticed the lettering on the obverse of the as. I originally assumed that it was a more recent addition, perhaps some sort of love token. So knowing that it is Roman makes it even more incredible. ​

Here is a WWI iron Kopeck. It was issued for use in the parts of the Russian Empire that were under German occupation.

Mine is 32mm large. But the older ones are larger as they got heavier. As you can see here :
http://www.artancient.com/antiquities-for-sale/collections/ancient-coins-sale/roman-republican/ancient-roman-republic-bronze-aes-grave-as-coin-225-bc.html
(they set 225bc as date but it seems a bit early to me... would have said +-240bc, but some authors say one thing, others say another...).

At first they were casted coins, but the romans soon choosed the striking option. Before that, the asses were just casted bar of bronze of more or less 1.5Kg.

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​

Citeer

​​Absolutely, but I imagine by then they'd had plenty of bigger signs that the end was near than the coins they spent; for example Allied firebombing raids launched across Germany and Japan towards the end of the war.
​
​Anyway here's another war-related coin I own:
​
​1813 Catalonia (Spanish states) 4 Quartos (cast variety)
​Made of cast copper in Barcelona (then in a French department, 1812-14) towards the end of the Peninsular War, Napoleon's invasion of Spain and Portugal (1808-14). The means of casting was why I originally thought this coin was a fake; wonder if this cast variety are contemporary counterfeits?
​
​

​I recently had possession of the accompanying 1 Peseta and the same concerns. As the exact silver content is unknown and seems to have been determined by whatever "pot metal" was at hand you can't rely on the usual weight x diameter specs. Even worse, because of the production method, a genuine coin is going to look exactly the same as a casual fake.

I ended up with the unsatisfactory conclusion that it's just not possible to confidently decide what's real and what's the product of an enterprising Peninsular War era counterfeiter who saw an easy opportunity and took it. That left me with the problem of what to do with it. I solved the dilemma by sending it as a Christmas friend who is building such a collection. I reckon he's now wrestling with the same question as you and I, but from the other side of the coin, so to speak.

The roman Antoninianus was at its introduction a quite fine silver coin. But decades of civil war and Inflation made it a small billon and later a copper coin. Mine here is most likely struck under Claudius II and you can clearly see copper under the silver of this coin (not sure if you can see it well on those pictures)

Napoleon I 20 Francs struck during the Hundred Days.

New dies had to be specifically cut for this issue as the pre-1815 dies were likely destroyed after Napoleon was exiled to Elba

Sorry for my bad pictures again, but another coin from my collection with a war story:


1936 Philippines 50 Centavos (Commonwealth)

This coin was just a commemorative issue for the anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines the previous year, but the condition of the coin's reverse is war-related; when the Japanese Empire invaded the Philippines (then a US protectorate) shortly after Pearl Harbour in 1942, tons of pre-war silver coinage was dumped into Manila Bay to prevent the Japanese from getting their hands on it for their war effort.

This included a number of 1936 commemorative issues, as well as Filipino coins dating all the way back to 1903 (in total some 8,500,000 US dollars' worth of silver) that ended up at the bottom of the sea. During the occupation, both the Japanese and Filipinos made salvage attempts to recover the silver, with some from the latter turning up in black markets and even internment camps where they were used to bribe guards for food.

After the liberation of the Philippines by US forces towards the end of the war, much of the silver was recovered, with a lot of it in conditions like mine's reverse; such coins have been called part of the "Manila Bay Hoard". The 50 centavos coin I own has a mintage of just 20,000 so I consider it a good find, with a definite link to an event in the past to boot.

http://corregidor.org/chs_trident/salvage/medina_01.htm

Hello,
You may be interested in those, coinage for the Austrian army in Galicia Lodomeria in Poland after the first partition of Poland. Not sure it is really war coinage but there was war all around these days there

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​This coin was just a commemorative issue for the anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines the previous year, but the condition of the coin's reverse is war-related; when the Japanese Empire invaded the Philippines (then a US protectorate) shortly after Pearl Harbour in 1942, tons of pre-war silver coinage was dumped into Manila Bay to prevent the Japanese from getting their hands on it for their war effort.

Incredible coin with a fascinating story to go with it. Do Manila Bay Hoard coins command a premium over better preserved examples? ​

Citeer: "cmaclean"​

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​This coin was just a commemorative issue for the anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines the previous year, but the condition of the coin's reverse is war-related; when the Japanese Empire invaded the Philippines (then a US protectorate) shortly after Pearl Harbour in 1942, tons of pre-war silver coinage was dumped into Manila Bay to prevent the Japanese from getting their hands on it for their war effort.
​
​

​Incredible coin with a fascinating story to go with it. Do Manila Bay Hoard coins command a premium over better preserved examples? ​

​I don't think so; I paid about €15 for my coin, and I've also seem other people post their Manila Bay Hoard coins, wheras I've seen a non-MBH 1 Peso 1936 selling for a three digit price.

Although, that observation could be true only for the 1936 commemorative 0.50 and 1 Peso issues, which have a low mintage of 10-20,000 already anyway, and perhaps some MBH examples do command a premium over regular issue non-MBH coins, though I generally doubt it- after all, MBH or not you'd expect a coin in better condition to be more highly-valued unless your buyer has a particular penchant for history.

Citeer: "Ecapoe"​Hello,
​You may be interested in those, coinage for the Austrian army in Galicia Lodomeria in Poland after the first partition of Poland. Not sure it is really war coinage but there was war all around these days there

Great coins. In a similar vein here is an iron 10 Fenigow of the short-lived Kingdom of Poland. Struck for use while Poland was under German occupation during WWI.

Reviving an oldish thread. Here's my WWII issues. I have a few other coins made during the war, but not with changes of design or material exclusive to wartime years. I know a few of these have been shared already, but some haven't



1943 US steel cent https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3173.html (I have P, D, and S)
1942-45 US "silver" 5¢ https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces45.html (I have 42P, 43S, 44P, and 44D)
1942 Canadian tombac 5¢ https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces412.html
1943 tombac 5¢ w/ victory reverse https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces411.html We Win When We Work Willingly
1944-45 steel 5¢ w/ victory reverse https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces410.html (I have the 45)
1940-45 German 1 pfennig https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2586.html (44-B)
1940-45 German 10 Pfennig https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces1929.html (41-A)
1945 Manchuria 1 Fen https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces22469.html (cardboard "red fiber". There are supposedly rarer brown fiber varieties for both the 1 and 5 Fen)
1944-45 Manchuria 5 Fen https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces22470.html (I have 44)
1945 1 Sen clay semi-circulated pattern https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13996.html

For non-WWII, are crusader state coins considered wartime?

1369-1382 Kingdom of Cyprus https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces117502.html

Hey, this little thread!

To add to your WWII coins, I have my recently-acquired 5 and 10 pfennig coins from not the actual war, but the Allied Occupation of Germany afterwards (1945-48).




And just as a bit of a bonus, here's a 10 Reichsmark military payment certificate from the Wehrmacht, dated 15th September 1944, when the Wehrmacht was in full retreat on both the Western and Russian fronts.

I have just started to collect siege coinage. My first piece is: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces127305.html not arrived from ebay yet.
Minted during Grumbach Feud...




I also own a 5 penniä 1918 (Finnish civil war)
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces34566.html
Struck by the reds, in january-may 1918.


I also own many Finnish 1917 coins, for example https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces10386.html .
These arent exactly civil war issues. They were issued during the rule of the Russian provisional government, and possibly only coins issued in Russian areas when Kerenski was in power. But on the other hand the Russian civil war started right after

Hello,
Adding a link to this particular thread on POW tokens:
https://en.numista.com/forum/topic70403.html
The section on our catalogue is slowly growing

Citeer: "Ecapoe"​Hello,
​Adding a link to this particular thread on POW tokens:
​https://en.numista.com/forum/topic70403.html
​The section on our catalogue is slowly growing

​Add Monninen1's thread on siege coinage here too, it's very much part of war-related coinage.

I love gun money, sadly I’m having to let some of my own go which are ending this weekend on eBay.

One coin I did always Like was the Tabora minted 5 heller or whatever it was exactly. Minted in a railway shed by a German commander fending off the allied invasion of their East African possessions.

Citeer: "CassTaylor"​

Citeer: "Ecapoe"​Hello,
​​Adding a link to this particular thread on POW tokens:
​​https://en.numista.com/forum/topic70403.html
​​The section on our catalogue is slowly growing

​​Add Monninen1's thread on siege coinage here too, it's very much part of war-related coinage.
​

​Was done a 1-2 days ago

@Idolenz
Oh, ok; good to hear!

Anyway I want to try resurrect this thread, with my humble copper duit I'd forgotten about until now:

1810 Netherlands East Indies (Java) 1 Duit - Louis Napoleon

As you may have guessed, it's a coin minted during the Napoleonic Wars; at this time Napoleon Bonaparte's older brother Louis was king of Holland, which was a French client state (until it was annexed completely 1810-14 by France).

The Dutch colonies in the East Indies had been minting duit coins for well over a century by this time, and this continued under Napoleonic rule. The British, who were also at war with France's puppet kingdom, also invaded Java and issued coinage of their own for the island later.

The third riksdaler: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/suede-15.html#c_suede2622 is basically emergency and war coins from the great northern war.

"Faanejelm" a war banknote from 1790. Only a few exist anymore. Multiple denominations.