Today I spent an even $20 which was kind of lucky (there was no bargaining or lumped-together amounts). This time, banknotes are the focus of the post because they were underpriced and interesting. 4 of them are from World War II.
I'll start with maybe the highest-valued one according to the catalog - a Ukrainian banknote from 1942. Many more countries issue notes than do coins - coins cost actual money to produce, while banknotes are cheap and easy. So for revolutionary and unrecognized and war-torn states, you get way more banknotes than you do coins because any idiot with a printer and a government can make them official. Case in point: Ukraine. Ukraine in its modern form didn't issue coins until 1992, but banknotes were issued three times in the last century: once during the turbulent times of the Russian Revolution (Ukraine joined the Soviet Union a couple years later, ending that escapade), once during the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union, and finally during modern independence to the modern day. As the Nazis thrashed Europe they had a habit of dismembering the countries they invaded. Yugoslavia became Serbia, Croatia and more, Czechoslovakia was split into Bohemia and Moravia and Slovakia, and the occupied parts of the USSR were given "independence" in name only. So Ukraine existed for brief moments in the 1940s as Reichskommissariat Ukraine, hence this Ukrainian banknote, and hence the little swastika-carrying Reichs-eagle to the woman's lower left.
In 1944, Denmark was also occupied by Nazi Germany, but this note doesn't have a single symbol of the occupation (in fact... it's a bit bland overall). Why? This note was actually produced clandestinely by National Bank employees, and was only made legal tender after liberation in 1945. So the 1944 notes are not as common - this was a lucky find. The series continued until 1950. After the war, it was declared that all previous notes would be demonetized, and if you exchanged more than a certain amount you would be put under special scrutiny by the tax-men. This was to catch war profiteers. So this is the first of a new series of Danish krone.
Once the Allies caught up they had to print their own occupation notes, because the introduction of soldiers spending their salaries in American dollars all over the place would make the American dollar plentiful and preferable to the local currency, meaning a lack of trust in the domestic economy and big economic pains after liberation. Since no government existed to print a local currency, the Americans had to do it themselves. 1 occupation lira was worth 1 cent U.S.
It was the same story in Germany. I have a pretty beat-up half mark, but this looks a lot better (and it's worth 100 times more). Unlike the mostly-English Italian note (which even featured the American Constitution's Four Freedoms in English on the back in eye-watering pale blue), the German notes are entirely in German.
Back in time to 1917, the Russian Revolution. This gave rise to endless series of provisional notes issued by all factions to fill the need for money in the world's largest country. This note is in nice condition, it's colourful, and it's huge. But wait!! If you look closely, there are swastikas behind the double-headed eagle and some of the inscriptions!! In 1917, no less! As far as I know, back then, it was just a pretty pattern (and one that saw much use in the Baltic region).
Finally, a colourful Chinese note, but not worth much today. If you thought Russia was bad for having tons and tons of provisional and inflationary and reform notes, China is so much worse.
What are these round metal things? Oh, right, this post isn't just about banknotes. Here's a 1799 halfpenny, really worn out but still recognizable.
I was lucky to get two .500 sixpences for 75 cents, below their silver value. The first one looks a bit weird - I don't know why all the slightly off-putting small British silvers end up in Canada, but I have at least 5 that are damaged in mysterious ways.
Another Churchill crown. The fatal flaw - these coins are really big so if you want to exchange them you'll pay a ton for postage.
An Argentine commemorative, 150 years of independence. The series of multi-sided Argentine coins from this era are all pretty neat and this is a fairly unorthodox way of depicting a building on a coin.
Here's a shiny coin from Belize. Unlike other countries which change their portrait of the Queen as she gets older, this same portrait of her is being used in Belize to this day.
An Australian commemorative - also heavy and difficult to ship. The Commonwealth Games are important! How else can we play sports without the Americans beating us at them?
Finally, a modern French coin using a design that's now about a hundred years old. Since the silver 1-franc coins from before the First World War and the nickel 1-franc coins from 1960 and afterwards have identical designs, I always check the date when I pick them out of junk bins. No luck yet, but one day...
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with jbuck, thanks for all the information along with the pictures! That was really cool and informative!
Posted 07/14/2014 11:36 pm
But it was worth it!
)! Are the oldest coins you find (like the 1799) tucked away in world coin bins?
