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 Replies: 4 / Views: 1,025 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
I just got this 1943 Nazi pfennig as an unexpected surprise in a trade with Coindog (thanks!!), and, well . . .
. . . let's start here. Most of my world coins are newer--from the 1990s or later--and the plan is to throw them in a painted chest when my nieces are old enough for teeny things, put in a map with all the countries of the world printed on it and red Xs on each country represented (or, possibly, a blank map--let them discover where the Xs should go!), and go "here is a pirate treasure. Tell me about where it's from. What are the people like? Why do you think they make their money look this way?" There are a couple of obscure things--Spanish pesetas, old pesos, a lira and a franc--but I'm not particularly worried about them. The goal is to teach my girls geography, history, and culture in a world where schools like to teach (D) none of the above.
This particular coin will not be going in the chest; my nieces are Jewish, and while age isn't a factor (I have a 1949 10 pfennig from my grandfather in there) and neither is size (this actually isn't the smallest coin I own), the last thing I want is for one of them to flip on Google Image Search and put in a picture of a coin with a swastika on it. As such, I'm holding onto it until a Serious Discussion with my sister takes place; if she's comfortable with the girls having it well after their bat mitzvahs, I'll hold onto it, and it will be theirs to do with as they wish (normally I'd say "hold onto it or sell it," but given the loaded nature of the history here, if they want to destroy it, I'm not going to stop them). Otherwise, it'll get donated to a museum. Meanwhile, there is the problem of:
How do I store this thing?
I did a quick search, and Google tells me it's made of aluminum. I have no other aluminum coins that need storing. Usually I throw anything smaller than a US quarter in a quarter-sized flip, but I'm worried about damage to the coin because of its different makeup.
Anybody here with advice?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
In my opinion you shouldn't hide it from them particularly if they are Jewish. If people are ignorant history can repeat itself and so terrible as it was people should not surpress the past.
By the age of 13 I would expect them to know that some groups of people dislike other groups of people and what racism is; by 13 I am pretty sure I knew who Anne Frank was and the basics of WWII.
I have a few of these coins my grandad brought back from the war, I don't know where he happened across them but I am proud that he played his part serving Montgomery in the desert.
As shameful as the war was (for humankind to do such things) it also brought out the best in some people. With stories like The man who broke into Austwitz, Schindlers list and many other amazing stories it goes to show as bad as man can be we can also be amazing.
So fair enough shield them from the holocaust till they are older but its important that they know about these things. In my travels around Bulgaria I see that the right wing have a following and I know some of these countries were ashamed and rewrote their history concerning WWII. It's understandable but I don't think it's right. If we have a world economic collapse (which could happen) and people get hungry it could be very easy for history to repeat itself if the events of the past are forgotten.
The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1227 Posts |
David, I understand that point of view, and agree completely--it's part of why my mother taught me about the Holocaust, since my school pretty much went "oh, a lot of Jews died." My mother was the one who took me to the Holocaust museum, made me read books, etc.
However, I also see this from the point of view of "if someone handed me the pen Oscar Wilde wrote his 'I take no joy in writing' letter with, I would drop it on the floor." I wouldn't want to touch something that came out of such misery for someone whose community I share. In my case, we're talking about a man who served a few years of hard labor because he wasn't willing to renounce his feelings for someone else; in my girls' case, we're talking about twenty million dead. I can only imagine that their feelings would be infinitely more complicated than mine--hence the family discussion first. Should the girls know this is history? Yes and YES. Should they necessarily have to touch it with their bare hands? . . . maybe not.
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Moderator
 Australia
16844 Posts |
As for the specifics of your question: no, aluminium doesn't need particularly special care. Though you will find that if you simply toss an aluminium coin into a jar with a whole bunch of other coins and jostle them around a lot, the aluminium one will fare much worse, since it is a much softer metal. One other thing you do have to watch with aluminium is keeping it in contact with heavily tarnished silver for prolonged periods; the aluminium reacts with the silver sulfide, "cleaning" your silver coin and corroding your aluminium one. I've seen it happen over a period of just one humid Brisbane summer, and it ain't pretty. However, I should also point out that Google may have led you astray; 1943 1 pfennig coins are made of zinc, not aluminium. WCG example. In the Nazi period, only 50 pfennig coins were made of aluminium. If you've got a zinc pfennig, then it will need more careful storing to prevent it from crumbling away into a tiny pile of white powder. Don't keep it in a jar with a bunch of other coins, and don't leave it in a moist environment. However, keeping it sealed up in a 2x2 should be more than adequate protection. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Sap, thanks for the input! I save all those little "silicone do not eat" packets whenever I run across them, and throw them into my coin box--so moisture isn't really a problem, at least not while I'm living in the desert (I think Houston may require something a little more regular). The coin in question is in incredible condition (I've seen US pennies from 1983 in worse condition, forget 1943), so I think it's been well-protected previously. I'll throw it in a flip first thing when I pick them up after paycheque time tomorrow.
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Replies: 4 / Views: 1,025 |
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Posted 09/19/2012 08:49 am
