FS: Men Hanged - WWI Satirical Medal NGC-64 (RARE)

Conders

Choice WWI Satirical Medal. Details and historical background below. Offered through Heritage weekly April25-May2. https://coins.ha.com/itm/germany/ms64-brown-ngc-/p/231918-40001.s?ic2=myconsignmentspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyConsignment-112816

[Rare in bronze as seen here. Extremely rare in Silver - yep one of those in MS-66 (prob the finest existing) will be offered too but is consigned to the Hong Kong signature sale.]

An eagle symbolizing Germany is perched in an oak tree. At the ground a British officer directs a monkey, dressed in Japanese uniform, up the tree. The bodies of three men hang dead from the lower branches. DER ENGLÄNDER UND SEIN JAPANER JETZT KLETTRE DU MAL AUF DIE DEUTSCHE EICHE UND VERSUCHE OB DU IHM NICHT EINE FEDER AUS DEM SCHWANZ REISSEN KANNST! 1914. The Englishman to his Japanese pet, “Now climb up this German oak and see if you can’t pluck a feather from that eagle's tail!”

Historical background:
In 1897 at a missionary compound in Chinese Village, Zhāng Jia, two German Catholic missionaries were ambushed and murdered while sleeping. A group called the Big Sword Society (a type of local renegade police force) is believed to have been responsible.

Kaiser Wilhelm II used the opportunity this presented and instructed German naval forces in the region to take possession of Kiautschou Bay. Imperial China eventually conceded control of the area and in 1898 gave Germany a 99 year lease of the territory.
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”The Kiautschou Bay concession"
The area consisted of 213 square miles (552 square kilometers) around Jiaozhou Bay.

Tsingtao (Tsingtau, Qingdao) was founded, and the Germans developed streets, buildings, electrification, a sewer system, and a water supply. The treaty included rights for construction of railway lines and mining of local coal deposits even beyond boundaries of the leased area. Tsingtao was always under the command of the Imperial Navy, and not the Imperial Colonial Office, because of its strategic location.

In 1914, the population was approximately 190,000. Today, Qingdao is a metropolis of 8 million.
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With the WW I outbreak, Britain induced Japan to demand that Germany surrender their lease on the territory and withdraw from the area. Germany issued no response leading to a Japanese declaration of war.

At the time Kaiser Wilhelm had made the defense of Tsingtao a top priority, saying that "... it would shame me more to surrender Tsingtao to the Japanese than Berlin to the Russians".

About 23k Japanese forces and 1500 British forces laid siege to Tsingtao on October 31, 1914. Capitulation and occupation occurred on November 16, 1914.

After WWI, the territory was awarded to Japan.

Naturally, this did not sit well with the Chinese. This sparked the "May Fourth Movement", with a significant surge in Chinese nationalism

Eventually, the lands were given back to China in 1922.”

http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2013/05/ClassicStampsofKiauchau.html?m=1 credit for most of the above historical detail is directly due to this first source. There are a few interesting graphics included - It is worth a visit.

Further reading below.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Tsingtao

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiautschou_Bay_concession

Timbuk3

Very interesting, nice historical data, thanks for sharing !!!

Conders

Thank you, Timbuk3. It’s been a priveledge to own it and it is a real joy to be able to share what this medal inspired me to learn more about.

Conders

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