I'm thinking of starting a WWII Set of U.S. / World Coins

kamehameha00

I already have most of the U.S. Coins minted during 1942-1945, and should be getting a couple of the commemorative halves and dollars soon. Does anyone know of any World Coins minted during 1936-1945, or whenever they were involved in the war, in attractive condition that dosen't cost much?

Darkhorse

Third Reich coins are a given. There are the many different coins minted in Nazi Occupied nations like France, the Netherlands, Belgium etc. There's Italian and Japanese to even out the Axis, there are Russian and Brit coins to even out the Allies. All of them are affordable.

Since I'm Canadian I can recommend the nickles minted from 1943-1945 they were especially designed for the War effort and have the Roman Numeral V for 5 and Victory. There's a torch in the middle and around the edge there is a message in morse code saying "We Win When We Work Willingly". In 1943 they were minted in a kind of brass called Tombac, in 1944 and 1945 they were minted in steel. Easy to find.

newsman

One thing you could consider is collecting occupation coins, such as the ones the Germans minted for the Netherlands and Belgium, and the Vichy French issues. There's also Italian occupation coinage for Albania, though it is rare, and coins from the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria.

Another angle you could work on are coins made by the US Mint for occupied European countries and their colonies. Lots of the Dutch coins of the WWII period were made in the US.

MyWorldCoinTypeSet

Since I'm Canadian I can recommend the nickles minted from 1943-1945 they were especially designed for the War effort and have the Roman Numeral V for 5 and Victory. There's a torch in the middle and around the edge there is a message in morse code saying "We Win When We Work Willingly". In 1943 they were minted in a kind of brass called Tombac, in 1944 and 1945 they were minted in steel. Easy to find.

<<<< The 1944 one looks like this.

Refrema

There are Danish and Norwegian coins issued during the occupation, and there are also a few that were issued by the government in Exile. The occupation coins are not very expensive, but the ones from the government in exile can get expensive and hard to find.

Good Luck

akdrv

In 1944, as Allied forces advanced into occupied Belgium, the United States issued Belgium's first "liberation" coin. The 2 Franc coin was minted at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia on the blanks of U.S. 1943 zinc-coated steel pennies.

coinrookie

Sorry double post.


Steve

Darkhorse

Soviet coins come in three grades:

1. Sorta neat with the Communist theme and all.
2. It's alright.
3. Poorly made.

coinmickey

You know, this is a great thread, and a great idea for a fun coin set.

I agree that the occupied countries will be challenging. I also understand there may have been paper money issued as well. I'm almost positive Japan did it in China and elsewhere.

coinrookie

Great set. I have been working on mine for a year. Try Ron Guth for German coins. Basically, you can run through most of the alphabet and find countries that were involved in one way or another. E-bay is a good as source as any for the coins. Also do not forget Mexico, they supplied a number of pilots in the Pacific theater. You may have to hunt a little for some of the coins in really nice condition. Italy and Russia can be a little tough in unc. There is a little porcelin Japanese coin that is really cool. They will run you about 18.00-20.00 bucks.

Steve

canadiancoinguy

Lots of inexpensive fun to be had! You could even expand it to cover some related post-war coinage, like the de-Nazified coinage (same design w/ swastika removed), Saarland coinage issued by the French, and some others.

eric1509

Hi!

Mybe is this something you can need?
I have some of the the coins from this time to offer.

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=302990&highlight_key=y&keyword1=german

Eric

chrisfuccione

One area that you could collect is Philappine coinage that were thrown into the Manila Bay during WWII to prevent the Japanees from getting them if they were overtaken. for more infomation here is a link for you on them. CHRIS

http://www.wsradio.com/cointalk/030104.htm

bosox

I've been working off and on for years on WWII coinage in the following categories. I add to it when nice coins become available.

1. Countries that ceased to exist after the war (like Bohemia & Moravia, or the original Slovakia Republic)
2. Governments in exile [I have almost all of the Curacao (Dutch) and Faroe (Danish) coins. Thinking about starting on the Norwegian ones, which are very scarce.]
3. Occupation coinage (for example the Begium 2 francs issued by the Allies, or the Belgium 1 franc issues by the Germans, or several Norwegian coins issued by the Germans)
4. Other neat WWII coinage (like French Vichy coinage)

This coinage tells a lot of history about Europe during the war. Many pieces are available inexpensively in nice condition. There are some rarities that are very difficult for date sets, but type coins are interesting and generally not that hard to find.

lathmach

A suggestion.
Get a copy of "World War II Remembered", history in your hands-a numismatic study, by C. Frederick Schwan and Joseph E. Boling.
This book has all the coins and paper money used during WW II.
It's not cheap. I think I paid around $75 for mine when it first came out. This is a large book, about 9X11 inches, with more than 850 pages. It's packed full of pictures, and historical information.
I guarantee that you will treasure it.

Ray

kamehameha00

Great suggestions everybody! I'll be looking for that book lathmach.