Is Anyone familiar with this coin? What is it?

ozzysdad

I can't seem to find anything about this one? Can anyone Identify it?

1jester

I don't know, but it might be a Notgeld issue after WWI from some German city. Askari will probably be able to give at least a cursory guess.

tbirde56

I'd agree. What's the text say below the 10?

1jester

it says Freistadt xx. I can't make it out.

ozzysdad

It say's FREISTDAT 0.0.

MSD61

Freistadt or "Free city" is a municipality in Austria. This most likely is a Notgeld issue during WWI
Edit to add: Sorry I forgot I was in a rush this is likely an Austrian WWI POW coin a brass 10 Heller worth about $12.00 in AU

1jester

Is it O.O. or perhaps OS? OS would be a contraction of Osterreich, or Austria.

MSD61

See my above post....I am such a bonehead

1jester

I don't agree that you're a bonehead!

What might the initials KGL on the obverse mean?

1jester

I don't know, but perhaps they could stand for POW camp (Kriegs Gefangenen Lager)?

MSD61

KriegsGefangenenLager means Prisoner-of-war camp in German. This would explain what the KGL on the coin represents. I should slow down posting sometimes. But the info comes out so fast...LOL!!! So this would make it a brass 10 Heller from Kriegsgefangenenlager Freistadt in Austria. Freistadt or "Free City" is located North-East of Linz

Askari

Yes, "KGL" is the abbreviation for "Kriegsgefangenenlager" (POW Camp). According to Campbell, this 10 Heller from Freistadt KGL is C.1676 and comes in two types -- brass (a) and brass-plated iron (b). The discoloration on the KGL side suggests to me that it's the latter, but it's hard to be sure without the coin in hand. It's listed as $6 in VF and $9 in AU. The other denominations were 1, 2, 20, and 50 and all are dated 1915 except for the 2 h for some unknown reason. The two letters after Freistadt are "OÖ" for the Austro-Hungarian district of Ober-Österreich.

MSD61

<< <i>Yes, "KGL" is the abbreviation for "Kriegsgefangenenlager" (POW Camp). According to Campbell, this 10 Heller from Freistadt KGL is C.1676 and comes in two types -- brass (a) and brass-plated iron (b). The discoloration on the KGL side suggests to me that it's the latter, but it's hard to be sure without the coin in hand. It's listed as $6 in VF and $9 in AU. The other denominations were 1, 2, 20, and 50 and all are dated 1915 except for the 2 h for some unknown reason. The two letters after Freistadt are "OÖ" for the Austro-Hungarian district of Ober-Österreich. >>

ozzysdad

Thanks, Guy's, I don't think it's Brass plated iron, i tried the magnet test, So it must be brass. Another question
why would they mint a coin for a POW camp? and I didn't think that WW1 had started yet in 1915? guess i need a history refresher. I also want to kill off the corrosion before it get's worse. Considering soaking it in something like dilute lemon juice and then a good soap without phosphates. Seems like i remember something about you can
neutralize an acid with an Alkalie or vice-versa. Remembering that from an incident when my sister ate Draino, Mom, cut a lemon and squeezed it in her mouth to stop the draino from burning here tounge off. Obviousley it worked cuz my sister the "witch" hasn't shut up yet.....LOL

MSD61

WWI begun in 1914 with assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife at Sarajevo, Bosnia 28 Jun 1914. As for the use of the coin by prisoners some private firms employed POWs to work for them. The prisoners were then paid with these coins and used them to purchase goods and services either within the camps or threw local merchants. Now for that corrosion you may want to try a nice acetone bath it may hinder the corrosion but will do nothing for the damage are already done.

Askari

The warring nations didn't want their POWs using their own national money in case they escaped. As MSD61 mentioned, sometimes these POWs were used for volunteer labor (to ease shortages due to all the men in military service) but most camps also had canteens. Giving men something to do helped suppress rebelliousness and other discipline problems. Most POW coinage was issued early in the war; afterwards, it was considered a luxury and replaced with paper currency (or sometimes cardboard notgeld "coins").