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11th day of the 11 month - 1918 100 years ago

EagleEyeEagleEye Posts: 7,676 ✭✭✭✭✭

Armistice day, now Veterans day. November 11, 1918. The end of the war to end all wars!

Post a coin from 1918 or something related to the "Great War".

On November 9, 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and Germany was in chaos with war weary soldiers refusing to fight and their defensive lines collapsing.

The armistice brought the US into a leading role in the world as President Wilson drove the negotiations on the settlement of the war with Great Britain and France against Germany and the central powers. Within a year the maps were redrawn to make new countries that had not existed before. This would lead eventually to other wars.

In the final moths of the war, an outbreak of what was called "Spanish Flu" (because Spain had a free press at the time and reported it). The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet's population—and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims, including some 675,000 Americans. It started in Canton, China, in the food markets where they killed birds right there in the marketplace. Germs that had transferred to the Chinese from the birds festered in their bodies. They had built up an immunity, though. in 1918, France called on China to supply laborers to build trenches. The French, British and Americans and others were not immune and the flu spread quickly. After the end of the war, They went home and brought the flu with them.

The end of the war also brought to America the "loose morals" of the French, which had been absorbed by the soldiers. By the early 1920's, this created a backlash of conservatism which brought us the prohibition of alcohol, the rise of the KKK and a string of conservative Presidents - Coolidge, Harding, Hoover. Although the economy rocked on, the oppression against minorities was tremendous.

Of course, Germany was not destroyed in the war, as most of the battles on the Western front were in France and Belgium. The economic sanctions put on Germany for starting the war created an impossible situation for any economic advancement. That was the point - keep Germany down. Of course the backlash to this was the eventual rise of Adolf Hitler and the rise of Fascism. We all know where that lead.

Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
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Comments

  • thefinnthefinn Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭✭✭

    thefinn
  • HemisphericalHemispherical Posts: 9,370 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 7, 2018 1:22PM

    100th Anniversary

  • koynekwestkoynekwest Posts: 10,048 ✭✭✭✭✭

  • 1630Boston1630Boston Posts: 13,772 ✭✭✭✭✭

    This is the closest that I have, great thread by the way :smile:

    Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb

    Bad transactions with : nobody to date

  • PocketArtPocketArt Posts: 1,335 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very informative post- thank you for sharing!

    I suppose this is suiting: A counterfeit 1918 Liberty Walking Half...so much more bloodshed in the decades to come, and perhaps the hereafter. War is profit.... ;)

  • JBKJBK Posts: 14,637 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 7, 2018 3:23PM

    I think it was the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month....

    Yes, so much overlooked or forgotten history. The flu that killed more Americans (and more worldwide?) than died in the war. The oppressive surrender terms that led to a crippling hyperinflation in Germany that paved the way for Hitler.

  • AuroraBorealisAuroraBorealis Posts: 3,591 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thank you for the story Rick... Nice coins guys!

  • TwobitcollectorTwobitcollector Posts: 3,079 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Positive BST Transactions with:
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  • BillDugan1959BillDugan1959 Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The Germans didn't finance the War properly (the English did it better) and the German currency lost 80% of its value 1914-1918. The remaining 20% was wiped out in 1919-1920. The German currency insanity of 1921-1923 was just a carnival sideshow that the German Central bank conducted to hide the fact that the theft of value had occurred much earlier.

    The British currency lost 50% from 1914-1925 and the French currency lost at least 80% during the same period. The Pound and the Franc and the reformed Mark steadied from 1925 until the Great Depression became obvious.

    From November 11th 1918, the United States of America picked up the mantle of World Leadership which we still manage to retain to the present, with periods of waxing and waining. That is what is super-important about this 100th anniversary.

  • TwobitcollectorTwobitcollector Posts: 3,079 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Positive BST Transactions with:
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  • jesbrokenjesbroken Posts: 9,151 ✭✭✭✭✭



    When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln

    Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
  • MattTheRileyMattTheRiley Posts: 806 ✭✭✭✭

    New Zealand 2018 Armistice Colored 50 Cent

  • thefinnthefinn Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭✭✭

    thefinn
  • bigmarty58bigmarty58 Posts: 1,998 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Enthusiastic collector of British pre-decimal and Canadian decimal circulation coins.
  • 1Mike11Mike1 Posts: 4,414 ✭✭✭✭✭


    "May the silver waves that bear you heavenward be filled with love’s whisperings"

    "A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
  • EagleEyeEagleEye Posts: 7,676 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The following is taken from this site: "World War 1: A Comprehensive Overview of the Great War"

    The Treaty of Versailles

    The military hostilities of World War One ended at 11am on 11th November 1918 but a final diplomatic end of the war was not reached until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1919, Lloyd George of England, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of France and Woodrow Wilson from the US met to discuss how Germany was to be made to pay for the damage world war one had caused.

    Wilson had devised a 14 point plan that he believed would bring stability to Europe.

    Open Diplomacy – There should be no secret treaties between powers

    Freedom of Navigation – Seas should be free in both peace and war

    Free Trade – The barriers to trade between countries such as custom duties should be removed

    Multilateral Disarmament – All countries should reduce their armed forces to the lowest possible levels

    Colonies – People in European colonies should have a say in their future

    Russia – Russia should be allowed to operate whatever government it wanted and that government should be accepted, supported and welcomed.

    Belgium – Belgium should be evacuated and restored to the situation before the war.

    France – should have Alsace-Lorraine and any lands taken away during the war restored.

    Italy – The Italian border should be readjusted according to nationality

    National Self -Determination – The national groups in Europe should, wherever possible, be given their independence.

    Romania, Montenegro and Serbia – Should be evacuated and Serbia should have an outlet to the sea

    Turkey – The people of Turkey should have a say in their future

    Poland – Poland should become an independent state with an outlet to the sea.

    League of Nations – An assembly of all nations should be formed to protect world peace in the future.

    Germany expected a treaty based on these fourteen points. However, negotiations between the ‘big four’ Lloyd George of England, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of France and Woodrow Wilson of America did not go smoothly. Wilson believed that his fourteen points was the only way to secure everlasting peace. The French however, wanted the defeated nations to be punished severely and believed Wilson’s plan too lenient. Privately Lloyd George sided with Wilson although he was concerned about the threat from Communism, however, the British public, like Clemenceau, wanted Germany punished severely. Lloyd George knew that if he sided with Wilson he would lose the next election.

    After prolonged discussion agreement was eventually reached. The Germans were summoned to Versailles to sign the treaty on 28th June 1919.

    The final treaty bore little resemblance to Wilson’s fourteen points:

    Although Germany was not happy with the Treaty they had little choice but to sign.

    Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
  • HydrantHydrant Posts: 7,773 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 7, 2018 9:20PM

    Eagle Eye....the Treaty of Versailles and Wilson's 14 point plan gave us World War II......... "The best laid plans of mice and men.". Oh,..what a world we live in.

  • EagleEyeEagleEye Posts: 7,676 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I think that Wilson's 14 points had no impact on history since it was just a hope of what would become the treaty. What we would call today as "talking points". It convinced the Germans to agree to the armistice. Yes, the final Treaty was awful.

    Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,721 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 7, 2018 9:14PM

    image

    The US entered this war very late and while our boys saw plenty of nasty stuff, the Europeans and Canadians had it far worse. Poison gas, endless trench warfare, wet, filthy conditions and little hope that it would ever end was really demoralizing. A huge influenza epidemic right on its heels didn't help. The machine gun, airplane, and tank introduced the horrific combination of the industrial revolution and warfare.

    Perhaps someday, the world will truly see this:

    image

  • HydrantHydrant Posts: 7,773 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 8, 2018 8:19AM

    Edit malfunction.

  • cecropiamothcecropiamoth Posts: 959 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Minted in Philadelphia for Ecuador in 1914, the year The Great War started.

    Jeff

  • StoogeStooge Posts: 4,639 ✭✭✭✭✭

    A very interesting thread, I enjoyed reading it.
    Sorry, Pauly has no 1918 coins :'(


    Later, Paul.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Dan---Very nice collection of metals and that plaque is especially impressive. Is it unique?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I always wondered---In what time zone was the 11th hour when WWI ended? Also, WWI was originally called "the Great World War" until WWII started.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • dcarrdcarr Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PerryHall said:
    Dan---Very nice collection of metals and that plaque is especially impressive. Is it unique?

    With all the effort that went into making the stamping dies, I would think that some more would have been made. But I've only seen this one.

  • dcarrdcarr Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Here is HK-900a:

  • OnastoneOnastone Posts: 3,764 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Excellent thread @EagleEye Such history to honor. Birds and the Flu.....sanitation would rear its ugly head. @dcarr words to live by, literally......KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY. Our coins always poised to Freedom, Liberty, God, Peace, Silver n' Gold... I think History should be taught with coins. Take a coin from this jar and tell its story....what was happening when this coin was around.

  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 23,896 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I recall my grandfather, a WWI US Marine, mentioning that the truck drivers that brought them to the front were Chinese. He remembered that their teeth were an odd brownish color from a type of nut they used to chew. His company took heavy losses during the battles of August-November though he was never wounded. The closed he came to being wounded was when a piece of spent shrapnel hit him in the shoulder and bounced off.

    All glory is fleeting.
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Great thread and a tribute to our Veterans.... Every year, I get a paper poppy, and wear it on my keychain for the entire year (sometimes it gets worn and drops off)...Cheers, RickO

  • TheRegulatorTheRegulator Posts: 1,215 ✭✭✭

    Wow. Some serious misinformation in the OP. Doesn't even pass the sniff test.

    Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. Ratification of the 18th Amendment on January 16, 1919. The first doughboys may have gotten back in the final days of 1918, probably most in early 1919? Not sure how that timing works out. Prohibition was the result of decades and generations of effort, and the amendment itself generally seen as part of the women's suffrage movement. As bad as wikipedia is, even they admit that Prohibition was part of the Progressive Movement.

    The KKK formed in the immediate aftermath of the US Civil War and became the intimidation branch of the Democrat party. For any doubters, do an image search for "1924 Klanbake." The links between racism/segregation, the Klan, and the Progressive Movement of the early 20th Century are pretty amazing. President Wilson, who presided over WWI and is considered by some to be the first Progressive President, was a virulent racist and sanctioned the maintenance of a segregated military. Some pretty dark history.

    I never met my great grandfather who fought in WWI, but below is his certificate for entry into the US Army. I believe he was German born, came to the United States as a young boy, then went back to Europe to fight against the Germans. My grandparents knew I collected coins and gave me the ones he brought back from the War. I'll have to dig them out. I know there is a small French silver (10 Franc?), a British copper, and a CN British token.

    (I upladed this image 10 years ago, long before PhotoBucket added the lame watermark)

    The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. -Thomas Jefferson
  • DMWJRDMWJR Posts: 5,974 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Cool history. Thanks Rick

    Doug
  • DMWJRDMWJR Posts: 5,974 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @TheRegulator said:
    Wow. Some serious misinformation in the OP. Doesn't even pass the sniff test.

    A

    The KKK formed in the immediate aftermath of the US Civil War and became the intimidation branch of the Democrat party. For any doubters, do an image search for "1924 Klanbake." The links between racism/segregation, the Klan, and the Progressive Movement of the early 20th Century are pretty amazing. President Wilson, who presided over WWI and is considered by some to be the first Progressive President, was a virulent racist and sanctioned the maintenance of a segregated military. Some pretty dark history.

    I

    I don't get your point here. There was a rise in racism and the Klan around that time period. The OP doesn't mention the 1924 Klanbake farce. Both parties had racist Klan infiltration.

    Doug
  • mannie graymannie gray Posts: 7,259 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I don't have a coin to post but my maternal grandmother was born 11-11-1918.
    She had a very profound influence in my life and I think of her every day.

  • EagleEyeEagleEye Posts: 7,676 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I think Kaiser Wilhelm II was the person most responsible for the war in the first place. After he abdicated (100 years ago today) he went to the Netherlands and fought extradition for war crimes. He was the last German king and lived to see the start of WW II.

    Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 23,896 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @EagleEye said:
    I think Kaiser Wilhelm II was the person most responsible for the war in the first place. After he abdicated (100 years ago today) he went to the Netherlands and fought extradition for war crimes. He was the last German king and lived to see the start of WW II.

    And isn't it ironic that he died in Holland while it was under German occupation.

    All glory is fleeting.
  • BillDugan1959BillDugan1959 Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 9, 2018 8:06PM

    There were many German kings, and I suppose some outlived Kaiser Bill (died 1942, IIRC).

    The German Reich from 1870 was a Union of Kingdoms, Principalities, Dukedoms and Free City States. Many of these entities issued their own coins, all to an identical standard mark.

    Wilhelm was the German Emperor. Kaiser means "Caesar". Wilhelm was also King of Prussia. There were many German Kings in addition to Wilhelm, but only one German Emperor.

  • EagleEyeEagleEye Posts: 7,676 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @BillDugan1959 said:
    There were many German kings, and I suppose some outlived Kaiser Bill (died 1942, IIRC).

    The German Reich from 1870 was a Union of Kingdoms, Principalities, Dukedoms and Free City States. Many of these entities issued their own coins, all to an identical standard mark.

    Wilhelm was the German Emperor. Kaiser means "Caesar". Wilhelm was also King of Prussia. There were many German Kings in addition to Wilhelm, but only one German Emperor.

    Thanks for that clarification.

    Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
  • BillDugan1959BillDugan1959 Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 10, 2018 8:31AM

    You did cause me to look up the fates of some of the other German Kings, like the King of Bavaria, the King of Saxony, the King of Wirtemberg etc. I haven't found one yet who survived Wilhelm (who died 1941) - the year 1921 was especially deadly for these fellows.

    The British publication 'Coin News' had an article about two years ago where they stated there were 23 territorial entities in Germany in 1873 that were headed up by some titled gentleman. Under Salic Law, all were men. Most issued coins under the German Reich.

  • KkathylKkathyl Posts: 3,762 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Poppy has started to become controversial hotbed issue in EU as the minds drift from the knowledge of the devastation war and true evil bring. Words are being deluted and twisted to make difference of opinions equate to same as horrific acts. Socialism creeps slowly till it is like a tsunami that can’t be stopped.

    Best place to buy !
    Bronze Associate member

  • BillDugan1959BillDugan1959 Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 10, 2018 8:58AM

    @Kkathyl By complete chance, I was in Paris France for the 75th Anniversary (1993) of the 1918 Armistice. There were a lot of things you could not say even back then. There was a decent military parade, well worth seeing. If you wish to drag in socialism, I saw President Francois Mitterrand too.

    Two Euros coin, France 2016:

    I saw lots of this kind of stuff on the Champs-Elysee on 11 November 1993:

  • kazkaz Posts: 9,052 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 10, 2018 10:06AM

    When I was a medical student in the early 80s, I did some medical rotations at the VA hospital. One of my patients was a very kind elderly man, dying slowly of prostate cancer, who was a WWI veteran. I noticed a thick scar on his right hand, between the thumb and first finger, and asked him about it. He told me that he was a machine gunner. During their last great offensive, the Germans launched "human wave" attacks against the American line. He had to fire his machine gun almost continuously to keep from being overrun and killed; the searing hot lubricating oil from the gun leaked out onto his trigger hand, but he dared not stop firing. Afterwards, he said, he could have walked across the battlefield on the bodies without having to set foot on the ground.
    RIP.

  • jabbajabba Posts: 3,152 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I can’t help but think about the flue when I hear 1918 my mother showed me old family letters and most from that period talk about sick and deaths sometimes I wonder how we made out of that time at all with everyone that died in the war and after

  • kazkaz Posts: 9,052 ✭✭✭✭✭


  • HoledandCreativeHoledandCreative Posts: 2,729 ✭✭✭✭✭


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