1936-A German 5RM

OAKSTAR · July 11, 2025 2:39PM

I picked this guy up (raw) at a German Flea Market (Flohmarkt) back in the early 90's. Don't remember what I paid for it. Maybe a few marks. Brought it home and got it slabbed.

The interesting thing is, coins with a swastika (or anything with a swastika on it), are taboo in Germany and are all covered up like this.

Sapyx · July 14, 2025 6:43PM

@OAKSTAR said:
The interesting thing is, coins with a swastika (or anything with a swastika on it), are taboo in Germany and are all covered up like this.

It is against the law in Germany to sell, promote or publicly display anything with a swastika on it (with exceptions for pre-Nazi-usage religious memorabilia, historical re-enactments for film and television production, and its inclusion in anti-Nazi memorabilia). It's the swastika itself the law objects to, so selling Nazi-era coins is still legal, you just shouldn't be able to see the swastika when you're buying them.

Go into a coin dealership in Germany, and all their swastika-bearing coins are all going to be sitting in trays or displays with the eagle-size face-down. And their listings online depicting both sides of the coin will be much the same as you're seeing above, with the swastika taped over.

neildrobertson · July 14, 2025 8:10PM

@Sapyx said:

@OAKSTAR said:
The interesting thing is, coins with a swastika (or anything with a swastika on it), are taboo in Germany and are all covered up like this.

It is against the law in Germany to sell, promote or publicly display anything with a swastika on it (with exceptions for pre-Nazi-usage religious memorabilia, historical re-enactments for film and television production, and its inclusion in anti-Nazi memorabilia). It's the swastika itself the law objects to, so selling Nazi-era coins is still legal, you just shouldn't be able to see the swastika when you're buying them.

Go into a coin dealership in Germany, and all their swastika-bearing coins are all going to be sitting in trays or displays with the eagle-size face-down. And their listings online depicting both sides of the coin will be much the same as you're seeing above, with the swastika taped over.

You certainly can find examples of this, but the norm is that coins dealers do not obscure the swastika. There is a general consensus that coin dealing meets the allowable use of the swastika for historical reasons. I really only see it blocked out on eBay occasionally. Most dealers leave the swastika in.

OAKSTAR · July 15, 2025 5:30AM

@neildrobertson said:

@Sapyx said:

@OAKSTAR said:
The interesting thing is, coins with a swastika (or anything with a swastika on it), are taboo in Germany and are all covered up like this.

It is against the law in Germany to sell, promote or publicly display anything with a swastika on it (with exceptions for pre-Nazi-usage religious memorabilia, historical re-enactments for film and television production, and its inclusion in anti-Nazi memorabilia). It's the swastika itself the law objects to, so selling Nazi-era coins is still legal, you just shouldn't be able to see the swastika when you're buying them.

Go into a coin dealership in Germany, and all their swastika-bearing coins are all going to be sitting in trays or displays with the eagle-size face-down. And their listings online depicting both sides of the coin will be much the same as you're seeing above, with the swastika taped over.

You certainly can find examples of this, but the norm is that coins dealers do not obscure the swastika. There is a general consensus that coin dealing meets the allowable use of the swastika for historical reasons. I really only see it blocked out on eBay occasionally. Most dealers leave the swastika in.

I think @Sapyx is referring to this in Germany only.

neildrobertson · July 15, 2025 8:20AM

@OAKSTAR said:

@neildrobertson said:

@Sapyx said:

@OAKSTAR said:
The interesting thing is, coins with a swastika (or anything with a swastika on it), are taboo in Germany and are all covered up like this.

It is against the law in Germany to sell, promote or publicly display anything with a swastika on it (with exceptions for pre-Nazi-usage religious memorabilia, historical re-enactments for film and television production, and its inclusion in anti-Nazi memorabilia). It's the swastika itself the law objects to, so selling Nazi-era coins is still legal, you just shouldn't be able to see the swastika when you're buying them.

Go into a coin dealership in Germany, and all their swastika-bearing coins are all going to be sitting in trays or displays with the eagle-size face-down. And their listings online depicting both sides of the coin will be much the same as you're seeing above, with the swastika taped over.

You certainly can find examples of this, but the norm is that coins dealers do not obscure the swastika. There is a general consensus that coin dealing meets the allowable use of the swastika for historical reasons. I really only see it blocked out on eBay occasionally. Most dealers leave the swastika in.

I think @Sapyx is referring to this in Germany only.

I am as well. I collect primarily German coins and regularly buy from dealers in Germany

OAKSTAR · July 20, 2025 6:50PM

Another apparent taboo:

I went back to the same Flohmarkt a few weeks later and saw a Russian mosin-nagant leaning up against a table in the back. I asking the guy if I could see it and he brought it out. The hammer and sickle engraved in the bolt was also covered up. I was a little bit surprised by that. The wall had just come down and all kinds of Russian made goods were flowing out and being sold in the west. People were still uneasy about east and west Germany.

I bought the mosin for 8 marks. It was unauthorized to have and there was no way I could get it home. So I broke it down and mailed it home through separate shipments at the APO.

1936-A German 5RM

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