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A Question about Ethics

I see many auctions on Ebay for WWII Nazi Silver coins. Is it appropriate to purchase these given their legacy
RACC
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!

Comments

  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭
    There is nothing unethical about purchasing them. As distasteful as some may find the material, (myself included), they are part of history.

    Russ, NCNE
  • ziggy29ziggy29 Posts: 18,668 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I see many auctions on Ebay for WWII Nazi Silver coins. Is it appropriate to purchase these given their legacy >>

    Some people would find it objectionable. But on the other hand, if we completely bury the unpleasant events in history, we're more likely to eventually forget and repeat the mistakes of the past.
  • DoubleEagle59DoubleEagle59 Posts: 8,376 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think the passage of TIME has a lot to do with too.

    Selling Nazi memorabilia in today's marketplace seems to be acceptable, eventhough we mustn't forget the autrocities they committed.

    To prove my point further, the selling of anything connected to the 9/11 disaster is totally looked upon with disgust (ex. those stupid gold-plated coins with the 'pop-up' Twin Towers). I do wonder in 50 years from now if they will be collectible (not intended to offend anyone).
    "Gold is money, and nothing else" (JP Morgan, 1912)

    "“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)

    "I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
  • WillieBoyd2WillieBoyd2 Posts: 5,258 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I see many auctions on Ebay for Roman coins.

    They were a real bunch of bad guys.

    But I don't feel bad about buying their coins.
    https://www.brianrxm.com
    The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
    Coins in Movies
    Coins on Television

  • Well first this was not a question directed at anyone and it certainly was not a thread directed at telling people what to buy and what not to buy. It was just a question and not to be taken personally. I happen to think that german WWII silver melts just as good as US Silver. I was just wondering if it ever came up with anyone?
    RACC
    I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!
  • BearBear Posts: 18,953 ✭✭✭
    While such sales are not illegal , I find them
    disgusting and filled with negative implications.
    What the symbols represent, is the lowest depth
    of human depravity . I would never purchase such
    trash nor would I deal with a person selling or
    trading such. My family lost too many relatives,
    serving in the armed forces during the War.
    There once was a place called
    Camelotimage
  • ScarsdaleCoinScarsdaleCoin Posts: 5,321 ✭✭✭✭✭
    and add to this list 9/11 recovered coins
    Jon Lerner - Scarsdale Coin - www.CoinHelp.com
  • I find it fascinating that even in our little niche of the world how historical and ethical considerations should to be addressed it for nothing at all but to raise the question.
    RACC
    I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!
  • FrankcoinsFrankcoins Posts: 4,571 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I see many auctions on Ebay for WWII Nazi Silver coins. Is it appropriate to purchase these given their legacy >>



    That's history, which is written by the victors. Had WWII gone the other way, I am sure ebay would ban anything with the American flag.


    I am a lot more concerned about all the junk sold that's made in communist China. First poison pet food, now kid's necklaces coated with date rape drugs!
    Frank Provasek - PCGS Authorized Dealer, Life Member ANA, Member TNA. www.frankcoins.com
  • well said
    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

    Apropos of the coin posse/aka caca: "The longer he spoke of his honor, the tighter I held to my purse."

    image
  • DoogyDoogy Posts: 4,508
    we haven't been making coins all that long in the United States. Over hundreds (acutually a couple thousand) years, coins have been produced showing horrible dictactors, bloody monarchs and coins produced by real scumbags. Many of these coins are actually worth a lot more to collectors, as many collect 'tyrant' coins throughout the ages. Coins of the 'Third Reich' are just one other in a long line of coins made by/for scumbag rulers. It only seems more offensive to us, as it is still fairly fresh in the minds and history books of many here.
  • ArtistArtist Posts: 2,013 ✭✭✭
    I deplore what the Nazi's accomplished and represented as much as anyone - my own family suffered tremndous hardships when they entered Hungary - but I am in the "lets not obliterate history" camp.

    Besides, if the sins of a government were reason enough not collect its coins, than it's a good thing there aren't any Blackwater coins...
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ethics do not even enter into the question. Distaste for what they represent... yes. The coins/medals/memoribilia did not commit atrocities... they are historical, and are important artifacts to support the motto 'We will never forget.' Ethics enter when one entertains thoughts or performs activities representative of that regime. Cheers, RickO
  • Wounded Knee, the Wilderness campaigns, Antietam, Gettysburg, Frozen Choson, Viet Nam, Cambodia, South Africa, Battle of Hastings, and..... how many of us have in our possession coins/memorabilia from the "enemy" side of these moments of History. Key word-H I S T O R Y. Regards and Respectfully, John Curlis
  • Appropriate, why certainly. I collect all sorts of widgits.

    Those coins are a part of my history, though I don't like that part in the least bit.

    I was born in Berlin 5 years after the US liberated Europe.

    Appropriate.......you betcha!




    Herb








    Herb


    Remember it's not how you pick your nose that matters, it's where you put the boogers.
    imageimageimage
  • PreussenPreussen Posts: 2,307 ✭✭✭
    Interesting posts on a controversial topic.

    In no way do I support or condone the actions of the Nazis, but I do collect the coinage of their era. I collect primarily for my interest in history, military history in particular, and like it or not, the Nazi era is part of history..and they minted coins.

    Although the common date, circulated Silver pieces can be found in flea markets and junk boxes everywhere, finding them in nice Uncirculated condition (from every year and mint) is a real collecting challenge. I am currently only one piece short of having a complete (99 piece) BU set of 3rd Reich Silver 2 and 5 Marks. It was a challenge that took me several years of aggressive searching to complete, and I am proud of the accomplishment. Considering the conditions in late-war and post-war Germany, it is amazing that any of the coins survived in mint condition, and there were even Proofs!

    I also have a 3rd Reich type set that includes copper, copper-nickel, nickel. zinc and silver pieces, all are either BU or Proof, and for some types, I have both. Some of the Proofs are extremely scarce, even rare.

    I also collect coins of the militaristic state of Prussia and Napoleonic medals, and from what I've read, they weren't always very nice either image -Preussen

    At the risk of offending some (but without that intention) – a piece of history in PCGS PR65 DCAM:
    image

    edited for spelling image
    "Illegitimis non carborundum" -General Joseph Stilwell. See my auctions
  • My grandfather brought several Reichsmarks back from Germany after his service in WWII- he was the executive officer of a chemical mortar battalion. I have these today. My wife is Jewish and my kids are being raised in the Jewish faith. I have shown them these, as well as an SS dagger he brought back. To see and touch these things is a reminder of the evil that the National Socialists wrought.
    I would agree that collecting this type of material for the "wrong" reasons is extremely distasteful. However, I don't want to be the arbiter of what is or is not "allowed" or "tolerated"- that is the same type of thinking my grandfather(s) fought to save us from in the first place.
    "College men from LSU- went in dumb, come out dumb too..."
    -Randy Newmanimage


  • << <i>What the symbols represent, is the lowest depth of human depravity >>



    Not always.

    Ancient symbol.

    *disclaimer I am not a Nazi*

    Coin are coins. Roman emperors were a very bad lot. George Washington owned slaves, as did Thomas Jefferson. Despots?
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,747 ✭✭✭✭✭
    We could have the same discussion concerning KKK tokens and medals. I remember some past threads concerning this same topic.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • lasvegasteddylasvegasteddy Posts: 10,414 ✭✭✭
    look at mass colonials when witch hunts were the thing of the day...southern gold and confederate paralell in nature...some in the south thought ethical proposition on pres lincoln...being lee and king jr. were born very close in date could we ever see a martin luther king jr./robert e. lee split national holiday as robert e lee had a dream too...ethics are to each there own
    everything in life is but merely on loan to us by our appreciation....lose your appreciation and see


  • morgansforevermorgansforever Posts: 8,466 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I find it objectionable to buy or sell World Trade Center gold and silver Eagle's.

    World coins FSHO Hundreds of successful BST transactions U.S. coins FSHO
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    About 15 years ago I heard of a SS Officers gold ring having been sold in a private transaction which was recovered by a US Trooper during WWII. What I found too be well past the point of unethical was that within the ring box the SS Officers ring finger was also part of this sale. image
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,799 ✭✭✭✭✭
    In my stamp collecting days, I accumulated quite a collection of Nazi Germany stamps featuring Hitler as the subject. While I undoubtedly lost countless Jewish relatives as a result of his Final Solution, I do not feel that collecting artifacts from the period to be the same as supporting the regime.
  • AUandAGAUandAG Posts: 24,907 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Youngsters think it is perfectly acceptable to acquire these Nazi coins. Well, I've destroyed everyone I've ever
    owned and when you buy collections you find lots of them. I don't find it acceptable.
    The Swastika symbal itself is fine. American Indians of the southwest used the symbol for good luck. Hey,
    that's a real neat collectable. It's the WWII era and Hitler associated swastikas that are not worth viewing.
    That's my opinion.
    By the way, they are fun to shoot holes through and make slugs out of!

    bobimage
    Registry: CC lowballs (boblindstrom), bobinvegas1989@yahoo.com
  • airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,361 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I think the passage of TIME has a lot to do with too.

    Selling Nazi memorabilia in today's marketplace seems to be acceptable, eventhough we mustn't forget the autrocities they committed.

    To prove my point further, the selling of anything connected to the 9/11 disaster is totally looked upon with disgust (ex. those stupid gold-plated coins with the 'pop-up' Twin Towers). I do wonder in 50 years from now if they will be collectible (not intended to offend anyone). >>

    I this that's an apples and oranges comparison. Coins from Nazi Germany are historical artifacts; the 9/11 coins are newly-made commemoratives produced for profit. If someone made a Holocaust commemorative, I'd find that utterly disgusting, and that would be hateful. However, I don't have a problem with the sale of items from Nazi Germany.

    I am a firm believer that you must remember the past in order not to relive it. What message would it be sending to my relatives who died at the hands of Hitler that I'm going to put everything from that era out of my mind? All of my family is a testament to the fact that in the end, we triumphed. Now, it's our duty to remind people what happened, and then be able to say "never again."
    JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research


  • << <i>I see many auctions on Ebay for WWII Nazi Silver coins. Is it appropriate to purchase these given their legacy >>



    Great question-one I have also pondered a time or two. I finally decided to not bid-to do so gives them value. I could easily understand the desire to collect them and wouldn't care if someone else does-personally I would like to see them all melted.
    Crazy old man from Missouri
  • WillieBoyd2WillieBoyd2 Posts: 5,258 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have some British coins in my collection.

    I am Irish.
    https://www.brianrxm.com
    The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
    Coins in Movies
    Coins on Television

  • ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 13,101 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I am a firm believer that you must remember the past in order not to relive it. What message would it be sending to my relatives who died at the hands of Hitler that I'm going to put everything from that era out of my mind? All of my family is a testament to the fact that in the end, we triumphed. Now, it's our duty to remind people what happened, and then be able to say "never again." >>



    The President of Iran and the idiots who support him need "reminding" of what happened.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,528 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm more concerned with abortion pills being sold on ebay.
    Memorabilia implies there are memories.

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