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World War I Coins


augur

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While most South and Central American Countries were quasi or de facto US protectorates, the Guatemalan Dictator Estrada Cabrera had other reasons to side with the US: German investment had taken control of half of the coffee plantations and the war came in handy to regain control. German disruption and invasion plans by Mexican troops to bind US troops were used as the excuse to declare war against Germany on the 22nd April 1917

 

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1912 Guatemala 1 Real (MS64) (no new coins were minted until the 1930s)

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The Kingdom of Siam entered the war on the 22nd of July 1917. This was partially to strengthen the monarchy but at the same time to establish Siam as a sovereign nation. Siam had remained independent from colonialist escapades of the European Nations and was seeking recognition as an equal partner; this proved fruitful and Siam was later one of the founding members of the League of Nations. 

Siam sent an Expeditionary Force of some 1,200 volunteers who fought bravely at the Western Front together with the French. Some 100 siamese fighter pilots were still in training when the war ended but Siamese Troops remained after the Armistice and occupied the Rhineland. 

 

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BE2460 (1917) Thailand 1 Baht (MS62) showing King Rama VI in the uniform of a British General on the obverse and the Three Headed Elephant (representing the Three Kingdoms of Laos) on the reverse. 

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Liberia is an unusual entry with little impact on the First World War. The state was formed on a settlement by the American Colonization Society in order to return free slaves back to the African Continent and was the first independent african state. Despite its attempt to remain neutral, it remained surrounded by colonies of the Entente and eventually declared war on Germany on the 4th of August 1917. 

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1906H 50 Cents minted by the Heaton Mint in Birmingham (UK). Very few coins have survived undamaged of the original 24,000 mintage; those that have present often very attractive toning. The white Liberty depiction was replaced by an African Liberty on later coins (1960 onwards) while maintaining the original design. 

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Brazil was the only larger South American State to declare war in Germany on the 26th of October 1917 and seized several dozen merchant ships. While Brazil was prepared to send troops to fight in the hot Mesopotamia, limited transport capacities meant that the main contribution to the Allied war effort remained food: beef, beans, and sugar. The state of war allowed  the government to harshly oppress the German settlers in Brazil similar to the Japanese settlers during WW II. 

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1913A (Berlin Mint) 1000 Réis (NGC MS63+) largest coin was actually a 2000 Réis piece, also minted in Germany; two versions exist, one with and one without dashes between the stars. 

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Panama is an interesting construct. I might have been the smallest American Country to join the war formally on the 10th November 1917. But it has now the largest fleet of merchant ship and more  ship sail under panamanian or liberian ‘convenience’ flag than any other country

. Raison d’Être for the country is the Panama Canal: it was of extreme strategic importance to be able to swiftly move the US Pacific Fleet and US Atlantic Fleet between both oceans. And when the French Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique (which went spectacularly bankrupt midway after bribing politicians and press to influence the public in favour of the costly project), the US military intended to complete the project. Colombia, who had given permission to the French to create the canal however did not wish to extend the territorial concession to the US and so with help of a military intervention the the country of panama was declared in 1903 and its independence fortified with multiple US military bases alongside. The canal was only opened on the 15th of August 1914 right at the dawn of WW I and would continue to prove important well into the present day.

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1916 Panama 5 Centesimos (MS65) the first (european) man to walk over the isthmus to the Pacific, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, is depicted on the obverse. The reverse shows the coat of arms with the isthmus as a central element. 

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Nicaragua was the second option to build a canal between Pacific and Atlantic and German engineers were actively pursuing this possibility. They had to abandon their plans when the US military began a 21 year long military occupation including full control over the finances and revenue of the country in 1912 and finally with the opening of the Panama Canal. This ”Good Neighbour Policy” entailed military intervention, and/or occupation and later training (e.g. School of Americas in Panama US Bases where Death Squads were trained in warfare and torture techniques) on the side of the US Administration; the private sector was not less active and the main players Standard Fruit Company and United Fruit Company (now Dole and Chiquita) financed guerillas, presidential campaigns and entire governments, which later led to the coining of the term Banana Wars. With such heavy US influence it comes as little surprise that Nicaragua and eventually also the other Central American Countries declared war on the Axis Powers, Nicaragua on the 6th of May 1918.

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1912H Nicaragua 1 Córdoba (Heaton Mint, Birmingham) (now NGC AU53)

The obverse depicts Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, the discoverer of Nicaragua while the reverse is still a strong reference to the coinage of the República Federal de Centro América; Nicaragua was the first country to separate but kept the strongest references in her coat of arms. 

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Costa Rica on the other hand tried to become recognised by the US after a recent coup d’état. But despite severing diplomatic ties with Germany, declaring war on the 24th May 1918, the country would remain ignored by US involvement. Maybe because the population was mainly settlers and no large haciendas existed that would have made it easier for large companies to rake in profit.

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1917 Costa Rica 10 Centavos (PCGS MS66) largest denomination during the war with the coat of arms depicted on the obverse and the value within a reef on the reverse; notably América Central in the legend along with the fineness of 0.500 silver – in the same year Costa Rica started to issue the same coin in base metal while in1914 the same coin was still minted in 0.900 silver.

 

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Haiti had risen as a new nation out of a slave revolt against their French masters. Many bloody battles were subsequently fought against spanish, british, and french attempts to regain control over the colony. This had lead to great distrust against white people and the constitution explicitly stated that no whiteman [sic] should be able to acquire property. However german merchants were not shy to marry into the black society and gained increasing influence in Haiti (as in many other South- and Central American Countries). While the german merchants did not directly took control of affairs, they did support and finance revolts to overthrow the haitian government and so the US saw their interests infringed and after removing the National gold reserves in 1914 it came to a full occupation of the country in 1915. A new president was installed and his new constitution (written by future president Roosevelt) now granted foreign access to property in Haiti, much to the dismay of the population and parliament. On the 15th of July 1918 Haiti declared war on Germany. 

To the present day Haiti, the first independent black nation, suffers from political instability, dictatorships and coup d’états as well as natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. 

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1908 Haiti 50 Centimes (NGC MS65) minted in Waterbury, CT with no new coinage until after the Second World War. On the obverse President General Pierre Nord-Alexis, on the reverse the coat of arms of Haïti.

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The last country to declare war against Germany on the 19th July 1918 was British Honduras (now Belize). Honduras never got to send fighting troops but had tried to sent volunteers. The first offering was plainly rejected but the need for more men soon arose in the war of attrition. Some 500 men were sent between 1915 and 16 but had to face severe racial abuse at the British Military who refused them as ‘n*****s’ a combat role. Many however lost limbs on their transit to the a Mediterranean due to frostbite on unheated ship. Disappointed by years of racial abuse and the terrors of war the returning combatants rioted on their return to Honduras.

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1918 British Honduras 10 Cents was the largest coin minted for Honduras during the last war year. 

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On 19/05/2019 at 14:58, Seasider said:

I had wondered about that so I googled Ferdinand and found this in something called the International Encyclopedia of the First World War

"Ferdinand I, Tsar of Bulgaria's (1861-1948) mother’s side of the family was linked to two French dynasties, the House of Bourbon and the House of Orléans, and his father’s side can be traced back to the Coburgs and the old Hungarian family of the Koháry. His father, August von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Koháry (1818–1881), was a general in the Austrian army. Ferdinand, however, was influenced to a greater extent by his mother, Clémentine of Orléans (1817–1907), the daughter of Louis Philippe I, King of the French (1773–1850). "

I have never been quite clear on the distinction between King of France and King of the French.

I can say for certain that Ferdinand was a sympathiser of Hungary. 

Funnily enough - the gold coin of 1894 was largely minted in Kremnitz ( German name of the town )- today in Slovakia - but Hungarian at the time. 

About both connection with the Orleans and the Bourbon family I didn't know ; but it s definitely a tough situation. In french monarchist circles ; the two houses are enemies and both consider themselves the royal family and hate each other.

We call this the fight between  "legitimists" ( Bourbon) and "orleanists" ( Orleans ) . Needless to say that I'm 100% legitimist 

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On 12/11/2018 at 11:55, augur said:

Allow me to insert an interesting leaflet that I saw the other day. History is obviously written by the victors and the narrative is that the imperialistic and expansionist policy of Germany was the main cause of World War I. Here a completely different picture is painted but, as always, there are two sides of a coin.

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Very interesting leaflet.

However the creation of Belgium was an English labour of love ( or labour of pragmatic hate ?) . Belgium is a synthetic country ; Wallonia could easily be taken by France and Flanders is strong enough to be alone.Unless mistaken they do not want to unite with the Netherlands since Flanders is Catholic and Netherlands Protestant ( unless I'm wrong ).

The case of Brussels- speaking French but mostly in a Dutch speaking zone - epitomises the political incongruity of this country which definitely isn't a nation. No wonders the EU has it as HQ.

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