NOTE: This article was originally published on 1 March 2009 on one of my earlier blogs. I would like to share it today with a few changes and updates.
I have recently rediscovered a stash of coins that my Grandfather Horst brought to America in the early 1920’s when he and my grandmother emigrated. This assortment was passed on to my dad when my grandparents passed away in the 1950’s. And then on to me when my dad died. I remember playing with and sorting these coins when I was very young. I am sure that these were my early days of developing my OC disorder. I would sit on the floor and sort according to size, composition (I was really sorting by color), numbers, etc. As I grew older I would sort by value, location, etc.
The bulk of the coins were from the Deutsches Reich with some Notgeld and Kleingeld issues from the post WWI era thrown in. There were also a few coins from surrounding European countries, though I never really paid much attention to them.
As time passed and I grew older the coins took a backseat to other passions and interests. After getting married I would occasionally take them out and look at them and reminisce. As my own children grew older I would share my stories of the coins with them. But then the coins would soon be put away and forgotten about for another long period.
Then I started posting and talking about my Notgeld collection. While searching the Notgeld I remembered the coins. I took them out and started poring over them once again. I was amazed at what I found. There were several silver coins mixed in with the assorted copper, bronze, aluminum, and steel coins.The following is a list of the more significant finds:
- Russia 1900 50 Kopeks (Nicholas II) – Interesting note: Russian currency was the first world currency to be decimalized in 1704, with the Kopek value being 1/100th of the Russian Ruble
- Russia 1913 15 Kopeks (Nicholas II)
- Sweden 1906 1 Krona – Currency of Sweeden since 1873. Krona (Singular), Kronor (Plural)
- Deutsches Reich 1908 1/2 Mark – Official currency of Germany upon unification in 1871. Prior to this time the various German States issued varying currencies, often linked to the Vereinsthaler.
- Deutsches Reich 1916 1/2 Mark
- Canada 1911 25 cents – The coin system of Canada is much like that of the US. The notable exceptions are the 50¢ coin and an additional $2 coin. The 50¢ coin is very rarely used now and is only available from the Royal Canadian Mint. The Canadian Dollar coin is often called the “Loonie” referring to the Loon often depicted on it, with the $2 coin being called the “Loonie”.
- Australian 1943 6 Pence – This coin was minted while the Australian system was based upon the Australian Pound (1901-1966). In 1966 Australia moved to decimalization with the Australian Dollar.
- 1950 Mexico 25 Centavos – 1863 saw the first issue of coins denominated in centavos (¢). Three years later the peso was introduced. The 25¢ coin is no longer produced. The current 5¢, 10¢, and 20¢ coins are rarely used owing to their small value, with many opting to use the higher value coins (50¢, $1, $2, $5, and $10).
- 1883 Kingdom of Hawaii 50 Cent* – Issued by King Kalākaua with the profile of King Kamehameha III.
I am not sure how the to latter coins got in the mix. I suppose they were probably found in daily change and pitched in somewhere down the line. None of the coins are in super shape; after all, they were part of everyday commerce until the fateful day that they fell into storage; only seeing the light of day when I came along and decided to sort, stack, compare, and sort again. Now they have been moved from the “stash” to the “Collection” since they have a silver content that makes them worth setting aside.
The following websites were indispensable in researching these coins. Please visit them if you ever have the need.
*I do not have a picture of this coin since I no longer own this coin.
© 2009/2017 Barry T Horst
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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