Login
Hello everyone!
Precious Metal: Investing & Collecting in Today’s Silver Gold & Platinum Markets, published by Whitman Publishing is a great resource if you are interested in investing (however much we hate the word) in any types of coins, bullion or numismatic.
Although insignificant, the military coinage of Germany during World War I is an interesting niche of period numismatics. When Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in June, 1914, by a radical Serbian nationalist, the delicate peace that had survived in Europe for nearly a century since Napoleon was broken. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia came to their ally Serbia’s aid. Germany, led by Fredrick Wilhelm II, in turn backed the Austro-Hungarian army and invaded France by going through Belgium, a neutral country, drawing France and Great Britain into the war. On the western front between German-occupied land and France, things moved very slowly and both sides turned to trench warfare. Under these circumstances the German military issued occupational coinage under the direction of Helmuth von Moltke. This raises the question; what is military occupational coinage?
For the last 230 years, the United States government has been minting cents, even though they have cost more than a cent to produce for the over the last decade. Many people advocate for the United States Mint to stop minting cents, as they create a government deficit, while others defend the cent for its numismatic, cultural, and business value. This question has been battled out by the numismatic elite, like Former Mint Director Philip Diehl, as well as ordinary numismatists. While there are strong arguments on both sides, I advocate for the eventual discontinuation of the cent, perhaps in the next five years.