What Coinage Tells Us

I'd like to focus on Germany for this, but I could have done a posting on France or Belgium or Egypt from my collection for this, too. This is just my generality of thought on coin currency-- Germany's paper money from the 1920s is very deceptive in that it looks very good, as if the country is flourishing.

1876. Germany, 5 years old, has proudly minted a 20 pfennig coin-- which, for the Americans, could be thought of like 20 cents-- in silver.

1923. Germany, a little over 50 years old, has minted a 500 mark coin-- which, for the Americans, could be thought of as 500 dollars-- in aluminum.

100 pfennig made 1 mark like 100 pennies makes 1 US dollar.
So why is 20 pfennig made in silver, and the 500 marks made in aluminium?

Germany, finally unified after centuries of tumultuous kingdoms, had in 1876 been doing quite well. After beating back their enemy-- the French-- they seized coal-rich lands and their economy soared. Steel and coal, founders of a modern world, became their economic backbone. And as they had control over this, they flourished-- enough to mint proud coinage in a semi-valuable metal.

So what went wrong, to lead a coin that should be 25 times more valuable to be made out of cheap, easily corroded aluminium?

The War hit, and they lost. Inflation set in as they tried to pay debts and function as a country. One could do this same study based on their stamps for this time. The value of the mark, and especially pfennig, plummeted so greatly that they had nothing to survive on. In fact, 1 loaf of bread in 1923 Germany cost 200 billion marks.

And from this we gather that a country doing extremely well will mint coins of lower denominations in desirable metals, and that countries minting high-value denominations (to our eyes) in non-desirable metals are likely struggling.

Let's fast-forward just 13 years.
1936. Germany. Hitler has consolidated power and has done miracles for the country. The people think he's a God-given gift. He seems to have rescued them all from certain death. And he promises a restoration of power in Germany-- clearly seen, to them it seemed, as the economy flourished once more.

Money is being minted in typical metal: Copper-- even for the low-value 2 pfennig I have shown.

What does copper tell us? Well, copper is a metal that stays as it is longer. It's a semi-valuable metal that many countries-- including my own-- use for 1 or more denominations of coins. It holds its value, and as such it holds more weight in the global economy.

Fast-forward just 5 years.
Germany. 1941. The country is on the decline almost as soon as the Second Great War has started. They devote all good metals to the necessary things and war-effort-- just like America. But unlike America, they're struggling financially. They over-did it. Too much spending. Too much work. They will not last. They had not enough needed materials stock-piled to keep them afloat, and they can only give a good show and hope for the best.

And their money is made out of low-quality zinc, which turns black fairly quickly. Did they still have silver coins? They did. Sadly, much of this later silver likely came from the caps and fake teeth of Concentration Camp victims.

The fact that where once they minted copper and silver regularly, and now they mint in zinc that decays, tells us the country is indeed struggling.

We can apply this to many countries. The Vichy Regime of France during German occupation saw its money being minted in zinc also. And when a country puts food on its coinage, it's possibly trying to make the people think that it can actually feed them-- that there is enough food for all to be full.
Sayings like the one on the coin in the following link, which also shows food, may appear to be trying to teach a moral-- but could they also, secretly, be trying to inspire hope of a good future?
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/177055-1921-germany-in-decline

Coins aren't just coins. They're not just the face value. They can be an analysis of the overall economy of a country. Symbolism has long been worked into coins, and by thinking a little harder one can work out what the country may be trying to say to its people and how well it's actually accomplishing what it's saying.

Germany is an excellent example of this. It goes from regular minting of 20 pfennigs-- which was fairly high in 1876 compared to any other time after-- to zinc, a non-valuable metal that corrodes quickly to an ugly, depressing black. From a shining economy to one stained with inflation and decay.