3rd Reich coin or token

i came across this,an like to know if this is a coin or token???

I'm thinking its a metal or a token.
It shows the date 1939, but I wonder if that is accurate.
Did the UK use the pound sign prior to the convertion to decimal coinage? (I should know this, but I don't)


James, where do you find all of these odd, off the wall pieces?

Yes, they did use the pound sign.

The pound sign actually changed just a little during decimalization. You see the little curl at the base of the pound? It's removed after decimalization. If you don't believe me, look at British postage stamps. Victorian stamps show the pound sign with the curl, while Machin stamps in the mid-70's don't show the curl.

What I'm thinking is that James likes putting up pictures of "tokens" he doesn't own. It's not like there's a problem with that, it's just that I don't think he owns them. Plus, this medal would do very well in the market because of its history.

To answer his question already answered, it's a medal.

Quote: SmartOneKgYes, they did use the pound sign.

The pound sign actually changed just a little during decimalization. You see the little curl at the base of the pound? It's removed after decimalization. If you don't believe me, look at British postage stamps. Victorian stamps show the pound sign with the curl, while Machin stamps in the mid-70's don't show the curl.

What I'm thinking is that James likes putting up pictures of "tokens" he doesn't own. It's not like there's a problem with that, it's just that I don't think he owns them. Plus, this medal would do very well in the market because of its history.

To answer his question already answered, it's a medal.

some i do own an others i need to know before buying, an dont think im a nazi im  a us air force vet an love the the usa

Aha, no problem.

I'm not a Nazi either. People just have an interest in collecting Nazi stuff. Like Nazi stamps. Hitler definitives are readily available, but some commemoratives are very expensive.

If you collect Nazi stuff, I'd advise to buy this medal, but, because it's not a coin and if you don't collect coins, don't buy it.

Thanks for the info Smartone.

Do you thin this is a Nazi era metal, or something that was make later?

It has a strange feel about it. Almost like it is "trying to hard" to be Nazi. This is the kind of thing that I usually buy and then find out that it was made to sell to collectors.


I figured James didn't have all the coins that he pops up with, but he keeps finding coins and tokens the I haven't seen.

Based on the wording, its not far-fetched that this is an authentic Nazi token or challenge coin.  The Nazi party was really thorough about producing what we call "challenge coins" today, but what in fact were tangible symbols of support that you received based on membership, donations, participation, or just because they wanted to spread a message.  

Back in a time when people still held onto the memory of money (and especially coins) as near-valueless, these hefty, solid tokens with -- to the adherents of Nazi ideology -- entertaining and informative slogans and depictions helped convince everyday types that the Nazi party -- not any flimsy paper constitution -- was the source of German strength.

The message itself is very period-accurate, because it instructs the viewer that Greater Germany (meaning Germans in Germany, Austria, the annexed portions of Czechoslovakia, and soon, Poland) was fighting in a war against the "Shaming Treaty of Versailles".  The back-side is a little more outlandish, but it still comports with the idea put forward by the Nazis early in the 1930's that the Jews were the primary movers and shakers behind the "Dolchstoss", the "stab in the back" that led to the German Empire's WWI defeat, massive reparations to the Allies, and massive debt to various Western concerns that were brought about by financial catastrophe.  This is why the backside, when put in comparison with the obverse legend, states "Greater Germany fights for PEACE, but AGAINST the Shaming Treaty of Versailles...[reverse] FOR which our enemies fight".

Again, this is well after the Nuremburg Laws restricting the corporate rights of Jews, and well after Hitler said this: "If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevization of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe." [emphasis mine]

It was the outlandishness of the reverse that struck me wrong, but what you said makes sence.

I've seen a few things that were Nazi related over the years that have turned out to be post war made, and not even German in most cases.



This, for example, is a token that I have been trying to find information on for some time. I have found out that they were made much later than the war( in the later 70's or 80's)
 Things of this nature always makes me weary of "Nazi" items.

The use of the term "Grossdeucthland" is suspect on an item puporting to be from 1939. To the best of my knowledge it wasn't adopted on coins, stamps or presumably medals until two years later.

I may be wrong but I would reseach this one a little closer before buying it.

I don't think the term is suspect at all.  The concept of Grossdeutschland had existed at that point by approximately 175 years, and was discussed frequently by a Nazi-predecessor party, the Pan-German League, in the 1890's.  

Hitler referred to Grossdeutschland throughout his early works, but most especially after his "Heim ins Reich" initiative, which immediately preceded the Anschluss and the violent dismemberment of Austro-fascism (because they were considered to be traitors to the concept of Grossdeutschland).  

Grossdeutschland was not made an official title for HItler's "empire" until 1943, which may be where the confusion is coming from.  It was definitely used prior to 1941, however, in German propaganda.  As such, I would consider this piece Nazi "propaganda", rather than an official representation of the German State.

That being said, after writing the above spiel, I've found your medal (see the very bottom of the page on the following links):

http://www.historama.com/online-history-shop/israeli_zionist_judaic_exonumia/anti-semitic_medals_jetons_tokens.html

http://legacy.stacks.com/Lot/ItemDetail/62578

http://www.mcsearch.info/record.html?id=258621&tab=4

http://www.od43.com/Anti-Semitic_Plaque_Pi.html

Of course, Google Books has the book referenced in some of these links, Bruno Kirschner's "Deutsche Spottmedaillen auf Juden" from 1968, through which you can get a sneak peak at your medal's info by searching for "1939":

http://books.google.com/books?id=_AEJAQAAIAAJ&q=1939#search_anchor

I still haven't found any authoritative source on the price, but apparently some websites think this thing is worth $600 to $800.  Who knows if those prices (or the medal) are for real, but if they are, this seems like a really neat (albeit tacky) piece of history to own.  

I would suggest getting your hands on the Kirschner book before laying out a ton of money for this -- I believe it is real, if a scholar back in 1968 published a book identifying it as a legitimate medal.  I'm led to believe Kirschner is a reputable source as it is published by Ernst Battenberg Verlag, which is the same outfit that published the Grosser Deutscher Munzkatalog.  Additionally, though, I'm sure this is something there could be tons of fakes of out there, so that's something to watch out for too.

As a side-note, I disagree with the translations many of these people are going with.  The obverse translation is straight-forward, but I think the reverse translation is directly referential of both the obverse legend as well as the items (money, bombs, etc.) depicted on the reverse.  Therefore I stick by my original translation.