This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.
More than any other conflict in world history, World War II was a battle of wits. It started with cryptographers fighting the first international “hacking” war in attempting to break the German Enigma machine code; it ended with the scientific race to develop and deploy the atom bomb.
In between, each nation involved challenged its brightest minds to hatch the most advanced schemes to come out ahead – and the money of this era reflects that struggle in its historic record.
HAWAII Dollar
Overprinted Hawaii currency was one case where the money itself was a strategic weapon of war. The Hawaii dollars were a series of overprinted banknotes specifically for issue in Hawaii. Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, these notes were hurriedly issued to Hawaii. The purpose was to be able to distinguish them between mainland currency and Hawaiian currency. then should the Japanese overtake and capture Hawaii, the US government could simply declare these notes to no longer be legal tender.
How’s that for strategy? Money that suddenly becomes worthless paper if it falls into enemy hands. Most of the notes were recalled by about 1946; however, collectors eagerly horded them and today the surviving specimens command a premium. The original recalled notes were literally burned in a crematorium on Hawaii, since that made more sense than shipping them back to the mainland.
Steel Penny
Perhaps the most famous US currency to feel the pinch from the war, the US penny was issued as a bright, shiny zinc-coated steel coin in 1943. Copper itself was a scarce commodity, since it was needed for ammunition. As a result, the steel cent is the only US-issued circulated coin to contain no copper. Mistakes were made on both ends of the schedule; some copper 1943 cents and steel 1944 cents were both produced.
The US wasn’t the only country to alter its coin composition due to war-time metal shortages. Japan minted a <em>clay</em> version of the one sen coin in 1943. Specimens of this coin are incredibly scarce. They contain no date and are pressed from both red and brown clay.
Occupied and Puppet Government Notes
Both Germany and Japan printed special currency for any territory they occupied or invaded during WWII.
Germany issued the “Reichskreditkassenschein” – a jawbreaker of a name which derives from “Reichsmark,” their standard unit of currency at the time. But the Reichskreditkassenschein (gesundheit!) was specifically for trade only in occupied countries, and not acceptable in Germany itself. Germany also issued separate currency in occupied Soviet block countries wherever it set up a puppet government, dividing the country along ethnic lines; thus, Czechoslovakia was temporarily “Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia” in the west, and “Slovakia” on the east.
Meanwhile Japan issued a Chinese Military note for the areas of China they occupied. Along with this (perhaps in defense of the planned Hawaii overprint notes), they also printed currency for countries they conquered or planned to conquer. This includes Japanese versions of Philippines, Malaysian, and Burmese money. But what’s really alarming is coming across a Japanese ten dollar note – no, these weren’t issued for the United States, but Malaysia, which was also on the dollar standard.
Canadian Victory Nickel
After the war was over, many countries celebrated by – what else? – minting new coins. One of the most interesting specimens is the 1945 Canadian victory nickel, a special commemorative issued to honor the Canadian war effort.
The reverse rim side has a strange, irregular pattern around the rim. Closer examination and the consultation of a communications expert will reveal that this pattern is actually Morse code, and spells out the message “We Win When We Work Willingly,” an impressive alliteration that’s distinctively Canadian in spirit.
The stories coins tell are a historic adventure like no other. I talk more about the investment value of coins, but every now and then I’d like to remind you: This is a fascinating hobby, and the keeper of a broad coin collection isn’t just a numismatist; they’re a historian, keeping the epic story of human civilization alive for generations to come.
