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WWII Nazi Coins


FL_Fliers

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I don't know what your coins look like, and I imagine there are people who collect WWII memorabilia, but if I came across something with a swastika on it in a cache, I would be highly offended.

 

There must be a place that wants them, an exhibit of some sort, or museum.

 

I came back from a trip to China recently and had extra yuan coins. I have left those, they are fun to find and cheap (about 12 cents each) and small.

 

Nazi coins though, what does everyone else think?

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I think it would be awesome (totally rad, ya know) to find one of these in a cache.

 

With that said, I would probably be a tad offended if I found something like this without knowing what it was, but you could easily take a few precautions, like putting it in a baggie with a short note about "This is an actual WWII Nazi coin found while metal-detecting while I was stationed in Germany and was placed in this cache with the intent of being a collectible."

 

Something like that anyways...

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Tend to agree with RNLORNA. Some other cachers have tried to place only those items that have the least chance of offending people. Nazi coins would fall into that category. Not to be political, but we can't assume the background (or faith for that matter) of the person who may find our cache. I have several friends who have come across various items that caused them to send notes to the hiders suggesting they consider removing the items. I wouldn't want to get an email from someone I offended with a cache items, so I keep mine pretty middle of the road.

 

Free advice worth every penny.

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I think it would be awesome (totally rad, ya know) to find one of these in a cache.

 

With that said, I would probably be a tad offended if I found something like this without knowing what it was, but you could easily take a few precautions, like putting it in a baggie with a short note about "This is an actual WWII Nazi coin found while metal-detecting while I was stationed in Germany and was placed in this cache with the intent of being a collectible."

 

Something like that anyways...

 

I agree. As a WWII buff who in no way supports Nazism (?), I'd be thrilled to find these if I knew what they were.

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My son has started a coin collection, and would be thrilled to find something with so much history attached to it!

 

Again, the suggestion of placing it in a bag with an explanation with it would probably be a good idea.

 

You will find that no matter what you try to select, you run the risk of offending someone.

 

Just my 2 cents worth.... but if you want to send us one, Nick (age 14) would be thrilled to add it to his collection, with a note to explain to others.

 

Malia

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as a history buff and a teacher, i would be thrilled to find one also, but i echo the sentiments expressed above, in that an explanation would be a good idea. unfortunately, you'd want to seperate your intentions from the type of people who use nazi symbols to currently advertise their hatred and intolerance. if you're considering sending them to people, i'd like one too.

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As a bit of a coin collector, I would be very excited to find one of your coins. I have a few of the old German Aluminum coins that I have been holding on to.

 

The key is to seal the coin with an explanation. No matter what you do, there will always be someone who will be offended. Keep one thing in mind, no one has the right to not be offended by historic items. If you had a Nazi Agenda attached to your coins, via literature etc, I could see a firestorm brewing.

 

I'd seek them, if you lived near me.

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like as has been said some people get offended by nearly anything.

 

finding a coin without explanation would seriously increase the lilely hood so quick laminated explanation and i think any reasonable person will be ok.

 

just be carefull where they end up as i think that in some countries the swastika is an illegal symbol now...

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I don't know what your coins look like, and I imagine there are people who collect WWII memorabilia, but if I came across something with a swastika on it in a cache, I would be highly offended.

 

There must be a place that wants them, an exhibit of some sort, or museum.

 

I came back from a trip to China recently and had extra yuan coins. I have left those, they are fun to find and cheap (about 12 cents each) and small.

 

Nazi coins though, what does everyone else think?

I would take the Nazi coin any day over a Chinese coin. In fact, Im jelous, I WANT ONE! Im married to a German, who gets HIGHLY offended when he is JOKINGLY referred to as a Nazi, but it is a vital part of history, and with a note of explanation, I would consider it a great prize and would beat any bush to find it.

nutlady

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I would also love to find a WWII Nazi coin, being a WWII buff, but I agree that it is extremely important to put the coin in a baggie with an explanation. The biggest sensitivity issue that you will face will be people of the Jewish faith. I am not Jewish, but I know that the swastika image can be extremely offensive.

 

Perhaps someone who is a geocacher and is also Jewish might give you some thoughs of how to perhaps use them but not be offensive.

 

Just my 2cents.

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I'd love to come across one of these coins! I'm a collector of WWII firearms and think it would be kewl to come across such a "treasure." An explaination of the item would be good and the history behind the object would be of value to someone like me. I'd love to have a coin, so I'll look forward to visiting your cache if possible.

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FYI: keep in mind that the Swastika symbol is a Japanese temple symbol "spinning in reverse" and diagonally aligned, instead of perpendicular to the horizontal. (This is a warning for people who get offended easily)

 

Personally, I wouldn't be offended if I see one in a cache, since I consider patriotism/nationalism to be separate from capitalism. :P

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I think you should hold onto them; they're a bit nice for swag. They weren't in production all that long and are more likely than other now-defunct European coins to become valuable some day. I have a few that turned up in a mixed coin purchase, and it's just totally creepy to hold a coin with a swastika on it and wonder what its story is.

 

I leave coins for swag. I'm currently leaving Spanish pesetas of the Francisco Franco era. He was also a bad man but nobody seems to find him all that offensive. I label the coin envelopes "dictator money." :P

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Those coins would a cool find. Two digressions in this thread.

 

First the symol itself is a common symbol in many cultures and some of those cultures don't let something that lasted such a short time get in the way of something that has lasted thousands of years in their culture. India for example. Most common symbols have meaning in many cultures including the one that was 'stolen' by those who gave it another meaning.

 

Second. Last week I was taking a class in land acquisition. The instructor was from a region of Germany that used to be Polish and is currently Polish. He was born at some point before WWII. His mother took him out of Germany while his father remained. His father was an electrician in Berlin and was last head from just before the Russians occupied the part of Berlin he was working in. To hear the story (asked about innocently in class...) that involved war that was over before I existed on this planet was nothing short of astounding. The silence in the class was finally broken by the instructor himself.

 

In any war things happen. You can't and should not gloss it over. Nor should you be offended it happened at all. Your focus should be on learning the lessons and making sure it doesn't happen again. The Germans as a people and country did some amazing things during that era. The coin being left can remind you of what should not happen again. Or it can remind you of a nation that came back from the brink of ruin (in no small part due to the Allies in WWI), made a lot of scientific progress, or because your Father faught against them or was lost to the russians during their occupation. It can be many things to many people and to a few of us, it can be something that has become a symbol of a complex era and the many things that came from it. Including for me a story about an instructors father.

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FYI: keep in mind that the Swastika symbol is a Japanese temple symbol "spinning in reverse" and diagonally aligned, instead of perpendicular to the horizontal. (This is a warning for people who get offended easily)

It was also used by some native american (or first nation or whatever name you like) tribes. The meanings varied from tribe to tribe but included being a symbol of good luck, healing power, even apperently as a symbol for an octupus god.

 

I think a nazi coin would be an interesting piece of history to have. I also think it would be a good idea that if you did leave them in caches you should include a note with the coin so finders know what it is, and why you left it (actually I think that can apply to most coins / tokens).

I don't know anything about nazi coins, maybe it would be good to check out what sort coins you have. As cool as it would be have one, if you happen to have something rare (you never know) it would probably be better off in a Museum then in a sock drawer (or whereever cachers who get the coins would put them :P ).

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I would also love to find a WWII Nazi coin, being a WWII buff, but I agree that it is extremely important to put the coin in a baggie with an explanation. The biggest sensitivity issue that you will face will be people of the Jewish faith. I am not Jewish, but I know that the swastika image can be extremely offensive.

 

Perhaps someone who is a geocacher and is also Jewish might give you some thoughs of how to perhaps use them but not be offensive.

 

Just my 2cents.

 

I think this is a tough call as you will get different answers from different people, even Jewish people, indeed even Holocaust survivors. I will give an answer from the perspective of someone who's father came to America as a teen with his parents (my paternal grandparents) just before Hitler's Blitzkrieg of Poland and who had relatives from that side perish both during the military action itself as well as years later in the camps, but keeping in mind that I was born in America about a quarter-century after it all.

 

I think if it is put in as is with no note it would universally be offensive in that someone seeing it will think it is the mark of some neo-Nazi group leaving a hate message, but maybe (and it's a maybe, I cannot speak for others) if there's a note explaining that it is part of the coin collection of a history buff who does not advocate any of the views it would be understood. Perhaps you could even note that you do not want them to be destroyed; saying that as more survivors from the period die of old age, these coins are evidence of the regime and continue the memory of the victims so that we learn for it to never happen again. This is one reason why these coins do turn up in Holocaust memorial museums.

 

You see this debate outside of the geocaching arena as well; Volkswagen originated in Germany during the time of the Nazis, yet it is the most popular make of car sold in Israel. Most see that the Volkswagen of today is not run by wannabee Nazis and does not represent the Holocaust at all. But yet there are people who lived through the period who will not even touch a VW (or Audi), let alone drive/own one. A similar debate exists in that nation (and to a lesser extent among Jews in general) about the music of Richard Wagner, and you will simply never get a clear consensus on it.

 

I know that seems kind of long and vague, but I hope it helped.

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I think its a great item. The Nazi era was a fact of history. I know the swastika is offensive to many, but do we blot them out on the History Channel, or not show soldiers wearing them in war movies? Of course not.

 

You're not promoting, or approving of Nazis by leaving the coins. You're just leaving a part of history.

 

That said, I agree with the others who say you should bag them individually and include a short note of explanation.

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And that is why, I asked the question. The last thing I want to do is offend someone.

 

These coins are made of zinc. The precious metals were used to supply the war effort. As value goes these are expendable to me. I do have coppers ones that look great and will stay within my own collection. The denominations run from 1, 5, 10 and 50 pfenning pieces, mostly 10.

 

I've thought of selling them in a yard sale but I'm sure that some would end up in what I believe would be "the wrong hands". These were found and collected as historical items without any political thought just as were the Roman and dark age items.

 

I think I will do as some of you suggested. I'll place them in a pouch within a baggie with a note stating what is inside. Take or leave, the choice will be theirs. If I find it becomes a negative on the enjoyment of geocaching (treasure hunting), I guess I'll just put them away.

 

We do plan on building a cache using some of the items I've found while metal detecting in Europe. Items from as far back as 400 BC. Once we gain some more experience, this cache will be placed in NW Florida.

 

Thanks for all your input. :P

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One thing to bear in mind, if you're leaving them in Micros, as you said in your original post, then the person trading for them has to have something that will fit in a micro. Personally most of the swag I carry won't fit in a micro, so I'm guessing that while many people would find them really cool to find, they may just stay in the micro rather than get traded out.

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I've thought of selling them in a yard sale but I'm sure that some would end up in what I believe would be "the wrong hands".

 

Very good thought and consideration. Regarding the note, a thought I wish I had in my earlier post, you may want the note to ask the taker not to put in another cache; you never know if the owner of that other cache will be offended, etc. and just throw them away.

 

Briansnat, good point about the historical movies, etc. And also in that vein I'm sure Mel Brooks realized this when he created The Producers or when he donned the uniform with swastika in "To Be or Not to Be", as well as the actors who played the Germans in the TV show Hogan's Heroes (an interesting aside; two of the actors who played them in that show, John Banner and Werner Klemperer, actually escaped to America during the Nazi era to avoid persecution).

Edited by hairymon
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We do plan on building a cache using some of the items I've found while metal detecting in Europe. Items from as far back as 400 BC. Once we gain some more experience, this cache will be placed in NW Florida.

 

 

Ooh, you're in an area that I could actually (with a 3 1/2 - 4 hour drive) reach. You'll have to give me advance notice when you get ready to place that cache!

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I have several German coins, swastika embossed, and would not THINK of putting them in a cache!!

 

Not because it might offend someone, but because I collect coins of all nationalities and would no sooner

give one of them away as I would give away a twenty dollar bill out of my wallet!

 

But I have lots of little bubble gum machine trinkets to put into caches! Lots and lots of McDonald toys!

 

Sooooooo, don't look for a German coin from me.....or anything of great value. I believe in the excitement

of the search as the primary goal. Any swapping of items is for remembrance and souvenir value only.

 

I am a newbie. I have found one cache.

 

Chuck :laughing:

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Bad or not it's apart of history. I rather find that in a cache than a McToy.

 

I agree; Let others see and share in a part of history.

 

Edited to add: Make up a card explaining what the coin is and it's historical significance. Then hot glue the coin to the card. That way hopefully no one will be offended.

Edited by rynd
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I cant see how it would offend anyone.

 

You might want to read a few of the replies above. I am sure if you consider those points of view you might come to understand how it could offend.

 

I did read it all, and I still cant see how anything that one of our brave soldiers brings home could be offensive. I guess too that I feel that being offended by something is a waste of time, especially when it happened so long ago. What good does being offended by something do besides force your opinion on someone else? To force someone to either feel the way you do about something, or altogether do without. Would it offend to use up to date German coins? Still the same country, still some of the same people. Or is it just the swastika that offends? Does it matter that Hitler stole the design? Does it matter that the Egyptians used the design for decades as a sign of good luck? The Native Americans used it also, you're living on land that was stolen from them, is that offensive? I guess it just depends on how much time you have in life to worry about things that dont affect you. I feel that everything gets a chance, and no matter what the situation, I can ask myself "Will this matter tomorrow?" In this case, it wont.

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When I lived in TN I found a vendor at a antiques show in Knoxville who had a box of old foreign coins. Most were 50-80 years old, and Nazi coins were among them. He said they weren't worth much and were just interesting. I managed to get 3 dozen (mixed countries) for under $8. I left them all in caches and never recieved any complaints, only a few e-mails asking where I had gotten them, as they were perceived as very valuable. If you leave only nazi coins in caches, then someone might think you have an agenda. Just mix in other coins and it will most likely be ok.

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Yesterday at work, we had a discussion about some of our early work experiences.

 

One person was a waitress, I was a dishwasher, and another custodial. Our discussion about some of the more 'interesting' things we had to clean up offended a man one cube over.

 

At that point I had to look up what offended really means. Turns out it's pretty worthless. Anyone can be offended at any time for any reason and that reason doesn't have to have merit in anyone elses eyes. There is no social norm that validates when someone is offended.

 

Since I tend to get offended when people are offeneded by things not ment to offend I decided the entire thing was a mess and I'm not going to worry about it except to counter offence with offence.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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I have been following this thread but haven't said anything till now. Being Jewish, I can understand how someone could be disturbed (a better word to use than offended) at finding WWII nazi coins in a cache. "What are these doing here? Were they left by some skinhead antisemite who thinks that anything with a swastika is good swag to leave in a cache? Would the fact that these are in the cache encourage antisemites to look for this cache?" Yes, I would be disturbed to find a bunch of nazi coins in a cache. But if there was a note explaining what these were and why they were left here, it would go a long way toward making me feel better.

 

In the first cache I ever found, there was a keychain with a man wearing a serape and a big sombrero. I thought this was an offensive stereotype and removed it from the cache. I even wrote about it in my log. Later I realized that this was souvenier that was probably sold to a tourist in Mexico. I realized that there would be many things left in caches that I might question. I decided not to be offended by anything I found in a cache from then on. I can get upset that someone left a broken McToy or a religious track, but I won't be offended.

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I cant see how it would offend anyone.

 

You might want to read a few of the replies above. I am sure if you consider those points of view you might come to understand how it could offend.

 

IWhat good does being offended by something do besides force your opinion on someone else? To force someone to either feel the way you do about something, or altogether do without.

 

If we are not offended by people's actions or in-action we might not like the world we live in. I fully realize it is not the symbol on the coin -it is the group that created the coin. They were excellent at propoganda, and their use of symbols can not be overlooked. The power of their symbology continues today. Ther current german government prohibits the displaying of the nazi flag. We would agree it is simply a piece of red, white and black cloth but it has incredible meaning associated with it. The understanding I was referring to was the people that are still affected by the actions of those who made the coin. I agree the coin is a piece of metal but it is also something we as a society have placed some meaning and value to. And the meaning we have assigned to the symbol is offensive to some. I share a love of history with many of the posters to this thread and I feel it in poor taste to casually brush off past actions as having no impact on current society. I hope you didn't feel my suggestion was forcing you to my opinion, as your read my words you can see it was only a suggestion - allowing you to use your own judgement. In fact that is the theme of many of these posts - use you judgement. Ignorance of others perspective can cause greater misfortune than we might think.

Edited by Frodo13
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I feel that the OP's question on the forums was setting himself up for failure, not because the forums is a valuable tool used by us, but because peoples opinions stray us from the true nature of the thread. I'm not saying that history should be ignored in any way, or that historical significances haven't changed anyones lives. I am saying that much of the strength in certain viewpoints is gained from the oppositions voice. Kinda like bumping a thread. If something happened 100 years ago that affected people negatively, the only reason it still has negative power today, is because people choose to give it that power. Feeding off each other is the only way it works. Yes, there are racist groups everywhere, for every race. It's part of life, especially here in the United States where everyone is free to think how they will. I personally think that we have enough problems here to waste time being offended by, like our schools dumbing up our children to look better on a national average, or not finding a way to free ourselves from the petroleum industry, or ignoring science so that religion wont be disproven. How about this, in 1834 about 3 miles from my house, a Catholic church and cemetery were erected. In 1851, they quit using it and started up a bigger, newer church. The church fell down, and the cemetery was used as a cowfield till approx. 1980. The guy that owned the land decided that since he couldn't sell the land as a cemetery, he'd just knock down all the stones and move them to his cellar. A few years later, he sold the land, as a field. Now there's a modular home sitting right in the middle of the cemetery. Do you know the excuse the lawer gave when asked about desecrating this cemetery? Those bodies are just stains in the ground by now, it doesn't matter. The paperwork was finalized in 1997. That's one out of 18 cemeteries in this county alone that was destroyed for profit. Is it offensive? Probably. Will anything be done about it? Probably not(I've tried). Does being offended by it help the cause? No. The worst thing about it is that this is not only here, but done by our own, out of our own greed. If you want to be offended by something, go ahead. Dont stop there, do something about it. Make a change, change the future, the past is over, let it be just that.

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I would love to run across something like that. Most of the caches I have visited are a bunch of junk. It looks like people picked it up off the floor of their car before they set off. I have left some pretty cool stuff at caches. Coins, compass, ink pens, CD and many others. On one cache I went to someone had left a piece of Plymouth Rock! How cool! I took that puppy.

 

I feel it's kind of like the TV. If you don't like the Nazi Coin, select some different trading item. If you're worried about someone taking offense and throwing it away, put it in a coin holder or platsic bag with a print out on it's history and that it is not Nazi propaganda but left as a true historical treasure. I mean come on in the first century the Roman coins were looked on in the same manner. I wish I had one today!

 

Go for it.

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I leave coins for swag. I'm currently leaving Spanish pesetas of the Francisco Franco era. He was also a bad man but nobody seems to find him all that offensive. I label the coin envelopes "dictator money." :rolleyes:

 

Hey, we found one of your "Dictator Money" envelopes today! (In Purgatory Cacheizm.) Traded a hermit crabs postage stamp for it. :huh:

What a fantastic day for Purgatory Chasm! I did it on a wild, windy day...which was excellent, too. That's one of the spookiest, neatest parks I've seen yet. And I think there's a new one there since I did it. (Hm. Looking for someplace to go tomorrow before the rains come).

 

The only reason I'm leaving nothing but Spanish pesetas is...I'm too lazy to write web descriptions of some of the other coins I've got. I've got about forty pounds of assorted European coins in here -- an amount known to coin collectors as "a buttload." Some of them are extremely neat, and none of them is worth diddly.

 

There's something about coins -- especially old ones, or coins from exotic places. We simply can't accept that they're not worth anything. They feel valuable.

 

Edited to add: wait a second...you found the envelope? Was the coin not in it? I've heard that some people are taking the coin and leaving the envelope, which I think is the strangest thing. If you got cheated of your peseta, that won't do...

Edited by AuntieWeasel
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I leave coins for swag. I'm currently leaving Spanish pesetas of the Francisco Franco era. He was also a bad man but nobody seems to find him all that offensive. I label the coin envelopes "dictator money." :rolleyes:

 

Hey, we found one of your "Dictator Money" envelopes today! (In Purgatory Cacheizm.) Traded a hermit crabs postage stamp for it. :(

What a fantastic day for Purgatory Chasm! I did it on a wild, windy day...which was excellent, too. That's one of the spookiest, neatest parks I've seen yet.

 

It was the first time we'd ever been there. We just loved it. It was an absolutely perfect day for it (as about a zillion other people also thought -- the place was a mob scene). We'd driven by the sign for it a few times and always meant to go there, and finally got around to it yesterday, to do four caches in the park. As we wrote in one of our logs, "if this is what Purgatory is like, then maybe sinning isn't such a bad idea!"

 

And I think there's a new one there since I did it. (Hm. Looking for someplace to go tomorrow before the rains come).

 

It might be too late if you've already headed out this morning, but if you decide to go for that new one, be sure to read our log (and the previous ones) -- the final coords are more than 200 feet off. But it is findable if you use the info from the logs.

 

Edited to add: wait a second...you found the envelope? Was the coin not in it? I've heard that some people are taking the coin and leaving the envelope, which I think is the strangest thing. If you got cheated of your peseta, that won't do...

 

No no, the coin was in it! Sorry for the lack of clarity.

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