Browsing Tag

Adolf Hitler

The Olympics: A Great Excuse for Commemorative Coins

Here are some things that are almost always true of the modern Olympic Games:

  • They’re really expensive and end up costing the host city a fortune.
  • For two weeks, the Olympic Village turns into a scene from Caligula.
  • The host country will always issue commemorative coins.

As the 2020(1) Summer games wind down, I thought I’d show off some of my Olympic coins:

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World War II Puppet State Coins: Manchukuo and Vichy France (UPDATED)

How did they teach you to be just a happy puppet dancing on a string?

How did you learn everything that comes along with slavish funnery?

Tell me something, if the world is so insane

Is it making you sane again to let another man tug at the thread that pulls up your nodding head?

“You Happy Puppet,” 10,000 Maniacs

I recently purchased some coins that had been issued by World War II-era puppet governments. I find these coins to be fascinating in a number of respects. For one thing, it’s always interesting to possess a coin that has outlived the government that issued it. Additionally, these coins illustrate many important themes, and are an indelible part of the overall history of World War II. 

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