Under occupation (Part 2)

Posted on July 5, 2023

Last week we saw the front of the World War II coin that we dug up in our fields. Now, in line with Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, here is the reverse side.

Dated 1943, this two franc coin actually wasn’t worth much at all. During the war, the franc was a satellite currency of the German Reichsmark, so this was the equivalent of 10 pfennigs, or 25 US cents at the time.

The legend (reads – in English- ‘Work. Family, Fatherland’. Although this dated from the Nazi occupation of France, don’t read too much into the word ‘Fatherland’: it also appears in the first line of the French national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Back of one thing

Category: Autrefois Tagged: Autrefois, Backs of thngs, Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, Coin, Occupation, Rural, World War II

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Under occupation

Posted on June 27, 2023

As you will undoubtedly be aware, France was occupied by Nazi Germany for much of the Second World War.

We discovered this coin, struck from cheap base metal, while digging over some ground to establish a potager (vegetable patch). It dates from that period and displays the symbols of fascism – the fasces (bundles of sticks) and the double-headed axe.

Posted for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, which calls for an image of the front of any one item. Next week Cee will be looking for images of the back of any item. Any guesses?

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Front of any one item

Category: Autrefois Tagged: Autrefois, Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, Coin, France, front, Occupation, Rural, World War II

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Tuesdays of Texture: Coin

Posted on March 7, 2017

On a wet afternoon last week I was roaming the house with my macro lens and got this close-up image, which revealed the interesting texture of the central inset.

We must have picked up this Jordanian half-dinar coin when we visited Petra, almost five years ago.