hey gang I picked this up it's about twice as big as a silver dollar... cant translate it... anyone?

Obv: The Fuhrer and Reich(realm) Chancellor Adolf Hitler

Rev: For Faithful Service - Provinical Fire Brigade Westpalia

thank you very much

Nice medal. A stock obverse typically paired with some sort of award reverse. First one like this that I have seen, but I'm sure there are other unreported types out there of this sort.

Odd that such a megalomaniac wouldn't have any real coins issued with his mug on it...you would think the guy would have his face on every coin minted under his awful regime.

I speculate that that the state of the economy and the poor economic history of the 1920s led to a decision to not portray Hitler on the coins. Not a good thing to be associated with. He did appear on stamps and he received a royalty payment for use of his image. History, laws, culture, practice, symbolism are a complex set of reasons for why something may or may not happen. Pattern coins were create in the 1940s about the time Hitler thought he was winning the war and would prevail.

wouldnt the decision to put his face on the coins of nazi germany be all his own?

Sure. What I find a little strange though is that millions of postal stamps had Hitler on them, but not a single coin ...

Christian

same here...its not like he was shy and didnt plaster his face on almost everything else...

he was a weird one... I wonder why he didn't put his face on any coins.... you guys are right he put his face on everything else... I have seen large 40 lb bronze plaques...medals like this... paintings galore...stamps... but no coins....

I asked a guy who specializes in WWII German coins and paraphanalia and this was the answer he gave which did make some sense:

Great question. My "speculative" answer is this....... In his rise to power, Hitler tried to make himself popular with the lower and middle classes but wasn't very popular with the aristocracy. Hindenburg (as president and above politics) was popular with every-one (as a beloved national military figure and hero). Hence the reason Hindenburg featured on the major silver German coins (2 and 5 Reichmark). With the advent of war, the silver coins disappeared (not leaving Hitler a chance to have his mug replace Hindenburg) and all the smaller denomination coins (except the aluminium 50 rpf) were made of nasty zinc.

There was a coin designed and ready for minting with Hitlers Mug on it though... around 1942 ....in the denominations of 20 Reichmark and 100 Reichsmark with the Brandenburg gate on the reverse. Hitler himself decided that the time wasn't right to release it and held off minting (apparently) until Russia's defeat. As we all know, everything for the Third Reich started going sour from about that point on and so there was no Russian defeat. So no coins with Hitlers image on them "officially" released.

I guess the opinion seems to be that he defaulted to a figure that was loved by all until he could proclaim victory over Russia and thus become a great and a universally loved german war hero....but that never happened.

Funny that you mention those two denominations. According to the Jaeger catalog, there had been plans to make 2 RM, 5 RM and 10 RM coins featuring Hitler, but: "Hitler coins in gold and silver, e.g. 20 RM and 100 RM with the Brandenburg Gate, are mere fantasy pieces that again and again find gullible buyers." The catalog does not mention though whether such pieces had been designed.

The Jaeger also says there was a design contest for 2 and 5 mark coins in 1941. Twelve artists participated and submitted 13 designs for a 5 RM coin, and 7 designs for a 2 RM coin, with Hitler's portrait. The winner of the contest was the sculptor Hermann Müller-Erfurt. Production of those pieces was supposed to begin after the final victory ...

Also, in 1940 the Berlin Mint had already designed a 10 RM "victory" commem showing Adolf. And the suggestion of the nazi general governor Hans Frank to issue a commem on the occasion of the third anniversary of the "Generalgouvernment" (which would have shown Hitler) was turned down because the first Hitler coin should not be related to a peripheral territory.

Christian

Have to say that is a well struck medal, thanks for sharing it, It is not one that I have seen previously.

De Orc

Stalin won the war, and only a "peripheral" satellite state put it his face on coins...

Maybe that's what makes the difference. After all, Hitler did not win that war.

Christian