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Money of the First World War

By: Paul S. Berry


November 8, 2018
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Currency for extraordinary times

War is a most terrible motivator of societal change; governments rise and fall, borders shift and there is enormous social upheaval. Less dramatic, but always hand-in-hand with societal change, is war’s effect on money. Changes in the materials of currency reflect the economic necessities of war while changes of design convey the new messaging of leaders. Sometimes, special needs entail the creation of entirely new issues of money.

$10 bank note from the Royal Bank of Canada featuring a First World War battleship at sea

HMS Bellerophon was a “dreadnought” class battleship. The biggest of their era, such ships rarely saw battle service and were scrapped soon after the war. $10, Royal Bank of Canada, Canada, 1913 (1963.14.108)

Canadian money changed little during the First World War (WW1). On the eve of battle in 1913, The Royal Bank of Canada issued a patriotic $10 note picturing the Royal Navy battleship HMS Bellerophon. This note promoted Britain’s might in the naval arms race that had gripped Germany and the United Kingdom in the years preceding WWI. In 1917, the Canadian government also issued a patriotic $1 note that pictured Princess Patricia, the daughter of our then Governor General, the Duke of Connaught. She is the namesake of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Regiment, one of the first Canadian contingents to see service overseas.

$1, Dominion of Canada bank note featuring Princess Patricia in a patriotic frame

Princess Patricia was not only the Governor General’s daughter but one of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren. $1, Canada, 1917 (1964.88.836)

Elsewhere, change was more profound. In Europe, gold and silver coins largely disappeared from circulation as they were hoarded or as governments used the metal for the war effort. In their place nations issued low-value paper notes. The British government authorized 10-shilling and 1-pound notes to replace gold half-sovereigns and sovereigns in anticipation of the commercial need of its citizens. Governments in Germany, Austro-Hungary and the occupied countries of Belgium and Luxembourg replaced silver coins with small denomination notes or coins and tokens made from iron or zinc. Some issues, like those from Belgium, promised that they would be redeemed after the war. In parts of France, municipal chambers of commerce issued scrip using deposits in the Banque de France as collateral. The governments of Russia and Romania adopted stamp-like notes as a temporary emergency issue. Faced with diminished supplies of coinage, merchants resorted to issuing private scrip (notes) and tokens.

a red note from a European country that no longer exists

This note was issued by the Austro-Hungarian Bank to replace scarce coins. 1 krone, Austro-Hungary, 1916

rusted iron coin

This iron coin is actually rusty. 10 pfennig, Germany, 1916

25 centimes note issued by Épicerie Béné

A grocery store in Samoëns, France issued its own scrip to make up for a severe shortage of small change. 25 centimes, scrip, France 1917

Similar changes rippled through the member states of Europe’s colonial empires as central authorities curtailed support of local governments. Small cards replaced coins in Morocco and Réunion (a tiny island nation east of Madagascar). Stamps were affixed to cards and issued in New Caledonia, a French protectorate in the Coral Sea east of Australia. In Senegal the government issued notes of 50 centimes to 2 francs in place of coins. The German East African Bank issued “interim” notes of rudimentary design on a wide array of papers and coins made from old brass shell casings.

Combatants were also impacted. Military personnel used tokens in canteens or at training bases behind the lines. British forces in the Ottoman (Turkish) theatre of operations used specially overprinted notes. Captured forces on both sides of the engagement handled prisoner of war money during their incarceration. Even occupying forces in Poland issued money.

ticket worth 10 centimes from French prisoner of war camp

Even a prisoner of war camp had an economy. Prisoners used scrip to buy small luxuries at camp-run canteens. 10 centimes, scrip, prisoner of war camp 13th region, France, 1916

special German currency for occupied Poland

North-central Poland was part of the Russian Empire during the First World War and when Germany occupied it, it issued its own local currency. 1 marka, German occupied Poland, 1916

The First World War redrew the map of Europe and arguably set in motion events that led to the Second World War. Of more immediate interest though is the fascinating variety of money that emerged during the war and its aftermath. These small witnesses to the events of yesteryear speak to the difficulties of the period and the resilience of people and their governments in times of trouble.

We want to hear from you! Do you have an idea for a blog post you’d like to see?
Content type(s): Blog posts
Subject(s): Economy, History, Social studies
Grade level(s): Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP

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November 6, 2014

The Adventure of Exhibit Planning VI

By: Graham Iddon


This is not the time for ‘nay sayers’. Basically, we planned a luxury car knowing that when all was said and done, it was going to be a very nice family sedan (maybe with the big engine?).
Content type(s): Blog posts
September 29, 2014

The Adventure of Exhibit Planning V

By: Graham Iddon


Now the writer takes a deep breath and attempts to take a subject like the ‘representation of 75 years of national identity as depicted on stamps and bank notes’ from 50 pages of research and squash it into 65 words.
Content type(s): Blog posts
August 6, 2014

The Senior Deputy Governor’s Signature

By: Graham Iddon


Steven S. Poloz & Carolyn Wilkins
For much of their history, Canadian bank notes have represented a promise, a guarantee that they could be redeemed for “specie” (gold and silver coins) at their parent institution.
Content type(s): Blog posts
July 28, 2014

Becoming a Collector V

By: Graham Iddon


Visual glossary of design and security details of Canadian Bank Note: 2004, $20 face
Suppose you walk into a bar frequented by currency collectors and in an attempt to join in you refer to a ‘planchette’ as a ‘rosette’ (beer mugs hit the tables and the pianist stops playing). This could be pretty humiliating and you’ll probably never be able to go to that bar again, at least not on numismatic night.
Content type(s): Blog posts
July 21, 2014

Becoming a Collector IV

By: Graham Iddon


Visual glossary of design details of Canadian coins
Now that you have a grasp of preservation techniques for coins, you might want to familiarize yourself with the finer points of their anatomy. It is all part of your numismatic education and besides, you need to be informed and sound informed when you are buying coins at flea markets or coin fairs.
Content type(s): Blog posts
July 7, 2014

Museum Reconstruction - Part 3

By: Graham Iddon


Bank of canada - Night
Though naturally we are aware that the former Museum space is being gutted, the reality of seeing it empty is still pretty strange for most of us here. In the last blog of this series we showed you the empty cafeteria space that will become the new Museum, as well as some images of the old Museum as it was at the time: stuffed with odds and ends of exhibit cases, the occasional display still on the walls.
Content type(s): Blog posts
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