Frozen dates used to be a trick to issue coins you really couldn't issue any more. A good example is that in the process of Latin American wars of independence, Spanish imperial coins were continued to be struck with the same date for years, because the new dies weren't ready. The 1948 series is another example.
We know from Wilhelmina's autobiography that she had some funny political ideas, especially about her own role. One of the more palatable ideas she had was that after liberation, the old political parties should not return. Instead, a new spectrum of parties should come about (doorbraak - breakthrough) There was some support for this idea, especially among pre-war politicians held hostage by the nazis and indeed, a new political party,
PvdA, came about in 1945. However, the population at large did not support the breakthrough.
When this became evident,
Wilhelmina surprised everybody by abdicating. In particular, the Mint was totally unprepared. They had just gone through a difficult period designing the 1948 coinage, for which Wilhelmina refused to sit. It took them 18 months to prepare the new dies. Therefore, in 1948, 1949 and part of 1950, the 1948 design was used dated 1948.
Lately, frozen dates are used for other reasons. During the first decades of the cold war, frozen dates were standard for the coins of most communist regimes. They considered mintage figures a state secret. This was probably because it might give the cold warriors a handle on real economic growth (they used electricity production instead
)
Another reason for freezing the date is cost, especially among developing countries. Dates, once a control mechanism, don't serve much of a purpose any more.
Peter
