French WW2 Coinage

[chrisild]

Most of us will know that, in France during the second world war, there were two or even three separate territories so to say: The parts that were occupied by Nazi Germany, the État Français aka Vichy regime (later under German occupation as well) ... and the free or liberated parts in France métropolitaine and central Africa. The Vichy regime replaced, on its coins and elsewhere, the "Liberté - Égalité - Fraternité" motto by "Travail - Famille - Patrie".

My question is: What coins (and especially with what motto) circulated in the German occupied parts? The question came up earlier this week, at a dinner table, and, quelle honte, I did not know the answer either.   (I am not talking about means of payment used "internally" by and among the occupational forces.) Hard to believe that coins suggesting liberty would have circulated in, say, nazi occupied Paris - but they did not use the Vichy pieces there, right?

Christian

[Ukrainii Pyat]

My guess is that Vichy coins circulated in all of France - the intent was that the occupation would not last forever and that old man Petain would fascist the whole country.

[malj1]

As I read it in World War II Remembered the Vichy coins replaced the regular coinage c1941-44

Quote:
THE FRENCH STATE (Vichy Government)
After the collapse of the French armies in 1940 Marshal Petain sought an armistice with Germany, which was signed on 22 June 1940. By the terms of the armistice the French government was left in nominal control of the whole of France and its colonies except Alsace and Lorraine, which were annexed to Germany. The country actually fell into two zones; Paris and the major industrial areas of the north were in German hands. The unoccupied zone was mainly agricultural and included the Mediterranean coast, which gave access to the North African colonies. The whole arrangement was designed to be a stopgap until Great Britain could be conquered.
The seat of the unoccupied French territory was established in the resort city of Vichy. The Vichy government then walked a thin line, attempting to maintain a neutrality and holding Germany to the terms of the armistice, but having few assets with which to accomplish this.
The Vichy government increasingly became a tool of German policy and collaborators became influential in government. After the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, Vichy lost all bargaining power. The Vichy army was disbanded by the Germans and the whole of France was occupied.
In September 1944, after the Allied liberation, the French government was reorganized. It declared Petain's Etat Francais (French state) abolished and announced that legally the republic had never ceased to exist.
During the time that the Vichy government was in existence many fiscal policies were introduced that affected France and the colonies. A new coinage was introduced but Bank of France notes continued to circulate in France. Most colonies introduced new paper money issues, many of which are listed in the Allied section.

and...

When the Allies recaptured Paris and the French mints, they made no changes in the metal or weights of the coins but the provisional government immediately moved to eliminate the Vichy designs. It ordered the that prewar types be resumed. A decree of 2 September 1944 restored the Lindauer and Morlon types. A decree of 2 February 1945 authorized the striking of 5 franc coins in aluminum (3.5 grams) to replace the 5 franc notes. The type and size of the prewar coins were used.



edited couple OCR errors

[Figleaf]

As the above text suggests, the paper money tells a clear story: the Banque de France (in Paris, in the occupied zone) remained solely responsible for issuing banknotes, denominated in francs. Alsace and Lorraine, annexed by nazi-Germany, would have used marks. French colonies continued to use francs, whether Vichy french or free french dominated. The allies re-introduced pre-war coins.

The German army brought in emergency notes, denominated in marks, in the early days of the war. They saw more circulation in France than in other occupied countries, mainly because France had a larger problem of displaced persons. However, they were retired as quickly as possible and clearly thought of as an emergency measure, not an attempt to get France to use marks. There was no need for that anyway. The franc had been linked to the German mark at a fixed rate.

Peter

[chrisild]

Another numismatic mystery - well, it was one for me - solved! Thanks, gentlemen. Will report that next month when I see those people again.

Christian

[FosseWay]

• February 14, 2002: 1 and 2 francs Morlon and francisque

I visited France on numerous occasions between 1980 and 2002, and always had an eye out for coins I didn't already have, and never came across any coin worth less than 5 (nouveaux) centimes - not even the little steel 1 centime, and certainly not the old aluminium franc coins masquerading as 1 and 2 centimes. I guess it was one of those situations like with the double-florin in the UK (which is still legal tender for 20p) where the legislation hadn't caught up with reality and after a while there wasn't much point changing it.

[Figleaf]

I started visiting France from time to time in the early sixties. At the time, the new franc coins were circulating, but there were plentiful supplies of old franc coins, being used as 1 and 2 centimes. The 50 centimes were gone, but I'd spot one in a shop sometimes and always got it for free. Some of the Morlons were close to unc. I found a few aluminium Lavriller 5 franc pieces in those early years. For the steel 1 and 5 centimes coins I'd go to the main post office of Paris, where they were used as change when people bought stamps in silly denominations. The supply of old coins dried up in the '70s and what remained was of poor grade. The 2002 demonetisation was after the introduction of the euro, probably part of a legal cleaning up operation.

Peter