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Fantasy currency of Esperanto: the "Stelo", the currency of the Universal League

Started by NewHikaru089, July 18, 2024, 12:29:29 AM

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NewHikaru089

This thread showcases the issues of the Stelo, the currency of the Esperanto movement and issued by the Universal League. Images used are from Wikipedia and World Coin Gallery. Descriptions come from personal observations.

The Stelo (star; plural: steloj) was from 1945 to 1993 a monetary unit of Esperantists, whose goal was to establish a single world currency. Attempts at an earlier currency tied to the Esperanto movement, the Spesmilo, were cut short due to the outbreak of World War I. For a time the Universal League (Esperanto: Universala Ligo), part of the Esperanto movement, issued coupons and coins denominated in steloj, making attempts to link the Stelo to existing currencies on the basis of relative purchasing power in different countries. A currency by the same name is used in some Esperanto youth groups since 2012. They consist of plastic coins and come in several colors.

NewHikaru089

For the Esperanto movement concerned with international relationships, the need for a currency with a fixed purchasing power was very important. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Esperanto, in 1912, the Swiss firm Holy Frères made coins for the Universal Esperanto Association - the Speso (plural: Spesoj) - in the following denominations: Spesdeko (10 spesoj), Spescento (100 spesoj), Spesmilo (1,000 Spesoj) and Spesdekmilo (10,000 Spesoj). The outbreak of World War I, however, put an end to this initiative.

NewHikaru089

(X1) (Images courtesy of World Coin Gallery)

The 1 Spesmilo coin issued in 1912 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Esperanto.

NewHikaru089

The founding of the Universal League

On April 14, 1942, the 25th anniversary of the death of L.L. Zamenhof, a group of Esperantists had gathered in secret in a private residence in The Hauge to remember him. The Netherlands at the time were under Nazi German occupation and the group had already experienced the complete tyranny of the police state. Esperantists had been among the groups especially persecuted and even exterminated by the Nazis, and they wanted jointly to undertake the task of help save mankind from "worldwide catastrophe".

After discussion, the Esperantists agreed to form the Universal League as an organization whose principal purpose would be to implement Zamemhof's original program: to unite humanity in peace through a common language. Employing the motto of "One World, One Language, One Currency", the Netherlands-based group promoted the use of the Stelo as a universal currency unit.

With the founding of the Universal League, an express wish of the now-deceased Zamenhof and of Esperantists from many different lands from before and during World War II was coming to fruition. The original participants secretly invited other Esperantists to take part in the discussions. A preparatory committee was constituted to develop and fix the ideas further. On April 1, 1945, the committee revealed their basic concept to the world. One of their stated purposes was: "to strive for the creation of a world currency, based on an international currency unit, the Stelo".

On March 16, 1946, its first international assembly was held in The Hague. The 1294 members at the meeting approved a constitution, one of the stated goals of which was issuing the Stelo currency with a stable, internationally agreed value. The members elected a committee to work out further details for the use of the Stelo. The contribution for a lifelong membership was at first set as the "cornerstone" value of One Stelo. Soon, however, it was announced that the value of the Stelo would equal the price of a standard loaf of bread in the Netherlands, which at the time cost 0.25 Dutch guilders.

The 1946 assembly re-emphasized the motto "One World, One Language, One Currency". The Universal League had commercial relations with banks in six countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland), as well as with three Dutch banks. For all of these bank accounts the Universal League maintained parallel systematic accounting in the local currency and in Steloj, and appointed agents in 14 other countries. These representatives submitted their financial operations reports on the basis of the Stelo.

NewHikaru089

At first the Esperantists had to forgo further steps, such as the establishment of their own bank with a worldwide check endorsing and payment system and the issuing of coins and banknotes. At the time various nations had strict rules governing international financial operations that were designed to shield them from outside financial attack.

Even in the early period (1945) the Universal League nevertheless brought out the 1 Stelo Premio-Kupono, which remained valid until 1950. Every new coupon issue brought on the market was intended to be valid for five years. The coupons were used to pay for subscriptions, advertisements, activity participation costs, etc. League members also received the coupons as rewards for introducing new members or as competition prizes. According to a report in La Praktiko the use of Premio-Kupono flourished, and it became habitual for Esperantists to pay with them, for example during Esperanto world conferences.

Later development of the Stelo stagnated. The Universal League founders wanted to show their good will by maintaining a constant value for the Stelo, but their efforts were doomed to failure. The Dutch price of bread gradually increased, but nobody thought to adjust the relationship between the Stelo and the guilder. The ratio remained four Steloj to the guilder, and bank currency conversion tables were used to fix the value of the Stelo in other countries. Moreover, even the Universal League gave up the idea of recording bookkeeping transactions in Stelo monetary units, so nobody gained experience with a coin of constant value. It is no wonder that the Stelo lost its reputation and that its use even by Esperantists became rare.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
The 1 Stelo Premio-Kupono issued by the Universal League.

NewHikaru089

During the 1950s, membership in the Universal League had grown to about 15,000 Esperantists. In 1959, they realized the longstanding dream of minting Esperanto coinage in denominations of 1 Stelo, 5 and 10 Steloj. Rich from worldwide commodity sales receipts, the Universal League had placed a large order with the Royal Dutch Mint in Utrecht to strike the coins. This investment was swiftly recouped, with the result that in 1965, the Universal League was able to issued a fourth denomination, 25 Steloj, which were issued in cupronickel, silver and in limited numbers in gold. All of these coins sold pretty well.

NewHikaru089

(X3) (Images courtesy of World Coin Gallery)

The 1 Stelo coin, minted in bronze, depicted a radiant star within a shield with text in Esperanto "UNU MONDO · UNU LINGVO · UNU MONO" (One World, One Language, One Currency) and the coin's denomination overlaid on a star.

NewHikaru089

(X4) (Images courtesy of World Coin Gallery)

The 5 Steloj coin, minted in aluminium-bronze, displayed a Globe with text in Esperanto "LA MONDO ESTAS UNU LANDO ★ LA HOMARO UNU POPOLO (The world is one country, humanity one people) and the coin's denomination overlaid on a star.

NewHikaru089

(X5) (Images courtesy of World Coin Gallery)

The 10 Steloj coin, minted in cupronickel, depicted a bust of L.L. Zamenhof and text in Esperanto "D-RO L.L. ZAMENHOF KREINTO DE ESPERANTO" (Dr. Zamenhof, creator of Esperanto) and "1859–1917" and the coin's denomination overlaid on a star.

NewHikaru089

(X6) (Images courtesy of World Coin Gallery)

The 25 Steloj coin, this coin minted in silver, used similar designs to the 10 Steloj coin on both the obverse and reverse, one difference is the coin's denomination. Total mintage of this coin was 5,000 pieces.

NewHikaru089

(X7) (Images courtesy of World Coin Gallery)

The 25 Steloj coin was also minted in cupronickel, total mintage was 1,000 pieces.

NewHikaru089

(Images courtesy of Wikipedia)

The 25 Steloj coin was also minted in gold, total mintage was 10 pieces.

Figleaf

On the post-1945 pieces, you can see two marks. The one on the left, a fish, is for Dr. Jan (Willem Arnold) van Hengel, mint master at the Utrecht mint (1945-1969). On the right is a caduceus, mint mark of the Utrecht mint from 1815 to present (with two interruptions).

While the two marks confirm these pieces were struck at the Utrecht mint and held in esteem - there are few other pieces that are not Dutch coins with these marks - they did not circulate in the Netherlands. They were sold in sets above par. The secret of their popularity outside esperantist circles is that Jacques Schulman, in his book Nederlandse munten van 1795 - 1965 (Dutch coins from 1795 to 1965) saw fit to list them in the first and second edition (nrs. 1226-1228). They were omitted as of the third edition.

The series was issued at a time when the second world war had badly affected large segments of the population. There was an important trend to believe in a global solution. That trust translated in the establishment of the United Nations Organisation. Unfortunately, when the "iron curtain descended over Europe", as Churchill put it, it all came to nought and international law continued to be largely ignored.

Add to this that pseudo coins were not yet an issue threatening numismatics as well as a bit of greed and you will understand how the series became a popular retail investor item. With the demise of internationalism and the upsurge of deceptive commercialism pioneered by "Franklin Mint", the series lost its interest.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

eurocoin

Interesting topic. I was never aware of the existence of the Spesmilo piece. Apparently there was also a 2 Spesmiloj denomination. I also had been wondering who made the portrait on the Stelo pieces, which appears to have been copied from the Spesmilo made by the Holy brothers. The 1, 5 and 10 Stelo pieces have a mintage of 10,000 pieces each.

In the newspaper archive, I came across a photo depicting the secretary of the organisation Andreo Cseh (left) at Royal Dutch Mint in 1959 for the handover of the first Stelo pieces.

MMNHA03_179228074_mpeg21_p00005_image-Enhanced (1).jpg