Zinc coins of the Netherlands

[Galapagos]

Same here !! Born in 1941, I grew up in a transitional period of Dutch coins. Wartime-issued zinc coins still circulated widely

So for how long after the war did occupation coinage circulate in the Netherlands? I'm quite shocked to hear this, actually.

[a3v1]

So for how long after the war did occupation coinage circulate in the Netherlands? I'm quite shocked to hear this, actually.

@ TSofS,
2½ cent zinc until Sept.15, 1948.
5 cent and 25 cent zinc until Aug.15, 1950.
1 cent zinc until Sept.15, 1952.
10 cent zinc until Sept.11, 1953.
Regards,
a3v1

[Galapagos]

@ TSofS,
2½ cent zinc until Sept.15, 1948.
5 cent and 25 cent zinc until Aug.15, 1950.
1 cent zinc until Sept.15, 1952.
10 cent zinc until Sept.11, 1953.
Regards,
a3v1

Well, I know the Dutch are tolerant, but - 1953?! Things were still in short supply then, of course, so it just must have been a necessity.

[chrisild]

Well, I know the Dutch are tolerant, but - 1953?!

Were they actually used much though? Just wondering because the zinc 1 pfennig coins 1940-46, with and without swastika, were legal tender in Austria even until the end of February 2002. But I don't think they occurred in circulation a lot. May have been similar with the German occupation coins in the Netherlands.

Christian

[Figleaf]

I am 8 years younger than a3v1. However, I do not remember having seen the zinc coins before I got them for my collection, which must have been in the very early sixties. I did get them from family members, though, not from a dealer and I do remember my parents had a negative attitude towards them, calling them dirty and ugly. Apart from the half stuiver, which was not used any more even during the second world war, they must have circulated until at least 1949 or 1950, because the new coins, dated 1948 were struck with frozen year until coins for Juliana were ready. The dates a3v1 mentions were the dates these coins were officially withdrawn from circulation. By that time, I presume they had already become scarce in circulation.

Peter

[a3v1]

Two anecdotes illustrating that the zinc coins actually still circulated in the early fifties:
- My younger brother was obsessed about unlocked bicycles. Whenever he found a bicycle with its lock open he locked it and took the key home. After some time the police found out and sent the bereaved owners to our home adress. One of them rewarded me with a zinc 25 cent coin on return of his key. Which was a small fortune for a 9-year old!
- Some two years later I wanted to go to the local swimming-pool, so my mother gave me a zinc 10 cent for the entrance fee. They refused it, thinking the coin was no longer valid. My disappointment was soon lifted up when I used the same coin to buy a huge ice-cream in a nearby ice-cream parlour.
Regards,
a3v1

[Figleaf]

Which, of course, brings up prices. I was an expert on ice-cream prices at age five. I would get "water-ice" (frozen lemonade on a stick) for 5 cent, one scoop of "cream ice" for 10 cent and a luxury two scoops in different tastes plus whipped cream or three scoops with different tastes without the whipped cream for 25 cent. To put that in perspective, half a loaf of bread would be 24 cent.

Peter

[a3v1]

Which, of course, brings up prices. I was an expert on ice-cream prices at age five. I would get "water-ice" (frozen lemonade on a stick) for 5 cent, one scoop of "cream ice" for 10 cent and .....

Peter,
I was talking of the time when you were probably three years of age. In this particular case the cream ice came in huge rolls. And was sold in slices "off the roll", covered at both ends with a flat circular wafer. For ten cents one got a double-thick slice.