New Coin Designs For 2014

[Nick]

This may be the article AC is referring to.

[Accumulator]

This may be the article AC is referring to.

That's probably it, Nick! I'm glad you found an article in the DT, not the DM…. Peckris would never forgive me!

[Peckris]

This may be the article AC is referring to.

That's probably it, Nick! I'm glad you found an article in the DT, not the DM…. Peckris would never forgive me!

LOL - the DT is pretty poor, but compared to the DM it's on a par with The Grauniad

[Rob]

This may be the article AC is referring to.

That's probably it, Nick! I'm glad you found an article in the DT, not the DM…. Peckris would never forgive me!

LOL - the DT is pretty poor, but compared to the DM it's on a par with The Grauniad

What do you name?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Rob

[Phil FK]

I quite like the Kitchener coin. Not keen on the rest though.

I also support him being on the coin. No public characters come up squeaky clean but they are part of our history and so we shouldn’t shy away from them. If they stimulate debate then all the better. The Kitchener image is iconic and was everywhere 100 years ago so is relevant.

Whatever your views on WW1 from 100 years distant the view at the time was that we were under a real and serious threat. Kitchener played a big part in mobilising the nation against that and was himself a casualty of the war.

Yes, but we know different now, than all the population that was fed blatant propaganda at the outset of the war. NOW we know that millions died in vain in a futile titanic struggle between Empires, and it honours absolutely no-one, not even Kitchener, that every death in WW1 is now "commemorated" by that now ridiculed and risible poster. As you say, 100 years have passed, and we should be taking a respectful stand as the Queen does every November 11th at the Cenotaph. Suppose instead of a red poppy she and all the people there, wore T Shirts carrying that poster? The nation would be in uproar and rightfully so.

I don't agree with your analysis but don't want to delve more into this.

I assume you will not be joining my campaign to get the Kitchener image on to the new 2 euro coin?

[davidrj]

I was originally critical of the Kitchener coin, for all the reasons we've debated above.

However if this is to be the first of a series, with darker images to follow, then maybe it is OK

It's historically accurate to depict the early euphoria - "a great adventure", "it will be over by Xmas", the "Pals Volunteers" etc, so maybe the jury is still out on this one

[Peckris]

I was originally critical of the Kitchener coin, for all the reasons we've debated above.

However if this is to be the first of a series, with darker images to follow, then maybe it is OK

It's historically accurate to depict the early euphoria - "a great adventure", "it will be over by Xmas", the "Pals Volunteers" etc, so maybe the jury is still out on this one

But as Nick and AC have both pointed out, that poster wasn't actually a recruitment poster of WW1! So it's not even historically accurate to use it.

[ChKy]

I assume you will not be joining my campaign to get the Kitchener image on to the new 2 euro coin?

I do not think that any current member of the European Currency Union would consider to use such a motiv for a commemorative 2 Euro coin. The European Union including the common currency was a consequence of the two great World Wars in the 20th century. Rather to do commerce then killing each other...

And by the way, in that time no European (as well Japan and later the US) country was fighting for freedom and democracy. They fought for money, resources and the aquirement of colonies. In times of imperialism and colonism every power on this planet looked jealously on the achievements of other nations.

[ChKy]

And by the way (again)... by fighting against Germany in two great wars, the United Kingdom lost its economy, its strenght and last but not least its empire... In the mid of the 20th century Great Britain was bankrupt, penniless, insolvent...

That can numismaticaly be seen by the second abolishment of the gold standard in the early thirties as well as the withdrawal from silver coinage in the late fourties... The only remaining winner was... the US, strengthend by the two world wars (the third man lucky)

And that as british citizen must be very painfull, especially because politicians like Kitchener (and a lot of others world wide) forced the world into war...

[Peckris]

And by the way (again)... by fighting against Germany in two great wars, the United Kingdom lost its economy, its strenght and last but not least its empire... In the mid of the 20th century Great Britain was bankrupt, penniless, insolvent...

That can numismaticaly be seen by the second abolishment of the gold standard in the early thirties as well as the withdrawal from silver coinage in the late fourties... The only remaining winner was... the US, strengthend by the two world wars (the third man lucky)

And that as british citizen must be very painfull, especially because politicians like Kitchener (and a lot of others world wide) forced the world into war...

Interesting perspective from someone who isn't British - and you're quite right, of course. If we commemorated WW1 in any other fashion than respectfully - at the Cenotaph every year and the wearing of poppies - we would not only shame ourselves, but we would be regarded by the rest of the world as absolutely 'beyond the pale'.