1942 Occupied France 1 Franc Coin

KYshooter

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Joined
Dec 8, 2008
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Cadiz, Kentucky
I received permission this past weekend to hunt the area around an old farmhouse dating back to the late 1800's. The occupants passed away some time ago, so the house has been empty for a while, but the farm is still a working farm.

I decided to take a couple of hours to go and test the waters this morning. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in the outcome. Not a hint of silver in the front or side yards of the house which is all I have had time to hunt so far). I dug ten coins total, including four wheats (#'s 95-98 for me this year ... only two more to go to reach my 2009 goal of 100!!), four copper Lincolns, one zincoln, and this amazing little coin...

11-10-09-1942-vichy-1-franc-front.jpg
11-10-09-1942-vichy-1-franc-back.jpg


It is a 1942 One Franc coin (made of aluminum) issued by the Vichy French government (German Occupation) during World War II. In May-June, 1940, France was defeated by Germany. Marshal Pétain became head of the Vichy government of unoccupied France (other Vichy leaders were Laval and Darlan), which became a German tool.

During the occupation of France, the franc was a satellite currency of the German reichsmark. The coins were changed, with the words "travail, famille, patrie" (work, family, fatherland) replacing the Republican triad "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" (Freedom Equality Brotherhood) and the symbol of the Vichy regime was added.

A pretty weird find for the front yard of a farmhouse in rural Kentucky. I've run a search here in the forum to see if I could find any other Vichy French coins that have been dug, but didn't get any hits. I would be interested if any other forum members have found similar coins.

I've gotta let my back rest a bit, then I will go back and hit some more areas around the house this weekend.

I also found some other relics ... including an honest-to-goodness spur! But I have to get those cleaned up and photographed. Will post pics later.

Here's a picture of all ten of the coins. Thanks for looking!
Geoff

11-10-09-finds.jpg
 
Great finds... always makes one wonder how a coin arrived at a certain place far from it's country of origin. Returning soldier, tourist etc... RickO
 
Very nice coin finds congrats . Looks like a great hunt to me alot better than we do around here . Great Job



Harld
 
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