Bidspirit auction | Two Antisemitic Coins from the

Two Antisemitic Coins from the Period of the Great Economic Crisis in Germany - “Whether Jew or Christian – a Usurer Is a Scoundrel” – Two Antisemitic Coins from the Period of the Great Economic Crisis in Germany – Copper and Aluminum. Germany, 1923. Obverse: A stereotypical depiction of a Jew, unclothed and seated on a pile of grain with his hands outstretched, with the inscription: OB JUD / OB CHRIST – EIN SCHUFT, meaning: “Whether Jew or Christian – a scoundrel, ” and below: DER WUCHERER IST, meaning: “the usurer is.” Reverse: IN BÖSEN ZEITEN IST OHN ZWEIFEL EIN MENSCH OFT DES ANDERN TEUFEL 1923, meaning: “In hard times, without a doubt, one person is often another’s devil, ” amd the date 1923. The coins were created by the engraver Friedrich Wilhelm Hörnlein. The words “in hard times” refer to the year 1923, when the coins were issued amid the severe economic crisis that followed World War I, during which Germany suffered from extreme hyperinflation. Inflation in Germany during the 1920s had numerous causes, but, as in many periods of crisis throughout history, antisemites blamed the “wealthy Jews, ” holding them responsible for the economic crisis. The stereotype of the Jew exploiting the vulnerable and taking advantage of times of crisis in order to enrich himself was widespread in Germany in the years following World War I. During this period, antisemitic caricatures appeared on numerous German banknotes and coins, portraying Jews as responsible for the crisis and calling for their exclusion from German society. Same diameter: 38 mm. Minor flaws. Good condition.