WWII AUSTRALIAN COIN TRENCH ART

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 33, August 16, 2020, Article 30

Numismatic information is where you find it, and sometimes one has to look far and wide. In the August 15, 2020 MPC Gram for collectors of Military Payment Certificates and other military collectibles Kathy Freeland and editor Fred Schwan discuss the 1997 book Lady GI by Irene Brion, recounting her service with the Navy WAACS in the South Pacific as a Japanese codebreaker. -Editor

Part of the charm of living in New Guinea, even though the terrain and the area were more rugged, was the opportunity to date a variety of men. Some of them were Aussies that presented her with rings, bracelets and other jewelry made from the Australian coins. Irene says “Coins of various denominations were cut into strips and hammered into tiny links for coin bracelets. Sometimes the coin was hammered carefully over a rounded hard object, probably of carved wood, producing a convex contour that didn’t deface the design or lettering on the coin.” Obviously these were special gifts that Irene enjoyed, along with the male companionship readily available.

Fred Schwan discusses the book's references to Japanese Invasion Money and additional details on the coin art, illustrated with examples from his own collection, like this one on an Australian florin. -Editor

"Many of the objects were lovely, especially those made from Australian coins. [Most of these Australian coins were struck in the United States and were by far the most commonly used host coins of the war].

"The silver in those was so pure and soft that it could be cut and hammered easily. For instance, rings were made by cutting a hole from the center of a shilling and tapping it with a mess-kit spoon, a process that was time-consuming but effective. I have a ring that is so carefully formed that the only indication if its origin is hidden on the inside.

"Coins of various denominations were cut into strips and hammered into tiny links for coin bracelets. Sometimes the coin was hammered carefully over a rounded hard object, probably of carved wood, producing a convex contour that didn't deface the design or lettering on the coin.

"I saw several heart-shaped pendants made of melted GI toothbrush handles and mounted with a cutout Liberty head dime. These were suspended from dog-tag chains which could sometimes be purchased in the PX." (Brion page 84-85)