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Victory Liberty Loan coin


rrobertscv
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Picked this up somewhere. Stamped one one side "MADE FROM CAPTURED GERMAN CANNON"

 

coin-1.jpg

 

 

I guess I can't see the picture because I'm at work, but if it's the one I'm thinking about it's from WWI I believe.

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  • 1 year later...

I found this one with some of my grandfather's items. Since he wasn't born until 1924, I think it was probably from his parents. This is an explaination for this coin/medal from a web site called Check-Six.com (LINK):

 

...World War I "Victory Liberty Loan" Drive Medal - Made From A Captured German Cannon

 

The Government always needs more money, and the Great War, or "War to End All Wars," was to be no exception. Liberty loans or bonds were sold by the federal government during World War I (1917-1919) to raise money for the war. These were labeled as 'loans,' because they promised interest to the bearer.

As one advertisement from the period wrote: "The money to be raised by the Victory Liberty loan already has been spent. It furnished the "'punch'" that won the war and saved the lives of 100,000 of America's bravest boys. It is this unshed blood you are paying for when you subscribe to the Victory Liberty loan."

 

On March 3, 1919, the "Victory Liberty Loan Act" was signed into law.

 

The medals were made from German cannons captured by American troops at Chateau Thierry. These cannons were melted, and the metal roiled into sheets, from which the medals are made, and conferred by the Treasury Department on volunteers in the Victory Liberty loan campaign volunteers.

 

About a half dollar in size piece, the obverse of the medal, exhibits a eagle grasping three arrows in one claw, and an olive branch in the other, flying below the U.S. Treasury Building, and reads "Victory Liberty Loan". The reverse reads: "Awarded - By the U.S. Treasury Department For Patriotic Service In Behalf of the Liberty Loans - Made From Captured German Cannon"....

 

Front-

 

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Back-

 

post-3661-1230604151.jpg

This one was pitted with rust from years of storage. I used some Bar Keepers Friend and ScotchBrite then ran it in my case tumbler for a while and it shined up pretty well.

Nick

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...

Hi all,

 

Here's an account from the April 14, 1919 issue of "Greater New York - Bulletin of the Merchant's Association of New York" (Volume 8, No. 15, p. 24) describing the creation and distribution of the Victory Liberty Loan Medal:

 

post-2548-1261509746.jpg

 

Apparently, the blank line on the reverse was where recipients had their names engraved. I just bought one of these and I am awaiting its delivery in the mail...will share once it arrives.

 

-Daniel

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Considerably cheaper than buying the whole field gun! :)

 

Yes, they are inexpensive, and vary considerably in quality and type (different ribbons, mounts, etc.), from what I have seen.

 

FYI, per another article, the money raised was used in part to pay the cost to bring the American troops back home and offset the cost of the overall demob effort.

 

-Daniel

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  • 13 years later...
JMcCulloch

Some Liberty Loan Committees put these on ribbons. There are photos of bankers, ladies and even Scouts wearing these semi- official medals. 

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