Various people have seen the TRC’s latest exhibition, Textile Tales from the Second World War, and one of the comments we hear from elderly visitors is that they had as a child or at home a necklace, bracelet, ring or even cufflinks made with Dutch silver coins, especially the 10 cents (dubbeltje), 25 cents (kwartje), guilder (gulden) and the rijksdaalder (2.5 guilders).
What surprises people is there there are two related stories about these items. The first story concerns the coins that are dated from 1941 or earlier. The second is based on the coins from 1941 to 1944.
Bracelet made from Dutch silver 10 cent coins minted in Utrecht, 1941, and during the war made into a patriotic bracelet (TRC 2020.2714).
In 1941 the Nazi-German authorities in occupied Holland wanted all the precious metals still housed in the Dutch mint in the city of Utrecht to be sent to Germany. These included the metal used for a range of coins. To forestall the transport, the mint struck numerous silver coins and got them onto the streets, in shops and in people’s pockets as quickly as possible.
The German authorities subsequently ordered all silver coins to be handed in, but many were hidden. In addition, people started to make and wear brooches, lapel pins, rings, pendants, etc., made from silver coins. Many of these coins had the backgrounds cut out leaving only the head of Queen Wilhelmina. These were basically worn to show their wearer’s patriotism.
The Germans replaced the silver and copper coins associated with pre-war Holland with a series of zinc coins with 'Germanically' approved designs and no head or mention of the by now exiled Queen.
Bracelet made from nine Dutch silver 10 cent coins and one Dutch silver 25 cent coin, struck in the USA between 1941 and 1944. The letter P underneath the date identifies the mint (Philadelphia) (TRC 2020.0566).The second group of silver coins dates from 1941 to 1944 and underneath the date there is a small letter D, P or S. This group of coins has the head of Queen Wilhelmina on the obverse. Yet these were of course not produced in The Netherlands. So where did these coins come from?
We approached the Dutch mint in Utrecht and they kindly gave an explanation. They were made in the USA upon the request of the Dutch government in exile, for distribution in The Netherlands after the liberation. The small letters under the dates give further details, D stands for the Denver mint, P for the mint in Philadelphia and S for that in San Francesco.
Pair of cufflinks made from a 25 cents and a 10 cents silver coin, struck in 1941 (?) (2020.3694).
When the Americans helped liberate The Netherlands in 1944 they brought the coins with them! Many of the coins were subsequently made into patriotic jewellery, while others were made into items for allied soldiers who could give them to their friends and family at home. This second type became known as ‘sweetheart’ jewellery.
It is interesting to note that in The Netherlands this type of jewellery is immediately associated with patriotism, comparable to the first group of silver coin jewellery, while outside of the country the bracelets and other objects are regarded as sweetheart souvenirs!
Gillian Vogelsang, 20 September 2020.
