The currency of the Great War

[yperman]

I have just read Benjamin White's 'The Currency of the Great War' 1920 ( recently reprinted in paperback by the Hardpress Classics series). I am not a coin collector ( apart from a few 1914 examples) and I bought it in the hope I could finally get my head around the comparative values of the French Franc and Sterling during the Great War.

 

What I found was a fascinating story of how the various combatants' currencies fared during the war. In Germany, in the Entente, in occupied territories and even in Imperial possessions and Africa "Emergency" or locally invented bank notes and coins were created  by both administrations, small towns as in Flanders or even shopkeepers and  noblemen as in Germany. A new facet of the Great War was opened up for me and underlined he power of the City of London. It also showed how local control of a currency by Germany allowed it to exploit the occupied areas.

 

The book has flaws. It is a collection of articles written by a British banker during the war for the Banker Magazine and it was intended as a fund raiser for a blind soldiers and sailors home. As a result its language and views are very much of its time (1914-20). It is quite short  - only 102 pages long and, worst of all, the numerous illustrations are in black and white. Nonetheless I strongly recommend it as it highlights what at the time must have been a vitally important issue to the civilians of both sides.