Watch List notes:

KARL GOETZ MEDALS. France - Germany. The "Gesslerhut" on the Palatinate Silver Medal, 1920. Munich Mint. PCGS MATTE SPECIMEN-63 Gold Shield.
Kienast-265. 36mm. By Karl Goetz. Obverse: Fasces (symbolic of France) surmounted by helmet; French colonial troops harassing the local German populace; Reverse: Large arm (symbolic of French authority) emerging from the ground, ensnaring nude German female who is harassed by French colonial troops. The only example of the type in the PCGS census, this choice specimen presents even, gunmetal gray surfaces with a pleasing brilliance.

Following Germany's defeat in World War I, French and British troops occupied portions of Germany to ensure that reparations would be repaid. In some areas such as the Rhineland, France utilized colonial troops from North Africa for patrolling and occupying-possibly serving as an act of further humiliation-making the local Germans be subject to those who were, in turn, subject to a colonial power. Within Germany, however, sentiments became overtly racialized, with anti-African propaganda found everywhere in the print media, with caricatures and stereotypes endlessly employed. This biased and unfounded campaign even found its way into numismatics, with many medals featuring iconography that reveals these feelings. At the forefront was the belief that African troops, oversexed and primal, were ravaging German women. Though this campaign subsided in the early 1930's, it certainly wasn't the first appearance of this form of racism, and certainly wouldn't be the last.

From the Richard Jewell Collection.

Estimate: $200.00- $300.00