Hay Internment Camp 1941 Robinow/Stahl Shilling Note good Fine
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Hay Internment Camp 1941 Robinow/Stahl Shilling Note good Fine
Rare WWII Internment Camp issue!
A genuine artefact of Australia’s Second World War history, we have the rare privilege of offering a currency note from the WWII Hay Internment Camp!
Domiciled in New South Wales, about 750km west of Sydney, the Hay Internment Camp was set in 1940 up to accommodate alleged ‘enemy aliens’ transported to Australia from England aboard the controversial military transport ship, the Dunera. A vast majority of those on board were anything but enemy aliens. Most were Germans, Austrians and Italians who were unquestionably in opposition to the forces of fascism, and two-thirds of the 2,500+ passengers were Jewish refugees.
Those condemned to imprisonment on the other side of the world did their best to ‘normalise’ their situation, including establishing their own university, holding concerts and producing their own currency. Transactions within the camp economy were commonplace, and, thus, some form of currency was needed. Unbeknownst to the authorities, Sixpence, Shilling and Two Shillings ‘banknotes’ were designed and issued by camp inmates!
An ingenious currency issue, given the unusual circumstances in which they were produced, the notes are distinguished by fantastic designs – designs that incorporate several ‘hidden messages’! For example, the words ‘We are here because we are here because we are here’ are found in the barbed wire border on the obverse! And the name of a camp leader, ‘Eppenstein’, is found in the fleece of the sheep in the ‘Merino Shield’! An Austrian graphic artist who, it is said, designed Austria’s schilling in 1934, Georg Teltscher designed this unlikely, secret series of banknotes – and clearly enjoyed the challenge!
Printed in tiny numbers from March 1941 by the owner of a local newspaper, the Riverine Grazier, the notes represented a blatant contravention of Australian law, and most were destroyed by August the same year. Presumably hidden away by guards or inmates as souvenirs, some of the Hay Internment Camp notes survived. Unsurprisingly, all Hay Internment Camp notes are rare in any condition – including the Hay Internment Camp Robinow-Stahl Shilling Note before you.
A powerful fusion of great rarity and unique, fascinating Second World War history, this genuine Internment Camp note represents a very special opportunity. Click add to cart now!
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