WW II Collection
There were late date love tokens made when most people believed love token production had ceased. They are great for love token type set collectors, offering later style host coins. Historians can also research those with names and serial numbers and a few are marked with places served or battles. These are a multi hobby crossover collectible encompassing Trench Art, Pacific War Art, Military, Sweetheart Jewelry, and of course Love Tokens. Research has only just begun in this field with only a handful of published articles. With the passing of WW II veterans, more is coming on the market now as estates are being sold. The coins pictured below are from a single collector and believed by the Love Token Society to be the largest known collection of its kind.
Singles:
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| “Love New Guinea 1944” Taillight love token: melted yellow and red plastic in holes. Reminiscent of car taillights. |
“Brother Mine” Possibly a service buddy. |
Cut out peace dollar |
1943-1944 places served: Richmond, Cambridge, Boston, New Orleans, and Alexandria. |
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| “Belgium H R C 1945” | “To My Wife Love Bill New Guinea 1944″ |
Australia sixpence in older Victorian style. |
“To My ONE AND ONLY JIM” |
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| Sculpted heart on florin coin. | Possibly an ID tag for a nurse. 1940 Washington quarter. |
“W G Wadlon-Wertengen” on 1938 German 2 mark coin. |
“Jim” on a 1941 Mercury dime. |
Lucite:
Above: A selection of Lucite coin hearts with varied engravings. There is a gold finish on the reverse of the
top middle coin. They were presented to mothers, wives, and sweethearts and one has a message of luck.
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| “To My Dear Mother Dutch New Guinea” | 1943 Australian half Crown. | To My Darling Wife New Guinea 1944. |
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| “Australia” and “Jean and Walter 1944”. | Half crowns used top and bottom (1944). | Detail of center plaques in bracelets. |
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| “New Guinea To Mother From Son 1944” | “To My Darling Sweetheart New Guinea” | “LOVE FROM TED” |
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| Very unusual shape, obverse not engraved. | “To The Best Mother Ever” |
Two bracelets with central Lucite insets. At top is a service emblem. The bottom
one is most unusual as these hearts were normally made into pendants and pins.
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| “South Pacific” engraved on top pin and “To My Darling Wife” engraved on the bottom coin heart. Rare magenta color! |
One shilling coin visible through the Lucite. |
Names:
From top to bottom: “Mamia Lea”, “Sue”, and “Kathleen” engraved on central coins.
The Kathleen bracelet has ornate geometric engraving and unusual cut down coins.
“Beulah” on an Australian florin.
Initials:
The top bracelet appears to be “R L” or “B L” initials. Some liberty was taken with an
additional line to complete the heart shape. The bottom bracelet is engraved “E J”.
Mother:
Above: Engraved “To Mother with Love” with overlay metal on the central coin plaque.
Above: A selection of love of bracelets presented to Mother from their sons: Jim, Bernie, Ernie, and Frank.
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| “To Mother From Ernie” | Unusual bar pin engraved “Mom” |
Brother:
This is also a nice pictorial and cut down example. This one is marked both U.S. Army and 5th Air Force.
The “Brother Mine” inscription on the center link may refer to a war buddy as opposed to a blood relation.
Wife:
“To My Wife Love Bill New Guinea 1944” with decorative choice of coins adjacent to engraving.
Pictorial:
Top bracelet engraved “Bonna” and “New Guinea” with images of palm trees. Note the cut down coins.
Middle bracelet most resembles the older Victorian love tokens. Images from left
to right: “V” for Victory, pyramids, “1944”, “Rose”, “Egypt”, horse, and city scene.
Bottom bracelet engraved “Dorothy” with palm trees and a hut.
Center coin engraved with a star and an eagle with dice (lucky seven) in its talons.
Note the coins cut down (from six pence coins) into a shield shape and used as joiner jump rings.
Shell:
Engraved bracelets set with mother-of-pearl. Both mother-of-pearl
and cat’s eye (operculum shell) were used in South Pacific jewelry.
Hearts:
Hearts made with a stippling texture. May have been made from hammering a nail on the coin’s surface.
Cut Down Coins:
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| “44” on a six pence | “Guinea” on a shilling | “Bonnie” on a half crown | “Alice From Bobe Australia 1943″ |
Coins cut down into card suites: Spade, diamond, clover, and heart.
Engraved with unit number and “New Guinea 44-45 W.D. Nixon”.
Love:
Top: “Lilyan Dietz Love Sam”
Bottom: “PEGGY LOVE WARREN”
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| “ROSE: The links symbolically represent my ties to you HARRY” | “TO CAZY FROM VIRGEE WITH EVERLASTING LOVE” |
Sweetheart:
Top Row: “To Our Favorite Blonde Mack and Guy”
This woman is speculated to have been a “Donut
Dollie”or possibly a nurse. This gift came from a
pair of servicemen and were clearly not beaus.
Bottom Row: “New Guinea 1945”
“To My Sweetheart” “Pacific 1944”
At Left: Vintage postcard of a “Donut Dollie”
American Red Cross club mobile staffed by young
women who served coffee and donuts to servicemen
overseas.
Presentation:
The words “To” and “From” are found on presentation pieces. They were given from one person to another.
“New Guinea To Adeline 1944”
Places:
Top row: “Manila” engraved on joiner links in between the coins and 1945 engraved on the catch.
2nd row: Places include Alaska, Australia, south West Pacific, Philippines, and New Guinea.
3rd row: South West Pacific War Zone, unusual to include war zone in the place.
4th row: Milne Bay
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| “Philippines 1945” | “Mrs Mary Griffin 48 Judson St Binghamt N.Y. North Africa” |
Top row: Richmond, Cambridge, Boston, New Orleans, and Alexandria 1943-1944.
2nd row: New Guinea
3rd row: New Guinea, Netherlands East Indies, and Australia.
4th row: South West Pacific
5th row: Netherland East Indies
Service Branch:
Top row: Air Force emblem, propeller with wings on each side.
2nd row: 5th Air Force S.W.P.A. The first three letters stand for South West Pacific,
but the “A” could stand for Alliance, Air Force, or Area.
3rd row: Emblem for 5th Air Force
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| U.S. Air Force 1944 |
Service Numbers/I.D. Tag:
Top row: ALVERTA M. CRAMER, A.N.C., 2nd LT. N 725298
Bottom row: NEW GUINEA R.A.B. a-409697 19-44
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| “JOHN ALBERT BULLARD 409 78 16 TYPE A U.S.N.R.” New Zealand host coin. |
“TOM LEVI HARPSTER JR. 841-18-21 O T. 2/43 USNR” |
NOTE:
There is crossover between these categories as some of the items can fit into more than one area. There is another category not individually listed and that is unusual catch or closure type. These were handmade and as such, many have handmade catches as opposed to manufactured store bought closures. The designs can get very inventive and decorative. Some catches are also made from coins and can have the coin images on them while others are smoothed down obliterating evidence of a coin. A second look at he above pictures will provide the viewer with more discoveries.
Another category without a section is coins by countries of origin. The various host coins are spread out throughout the other categories. Australian coins are the most encountered. U.S. servicemen stationed in and around Australia received their pay in Australian coins. Other engraved coins include the U.S., Great Britain, New Zealand, Philippines, Belgium, France, Egypt, and possibly others. Non-engraved WW II Jewelry includes these countries and in addition: Iceland, Fiji, Netherlands, India, and probably a number of other countries. Research is still being done in this area.
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