2016-07-01 Fri

A 1694 silver anti-Semitic medal from Germany is being offered at the Rosenblum auction which will close on 11th July. It was designed to spread religious hatred against Jews by depicting the Jewish corn seller as wicked and a Bible quote on the reverse.

In 1694, Germany was hit by heavy rains, a grasshopper plague and high inflation for which the Jews were blamed. These coins were issued to increase hatred against Jews till 1773.

The obverse portrays a Jewish grain peddler walking with a grain sack holding a devil opening the mouth of the sack to allow the grain to fall out. A German inscription translates to “expensive time”.

The reverse has a German Inscription of a quote from the Bible which translates to “He that withholds corn, the people shall curse him. But blessing shall be upon the head of him that sells it.”

The medal is graded Fine to Very Fine and has an estimate of $400 or more.