World War I Coin Pack - George V Shilling

Product Description: This reproduction George V Shilling is moulded directly from an original coin and is made from lead-free pewter. The wallet type packaging has a hole on the front in which the coin is held in a clear blister. The coin pack has an image of British troops getting ready to ‘go over the top’ on the front, the two coins in the collection inside, as well as additional World War I images. It has historical information about the coins and about World War I.

Information: Original George V shillings were made from silver and were struck from 1911 and 1936. The obverse of the coin has a bust of George V and the reverse a crowned lion standing on a crown.

World War I began on the 28th July, 1914, when Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and Austria-Hungary declared was on Serbia. This seemingly small conflict spread rapidly and soon Germany, Russia, Great Britain and France were all drawn into the war.

During August 1914 the secretary of war, Lord Kitchener, asked for 100,000 new recruits. Whole streets and villages of men queued to enlist. Factories changed to manufacture supplies and materials for the war.

As German troops moved west into France, through Belgium, the French and British troops moved to meet them. The massive armies met in a stalemate and by September 1914, neither side could move, so each began to dig trenches.

The nature of trench warfare saw millions of soldiers lose their lives in battles such as those at Ypres, the Somme and Passchendaele. The war became one of attrition; eventually the side with the most resources would win. With the help of the Americans joining the war the Germans were eventually defeated.

At the end of 1918, an armistice was agreed upon. Germany was the last to sign and the fighting finally ended at 11:00am on the 11th November, 1918.