The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a Nazi German puppet state carved out of the Czech lands following the March 1939 occupation — its coinage was never a product of monetary independence but of administrative convenience. Berlin permitted a local currency to persist largely to avoid the disruption of integrating Czech commerce directly into the Reichsmark zone overnight. Zinc was mandated for these small denominations as copper and nickel were requisitioned for German war production.
The zinc composition causes significant corrosion in circulated survivors. Uncleaned, problem-free examples are harder to source than mintage figures suggest.
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a Nazi German puppet state carved out of the Czech lands following the March 1939 occupation — its coinage was never a product of monetary independence but of administrative convenience. Berlin permitted a local currency to persist largely to avoid the disruption of integrating Czech commerce directly into the Reichsmark zone overnight. Zinc was mandated for these small denominations as copper and nickel were requisitioned for German war production.
The zinc composition causes significant corrosion in circulated survivors. Uncleaned, problem-free examples are harder to source than mintage figures suggest.