Coins and Historical Medals

GERMANY, Heligoland, oval cast brass Pilot’s badges (2), Victoria and Wilhelm II, pilot standing, holding plumb line, revs. crowned vr i and w ii, former stamped 504, 73 x 47mm, 68 x 44mm (cf. Ford I, 162 [= Noble 61, 1237]) [2]. First about fine, second very fine, both rare; with loops for suspension £150-200

The two islands which form Heligoland, 45km off the German coast, were at various times owned by Denmark, the Duchy of Schleswig and Hamburg. In 1807 the islands were captured by the British, an annexation ratified under the Treaty of Paris in 1814. The islands were a popular tourist resort in the 19th century but, prior to the construction of the Kiel Canal, were ceded to Germany in 1890 as part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty