Lusitania Collectibles Commemorate U-Boat's Sinking of the Ocean Liner
The RMS Lusitania was a luxury British ocean liner built by the Cunard Line between 1904 and 1907 with the help of the British Admiralty. Built for speed and equipped with gun mounts for deck cannons, the German government regarded the Lusitania as a non-neutral ship, and a German U-boat sank her on May 7, 1915. The deaths of all 1,298 passengers and crew, including 128 citizens of the United States, contributed to the decision of the United States to enter the war two years later.
What types of pre-war Lusitania collectibles are available?The availability of specific collectibles on eBay can change quickly. However, because the Lusitania was one of the largest and fastest luxury liners of her time, there was a great deal of public interest in her.
The items and souvenirs associated with the Lusitania include postcards, stamps, photographs, lapel pins, tin types, models of the ship, paperweights, and artwork. Many of these collectibles are available on eBay at affordable prices.
What types of collectibles were produced after the Lusitania's sinking?After the Lusitania sunk, she was memorialized with books, lapel pins, and posters, among other items. Many of these items encouraged public support for the war. Some people saved newspapers with coverage of the sinking. Other collectibles include newspapers and magazines with accounts of more recently discovered information about the Lusitania and her sinking. Reproductions of some items, such as newspaper ads for tickets on the Lusitania, also exist and are available for sale.
How many collectible versions exist for the Karl Goetz Lusitania Medallion?There are four collectible versions of the Karl Goetz Lusitania Medallion.
Goetz, a German sculptor and medal maker, blamed the sinking of the Lusitania and the loss of life on the British government and the Cunard Line because they permitted her to sail in spite of warnings from the German embassy in the United States that it was not safe. He created the original design as a satirical comment upon the greed exhibited by the Cunard Line and the disingenuous behavior exhibited by the British government.
Goetz’s design features the gun-laden, sinking Lusitania on one side with the date of the sinking and the phrase “Keine Bannware!” or “No Contraband!” because the British government maintained that the ship carried no ammunition. The other side features Death as a skeleton at a Cunard Line ticket window selling tickets to passengers with the inscription “Geschäft Über Alles” or “Business Above All.” However, when creating the first run of the medallion, Goetz mistakenly inscribed the date of the sinking as May 5, 1915. Goetz corrected the date to May 7, 1915, before producing the second run of the medallion.
The British government, however, convincingly represented copies of the first run to the British public as a medal awarded by Germany in celebration of the attack on the Lusitania and evidence that the attack had been planned in advance. Around 300,000 of these copies were sold for a shilling a piece to raise funds to support blinded British sailors and soldiers
Another version of the medallion, the Pumpkin head version, was created in Pennsylvania by Gustav Sandstrom and Clarence Mahood. This version uses a different font style than the other three versions and replaces the skull of the skeleton with a pumpkin head.
These medallions are available online as collectibles.
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