CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY
C/O COL GKS REDDY
Secunderabad - 500 015.
Coins of the Geran States
The coins of the seemingly innumerable German States prior to the formation of the modern state of Germany in 1872 comprise some of the most interesting and complex series to collect that could be found anywhere. From tiny, rare coppers of the kipper period to huge and expensive silver lösers (multiple thalers), and gold ducats, German coins have something to pique the interest of nearly any type of collector. Over 300 duchies, bishoprics, states, territories, cities, abbots, and other issuers minted coins, some for just a few years, others almost unbroken for 1000 years. My collection of German States coins is very meagre, but I do have a collection all the same.
Aachen State – 12 Heller – Silver – 1759
Baden State – One Kreuzer – Copper – 1851
Bavaria State – One Kreuzer – Silver – 1850
Bavaria State – Six Kreuzer – Silver – 1806
Bavaria State – One Pfennig – Copper – 1866
Hannovar State – One Groschen – Silver - 1862
Prussian State – Two Pfenninge – Bronze – 1854
Prussian State - Three Pfenninge
– Copper – 1860
Prussian State – Three Pfenninge – Bronze – 1867
Prussian State – One Silber Groschen – 1821
German Empire Coins
Prussia and her allies won a decisive victory over France in 1871. One of the results of this war was that it unified Germany under Prussian rule, and thus unified German coinage. Well, mostly unified the coinage. In 1871, the German Empire adopted the decimal system, where 1 mark = 100 pfennig. Denominations of the small coins (in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, and 50 pfennig, and 1/2 mark and 1 mark) were standard throughout the empire and coinage started in 1873. All the coins are of basically the same design: an imperial eagle front and the denomination on the reverse (the earlier coins had a small eagle and the later coins had a large eagle). Each issue has some scarce-to-rare dates or mints that you may never see on eBay, but you can put together a fairly nice type set quite easily (with only the large eagle 50 pfennig being tough for a budget collector).
At its peak, Germany had 9 different mints operating, so nearly every series has some very scarce issues; "H" coins from Darmstadt tend to be the rarest, and "A" coins from Berlin are usually the most plentiful. The silver 50 pfennigs (which were succeeded by the more common 1/2 mark of the same size and weight) and the nickel 20 pfennigs are both under-appreciated series. The base metals coins 1-10 pfennig are often sold in large lots.
One Pfennig – Bronze – 1875
Two Pfennig – Bronze - 1874
Five Pfennig – Nickel – 1889
Five Pfennig – Nickel – 1909
Ten Pfennig – Silver – 1875
Half Mark – Nickel – 1914
Weimer Republic Coins
The so-called Weimar Republic from 1919 to 1933 was operating under some severe constraints - partial occupation, heavy reparations payments, loss of territory, more, and made some thoughtless and clumsy mistakes, like the engineered inflation of the early 1920s. Its weakness allowed the Nazis to grow, egged on by various money people in Germany and abroad. Nazi governing theory was one of most thoroughly articulated schemes of total control ever divised. Its major flaws were probably the megalomania of the supreme leader and the evident fact that he and the rest of the top dogs believed their own lies.
Germany's inflation is clearly demonstrated in the coins of the Weimar Republic. The aluminum 50 Pfennig was introduced in 1919 to replace the silver 1/2 Mark that had disappeared from circulation due to hoarding. The 23mm coin was produced until 1922, though by the end 1922 it had lost almost all of its purchasing power. The design featured the denomination on the obverse and a bundle of grain on the reverse. In 1923 an aluminum 200 Mark coin was introduced. It also was 23mm, the same diameter as the 50 Pfennig, however it was thinner. It had the denomination on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse.
Weimer Republic – Fifty Pfennig – Aluminium – 1922
Weimer Republic – Fifty Reichpfennig – Silver – 1928
Third Reich Coins
"Gemeinnutz geht vor Eigennutz" translates roughly to "The community comes before the individual". Minted on the edge of all 3rd Reich silver Reichsmark coins, this perhaps typifies Nazi society. And with it comes an understanding of how any concept of individual human "rights"
was at odds with the good of the collective. The German 3rd Reich is
commonly understood to have begun with the Nazi rise to power in 1933 up to its 1945 war defeat
marking the end of WW2.
The 3rd Reich had a number of mints (coin factories). Each mint location had its own identifiable letter. It is therefore possible to identify exactly which mint produced what coin by noting the mint mark (letter) on the coin. Not all mints were authorised to produce coins every year. The mints were also only authorised to produced a set number of coins with some mints allocated a greater production than others. Some of the coins with particular mint marks are therefore scarcer than others. With the silver 2 and 5 Reichsmark coins, the mint mark is found under the date on the left side of the coin (see scans below). On the smaller denomination Reichspfennig coins, the mint mark is found on the bottom center of the coin. Most, but not all Third Reich coins display a swastika.
Third Reich – One Reichpfennig – Bronze – 1939
Third Reich – Five Reichpfennig – Bronze – 1940
Third Reich - Ten Reich Pfennig - Bronze - 1940
Third Reich – One Reichsmark – Nickel – 1934
Third Reich – Fifty Reichpfennig – Aluminium – 1935
Note - Some of the images of coins in my collection, have been taken from the Gallery to the extent available, to save on time & effort involved in photography & editing.
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