K-302 HITLER PUTSCH IN MUNICH 1923, Cast AE, 58mm, Incuse Edge Punch, Very Scarce. UNC

Obverse: Trench-coated Hitler confronts Bavarian Minister-President Ritter von Kahr. “National against National.” Hitler’s name is intentionally misspelled as “Hittler” and the swastika appears counter-clockwise and not in it’s actual clockwise orientation.

Reverse: Munich Feldherrnhalle with sign “Munich Theatre”, sign attached to stage “Nov 9, 1923 Last Performance, Now to Berlin.” Bumbling and dancing soldiers, one with helmet on backward holding a gallows. Peeping from the right curtain is Kahr who is watching a Communist (in Balloon-hat) mock him and the Nazis. Note the spurred boot of the middle soldier…it resembles the aerial bomb used during this time period.

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Adolf Hitler, supported by Ludendorff, and other Bavarian leaders planned to march on Berlin, declare the President and Chancellor out of office, and take over Germany. The first stage was executed in Munich, in a beer hall, the Bürgerbräukeller, where a large assembly of all the ‘national’ organization in the presence of nearly all of the Bavarian cabinet took place. The National Socialists (Nazis) took over the meeting by force – Hitler firing a shot into the ceiling to attract attention. Hitler declared the President and Chancellor dismissed, pronounced himself the new President and Chancellor, and gave General Ludendorff the office of Minister of the Army. On November 9, 1923 the Berlin government declared Hitler’s actions as treason. The army was set into motion against Munich to suppress the Putsch. During a demonstration march through the streets of Munich, Bavarian police and troops acting under the orders of von Kahr, the Prime Minister, broke up the march and aborted the Putsch. Hitler fled, was captured two days later, and stood trial.

By his action, von Kahr had actually double-crossed Hitler, since he had agreed to go with him the evening before. Von Kahr paid with his life for this switch 11 years later. He was found beaten to death in a swamp near Munich as a victim of the Röhm-revolt (Night of the Long Knives) on June 30,1934. The picture of Hitler on this medal is the first known to have appeared on a medal or coin. The description on the reverse is not flattering to Hitler’s image. Naturally such a creation was very damaging to the artist in and after 1933 when Hitler was in power of all Germany. Goetz’s studio was searched and the models confiscated. Legend has it that Karl Goetz traveled all over Germany in order to get back as many of these medals as he could to destroy them (hence their rarity). I don't think Goetz was figuring that Hitler would make it into power...

The one Hitler medal I never owned, but always wanted to. Even though he was in prison, Hitler had privledges not available to others and he wrote Mein Kampf. If only Goetz's comical portrayal had stood the test of time!

I just picked this up in the Moeller auction...I now have two but intend on selling one via ebay in the Fall....actually, I'll have quite a few dupes up for sale in the Fall.

Nice medal. Now there's an item that's chuck full of history.

Nice medal. Now there's an item that's chuck full of history.

Hey ey ey ey ey....there's an echo in here ere ere ere ere....

Let me know when you post them. I'm definitely interested and I'd be honored to have a Goetzdude pedigree in my collection.

Will do Bill!

I wonder how Mr. Goetz survived after this "political mistake"... Graveyards in Germany are full of Hitler's opponents... Maybe he must paid later for this engraving medals with nazi subjects.

Hello Banivechi,

You are right, Goetz had to pay for this first medals, because if you look at his later medals after 1933 with political background some of these medals are really supporting the propaganda of the nazis.
For example Opus 597 where he engraved the amount of tonnages of allied ships to be sent to the bottom.
Probably he was forced to cooperate with the nazis to survive like most of the Germans and European nations at that time.
It is very difficult to judge on the people of that time with our nowadays knowledge from all the medias. Those people did not have all our information and they had to make their decisions based on their view.
It would be very useful to read the autobiografie of Karl Goetz to get his own view on this time and circumstances.
Here is the medal opus 597:




The quality of the picture is low, because it has been scanned from a catalogue. The original pictures taken from the medals of Goetzdude are of course much better.