In one week a new German €10 collector coin will be issued. The coin commemorates the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel who was born 225 years ago. And for its designer this is the second Schinkel coin in 40 years.



The person depicted on the coin is not Schinkel himself but symbolizes his architectural education program. The kneeling man with the plumbline is taken from one of Schinkel's relief sculptures for the Academy of Architecture (Bauakademie) in Berlin. That building was torn down in the early 1960s but most of the reliefs were saved.

Larger pictures are here:
http://www.pressedienst-numismatik.de/imag...vs-download.jpg
http://www.pressedienst-numismatik.de/imag...rs-download.jpg

What makes this coin special is the designer, Axel Bertram. The German coin design competitions are anonymous; the jury does not know who designed what model. In this case the winning model was that of an artist who had, precisely 40 years ago, designed the GDR commem dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Schinkel's death. http://images.muenzen-welt.de/big/j1517.jpg That 10 MDN coin (designer Axel Bertram, sculptor Gerhard Rommel) was the very first commemorative coin that the GDR issued.

The new 10 euro coin will be issued on 2 March. Mintage is 1.6 million (unc.) plus 300,000 prooflike pieces.

Christian

125th and 225th? What happened to even dates?

Wow they are just cranking them out!

Quote from the US Mint's web site: "The year 2004 marks the 125th anniversary of Thomas Alva Edison's invention of the light bulb." Hmmm ...

Actually I think "125 years" of something is OK for a commem. Hard to tell where a line should be drawn; in 1969 for example the Federal Republic issued a 5 DM commem to honor Gerhard Mercator - the occasion was the 375th anniversary of his death. That I found a little strange.

@Tiffibunny: Well, yes, it's a bit much. But things are getting better. In 2004 and 2005 there were 6 silver pieces and 1 gold coin; this year it's 1 bimetallic, 5 silver, 1 gold; for next year 1 bimet, 4 silver, 1 gold are planned.

Christian

I'm no fan of it when the US mint does it either.

Esepcially since they just do two a year, there are plenty of topics to choose from.

Oh well, so much for that. Now five silver €10 coins are planned for next year:

50 years Treaties of Rome (European Communities)
Elizabeth of Thuringia (born 800 years ago)
50 years Deutsche Bundesbank
Saarland joined the Federal Republic (50 years ago)
Wilhelm Busch (born 175 years ago)

The €100 gold piece, in the World Cultural Heritage series, features the "Classical Weimar". And the 2007 state coin (€2, legal tender in all of Euroland) will be dedicated to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Christian

And then the USM commemorated the 230th anniversary of the Marine Corp.

blame Congress.