thedeadpoint Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Hi all, I just read in Coinage that German coins following the unification in 1870 varied in design from duchy to duchy. I didn't know there was a large variety of designs of that era. Does anyone have some unified Germany coins to show me the design spectrum? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturzny Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Post-unification in 1871 the German empire went to a decimal system of coinage (100 pfennig = 1 mark) instead of the old thaler system which had been in place for hundreds of years. The minor coins from 1 pfennig to 1 mark had a standardized design, but the two mark, three mark, and five mark silver coins were struck with obverses that were unique to the individual states, usually with the portrait of the ruling prince, or sometimes commemorating a wedding or anniversary, just as in the old thaler system. This practice continued until WWI. The 2 mark coin derived from the old 2/3 thaler, the 3 mark from the vereinsthaler, and the 5 mark from the double thaler, although it was made somewhat smaller and similar to the other silver crowns in standard use - the US silver dollar, British crown, Mexican peso, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Post-unification in 1871 the German empire went to a decimal system of coinage (100 pfennig = 1 mark) instead of the old thaler system which had been in place for hundreds of years. The minor coins from 1 pfennig to 1 mark had a standardized design, but the two mark, three mark, and five mark silver coins were struck with obverses that were unique to the individual states, usually with the portrait of the ruling prince, or sometimes commemorating a wedding or anniversary, just as in the old thaler system. This practice continued until WWI. The 2 mark coin derived from the old 2/3 thaler, the 3 mark from the vereinsthaler, and the 5 mark from the double thaler, although it was made somewhat smaller and similar to the other silver crowns in standard use - the US silver dollar, British crown, Mexican peso, etc. Interesting. Do you have any coins that have designs specific to their provinces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturzny Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Interesting. Do you have any coins that have designs specific to their provinces? Sure. The attached pictures are of a 1904 Hesse-Darmstadt 2 mark, which commemorates the 400th birthday of Philip the Magnanimous. The obverse shows the conjugate heads of Phillip and the current grand-duke Ernst Ludwig with the commemorative inscription. The reverse is the standard Imperial design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Post-unification in 1871 the German empire went to a decimal system of coinage (100 pfennig = 1 mark) instead of the old thaler system which had been in place for hundreds of years. Well, the thaler (taler) system is pretty old indeed, but so are gulden or mark based systems. Just as there was no modern German Empire before 1871, there was no such thing as a unified currency. Some countries in what later became the Deutsches Reich used thalers, others used other units. The monetary conventions of 1837/38 and especially 1857 (Vienna Convention) helped standardizing the coinage, and the Prussian-German empire then introduced the decimal mark-based system (1 Taler = 3 Mark). Even after 1871, a 3 Mark coin was still colloquially called "Taler". The post-1871 German coins (silver: 2M, 3M, 5M; gold: 5M, 10M, 20M) had state specific obverses, much like today's euro coins. As for where to view images, try this site: http://www.coinfinder.de/ There are three search criteria, "Prägejahr" (the date/year on the coin), "Wertzahl" (the face value - just the number), and "Währungsbezeichnung" (currency unit name - for the coins you are looking for that would be "Mark"). Enter at least one criterion; on the results page you can click on any coin image to get an enlarged view. Further details will only be available, however, if you buy the catalog ... Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corina Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 here is a 1881 silver one mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Thanks, Colin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.