1871-1933 German negotiable coins

I have already repeatedly talked about German coins in my reviews, however, two periods have not been reflected. The first period is Kaiserreich from the creation of a single German state until the collapse of the Empire after the First World War. The second period is the Weimar Republic. There were not so many circulating coins, so we will combine both periods into one topic.

So, in 1871, after the successful completion of the Franco-Prussian war, the participants in the German Union announced the creation of a single state, uniting several previously independent entities. The first Kaiser of the Empire was the Prussian king William I.

The line of coins of the 1873 model included 1 and 2 pfennigs made of copper, 5 and 10 pfennigs made of copper-nickel alloy, 20, 50 pfennigs and 1 brand of 900 sterling silver.

On the obverse is the face value and date of issue of the coin, on the reverse is the coat of arms of the German Empire of 1871 and the mint mark: Berlin (A), Hanover (B), Frankfurt (C), Munich (D), Müldenhutten (E), Stuttgart (F), Karlsruhe (G), Darmstadt (H), Hamburg (J)

In 1877, the design of the 50 pfennig coin changed: an oak wreath was added on the obverse and reverse.

 

In 1903, the release of 50 pfennig was discontinued. It was replaced by a coin in denominations of ½ stamps, issued from 1905 to 1918 on silver blanks of 900 samples.

In 1909-1912, a "non-standard" denomination of 25 pfennigs was put into circulation.

While the coins discussed above were issued centrally and had a single design, larger denominations of 2, 3 and 5 marks were issued by the German states independently, sometimes in negligible circulation. Below is a small selection of two- and three-year-olds.

After the fall of the Empire, the November Revolution of 1918, which stirred up Germany, led to the formation of the Weimar Republic. A fairly long period of devaluation of the money supply (from 1919 to 1922), the 50 pfennig aluminum coins in circulation were the smallest bargaining chip. On the reverse of the coin, instead of the coat of arms of the state, a bunch of ears is depicted. This is due to the protracted process of forming state symbols.

In 1922, the Government of the Republic issued two coins in denominations of 3 marks. The coins differ in the presence of an inscription around the eagle on the reverse, indicating that the coin is dedicated to the third anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the Weimar Republic. The version "without an inscription" is less common, since it was issued only in 1922 by the mints of Berlin and Müldenhutten with a total circulation of 15.5 million copies, while the total circulation of the version of coins "with an inscription," issued by several mints at once during 1922 and 1923, exceeds 60 million copies.

At the end of 1923, the Government of the Weimar Republic took extremely radical measures to combat hyperinflation and signed an order on the creation of the German Rent Bank. The authorized capital of the Bank included the mortgage debt of each industrial or agricultural enterprise in Germany in the amount of 4% of the value of land and real estate. Owners were required to pay an annual tax of 6% of the debt.

 

In 1923, the Rental Bank introduced a new monetary unit - the rental pfennig, which was not the official monetary unit of the Government of the Weimar Republic, but was required to be accepted at state cash desks.

 

The measures taken, and, as a result, stopping the further development of hyperinflation, were called the "miracle of the rental brand."

 

In 1924, having achieved tremendous success in the economy, the Government of the Republic officially issued coins very similar to Rentenpfennig, called Reichspfennig.

50 Reichspfennig is perhaps the rarest coin in this review. This coin began to be forged so often that it was decided to stop minting it, and in 1929 its circulation was completely prohibited. That is why the cash denomination of 50 pfennig, starting in 1927, began to be produced on nickel blanks.

 

In 1932, a coin in denominations of 4 pfennig was issued. Interesting denomination with an interesting story. As part of the government's deflation policy, in order to stimulate the thrift of the population, it was supposed to pay 2 marks from the salaries of officials and soldiers in 4 pfennig coins. This idea was perceived by the bulk of the population extremely negatively, the coin received the nickname "poor Heinrich" and "Brüning thaler" (named after the then chancellor), and in 1933 safely lost its payment ability.

It should be noted that the trifle of the Weimar Republic period was officially banned from circulation only in 1940-1945.

Unlike rental stamps issued only in paper version, Reichsmarks were issued in silver for 500 samples. 1 and 3 stamps issued in 1924-1925 were called "mark"

From 1925 to 1933, the senior denominations were already called "Reichsmarks."

 

Inspired by the economic upsurge of the Germans, in 1925-1932 they issued a rather significant number of silver coins dedicated to various memorable dates and personalities.

 

 

 

Coins from the Third Reich period can be viewed here.