Collecting German Commemoratives

[regandon]

Collecting German Commemoratives from the 19th to 20th centuries (1800’s to early 1900’s)

Collecting Germany commemoratives, can be very fun and very frustrating at the same time. The best way to approach this specialized field of collecting, is to break it down into the major categories. I’ve came up with my own categories that I follow. 1) Historical events, like military victories. There are many coins minted from various German States commemorating great military victories. 2) Coins commemorating the deaths of Kings, Queens, Counts, Arch-Bishops and the list goes on. Just take your pick at which commemoratives within this category you fine interesting. 3) The weddings of Kings, and there are also coins commemorating Kings and Queens anniversaries. 4) This is a large list. Coins commemorating Treaties / Erection of Monuments / Restoration of Monuments / Unions between Germans States and Constitutions. The last category is a specialized one. The coins in this category are very low mintage and can command a good hefty price in high mint state grades. This category is for the German Shooting Festival commemoratives.
You can come up with your own categories, and the one’s I listed are just the one’s I find interesting. While the Germans minted commemoratives for centuries. The coins from the 17th to 18th centuries are very expensive. The early commemoratives are very interesting though, and the size of some of the coins are as large as 100mm. That’s correct, 100mm and they are coins, not medals.

[regandon]

Part II of Collecting German Commemorative coins

Bavarian Commemoratives
If your into collecting German commemoratives, than the German State of Bavaria had minted many of them during the mid to late 1800’s. Commemoratives from this German State are very interesting and of historical importance to the people of Germany. There are 2 Gulden, ½ Thalers, Thalers (Taler) and Double Thaler coins to chose from. Most important, is that the majority of the Bavarian commemoratives are affordable. Ranging from $200 in AU-58 to many thousands of dollars in high mint state grade. You will find yourself buying AU grades over mint state when looking at buying the Double Thalers. The price jumps quite high from AU-55 / 58 to MS-65. Even if you do have a hefty bank account, the price of an MS-65 could help bring your bank account down very fast.

Here is a list of commemoratives I find very interesting.
1) The very affordable 1855 (KM#465) 2 Gulden that commemorates the Restoration of the Madonna Column in Munich.
2)The following three Thalers could fall into the variety classification for variety collectors. All three of the Thalers are not dated, and with no the denomination on the coin.
A) The ND (1806-1808) School prize ½ Thaler KM# 348
B) The ND (1807-1808) School prize ½ Thaler KM# 353
C) The ND (1808-1837) School prize ½ Thaler KM# 357
3) The 1825 Thaler (KM# 370) Commemorative of Coronation of Ludwig I
4) The 1827 Thaler (KM# 380) Commemorative of Founding of the Order Of Ludwig
5) The 1827 Thaler (KM# 381) Commemorative of Founding of the Theresien Order
6) This is one of the most popular commemorative Thalers. The 1828 (KM# 386) Blessing of the Royal Family.
7) The 1830 Thaler (KM# 393) Loyalty of the Bavarians to the Royal Family
This 1835 Thaler is the major variety coin of the series. It commemorates the monument in Munich to King Maximillian Josef. Some of the coins show the King with his Scepter not beyond his shoulder. They are KM# 411.1 and 411.2
9) This 1842 Double Thaler is the other major variety coin of the series. It commemorates the marriage of the Crown Prince of Bavaria and Marie, the Royal Princess of Prussia. One coin show the date of marriage as Oct. 1st, which was in error. The other coin has the correct date of Oct. 12th

These next commemoratives are of very important historical events.
1) The 1833 Thaler (KM# 404) Commemorative of Monument for Bavarians who had Fell in Russia
2) The 1835 Thaler (KM# 410) Commemorative of Construction of the First Steam Railway
3) The 1835 Thaler (KM# 412) Commemorative of School given to Benedictine Order
4) The 1871 Thaler (KM# 496) Commemorative of German Victory in The Franco-Prussian War
5) The 1839 Double Thaler (KM# 425) Commemorative of Maximillian I as Elector of Bavaria
6) The 1843 Double Thaler (KM# 434) Commemorative of 100th Anniversary Academy of Erlangen
7) The 1844 Double Thaler (KM# 437) Commemorative of Completion of the General’s Hall in Munich
The 1848 Double Thaler (KM# 443) Commemorative of Abdication of Ludwig I for Maximillian
9) The 1846 Double Thaler (KM# 441) Commemorative of the Completion of the Canal Between Danube and Main Rivers
10) The 1856 Double Thaler (KM# 467) Commemorative of Erection of Monument to King Maximillian II
11) The 1848 Double Thaler (KM# 447.1) Commemorative of New Constitution. There is a variety of this coin. KM# 447.2 with edge lettering CONVENTION-VOM

There are many more commemorative coins during this time period, than what I’ve listed within this article. Do your research first to make things easier. Decide if you only want to collect the ½ Thalers or the large Double Thalers. There are fake copies on the market of these popular coins. If you do not have the knowledge of knowing a fake coin from a real one. Than buy one that’s been graded by PCGS or NGC. The fun part of collecting commemoratives, is that you learn history and gain much knowledge to boot.

[coinsarefun]

Wow, such great information. I can't thank you enough for your contribution.......to bad there is no "thumbs up emoticon

[Zantetsuken]

Nice 'jvonhanns'. The Germans did ideed have very nice commemorative coins. While this not my area of specialty, I have a 3 Reichsmark coin from the Weimar Republic, commemorating the 1929 world flight of the Graf Zeppelin minted in Berlin.



GERMANY (WEIMAR REPUBLIC) 3 Reichsmark 1930 A~Zeppelin

[regandon]

That 3Mark you have is a very important German commemorative coin. Its a good one have.

[Billy Kingsley]

Excellent commeratives! From what I have read, it seems the German commeratives led the world in quality AND quantity at that time. While I don't have any German commeratives yet, it's only a matter of time. The Graf Zeppelin Commerative is without doubt the one I want the most; I love airships, be they Zeppelins, blimps, and anything in between. (which is odd, as I won't fly for any reason; I just love seeing them)

[Zantetsuken]

Excellent commeratives! From what I have read, it seems the German commeratives led the world in quality AND quantity at that time. While I don't have any German commeratives yet, it's only a matter of time. The Graf Zeppelin Commerative is without doubt the one I want the most; I love airships, be they Zeppelins, blimps, and anything in between. (which is odd, as I won't fly for any reason; I just love seeing them)

I agree. The zeppelins were magnificent vessels. I've never flown before, but the airships always did look impressive. But they were very volatile, so when the Hindenburg went up in flames in 1937, so did the future for the airship line.