A coin whose story didn’t end when it was demonetised

East and West

Map of Germany showing West Germany (Green) and East Germany (Orange), from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification

Following WWII, Germany, even more than most countries, needed to rebuild. Germany was split into two independent nations: the Federal Republic of Germany (FDR or West Germany), allied to the Western democracies, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany), allied to the Soviet Union.

The “Berlin Wall” was the most well known sign of the division (and that built over time), but there were many changes implemented very quickly. In 1948 each country created their own currency, both called the “Deutsche Mark” and both divided into 100 Pfennig. “-marks” (of various types) and Pfennig had been used in Germany since unification in 1871. “Marks” had also been used in various German city states such as Aachen, Hamburg, Lübeck and Lüneburg back to the early 1500s. The East German Mark was used until reunification in 1990. The West German Mark was used until the switch to the Euro in 2001.

Obverse

The obverse of the coin shows the German Eagle, year and mintmark. One interesting thing about collecting German coins is even if you have two coins of the same year, the mintmarks may be different. There are five mints which produce coins in Germany:

• A Berlin
• D Munich
• F Stuttgart
• G Karlsruhe
• J Hamburg

My coin has an “F” so it was minted at “Staatliche Münze Baden-Württemberg“, or Stuttgart, Germany.

Another thing I love about German coins is the German Eagle. Particularly, I love that many different coins have different interpretations of the eagle. Here is a view of the obverse of the earlier 1951 – 1974 5 Mark coin next to a regular (not cancelled) 1975 D mintmark coin (this design used from 1975 – 2001) to show the variation in the two eagles:

The origins of the German Eagle can be traced back to the early years of the Holy Roman Empire. It featured on the King’s coat of arms and almost all the Imperial princes bore the eagle on their escutcheons as a way of displaying their status as vassals of the King. In contrast to the King’s one-headed eagle, the Emperor’s emblem was the double-headed eagle. Introduced in 1433, this remained the emblem of the Emperor and the state until the end of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806.

In the course of the 1848 Revolution, the National Assembly at St. Paul’s Church in Frankfurt decided the double-headed eagle should be the emblem of the new Confederation. This was intended to emphasise the continuities with the state symbolism of the Holy Roman Empire. When the German Empire was proclaimed in 1871, a decision was taken against the double-headed eagle and against the associations it implied with the Revolution of 1848/49. Instead, the Prussian tradition was drawn on in the shape of the one-headed eagle.

The eagle continues to be a strong symbol in Germany.

Reverse

The reverse contains the value, 5 Deutsche Mark, and the country name: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, which translates to “Federal Republic of Germany”.

Here is the comparison between the reverse of the earlier 5 Mark coin and the later design:

I mentioned the earlier 1951 coin previously, compared to the 1944 Peru 1/2 Sol, as the value in center, text rotating around the edge of one reminded me of the other

Waffle coin

One of the most interesting aspects of this particular example is the “waffle” effect. This is not how the coin originally came from the mint in 1975 – that certainly would pose a challenge for vending machine designers! The original coin was flat. The waffle was added later when the coin was recalled to be destroyed. This was done when Germany transitioned to the Euro in 2001. Deutsche Mark coins could be exchanged at the bank for Euros. The old exchanged coins were recalled to be destroyed. Firstly the coins were “waffled” before being sent to be melted down. In some cases, these coins escaped the process and ended up in the hands of collectors. Sometimes waffle coins are done when entire currencies are recalled, as in this case. Sometimes, it is due to an error when the coin was produced, as in this video. Grading companies like NGC and PCGS will even slab them. Have you got any waffle coins? What were they originally? I’m curious what different types are out there?