A celebration of the railway

German Railways

(A replica of the first German locomotive, Adler, from StreetsOfNuremberg.com).

Nuremberg is considered the birthplace of German railway. Here, the Bavarian Ludwig Railway (Ludwigsbahn) built the first commercial railway in the country, running 6 kilometres from Nuremberg to neighbouring city of Fürth. The needed locomotive was commissioned in England and built by famous railway pioneer Robert Stephenson in Newcastle. It was the time where each individual locomotive still had a name, and this one was called “Adler” (Eagle). Nine wagons transported up to 200 passengers and goods, taking nine minutes to make the six-kilometre trip. After 22 years of operation, the original locomotive was sold and eventually scrapped. As is the way, it had been replaced with newer and more efficient engines. For the centenary of railways in Germany in 1935 a replica of the Adler was built by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, which still runs today.

The railways catapulted Germany from an agrarian society into the industrial age. As the world entered the 20th century, this new transport system entered an age of magnificent station buildings and powerful steam locomotives. The First World War halted this golden era.

Deutsche Reichsbahn (German State Railway) was created in 1920, which was re-established as a privately operated enterprise named Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in 1924, Germany’s new democratic government hoped to enable the urgently needed renewal of infrastructure and rolling stock. In addition, the Reichsbahn’s profits were earmarked to pay war reparations to the victorious powers. The “Golden Twenties”, a brief flourishing of technological progress and economic growth, was followed by the darkest chapter in German railway history: the Reichsbahn’s role in the crimes of National Socialism.

In 1949, Germany was partitioned into Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). It became inevitable that Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German national railway, would be split into two companies. In the West, the newly founded Deutsche Bundesbahn had to hold its own against growing competition from private cars; in the East, where the “Deutsche Reichsbahn” name was retained, the railway was an integral part of the socialist planned economy.

Following the reunification of Germany, in 1994 Deutsche Bahn AG, was created. The modern railway has seen innovations such as the introduction of high-speed ICE trains and the “station renaissance”, along with digital services such as online tickets and mobile apps.

The 5 Deutsche Mark

The 5 Mark denomination was introduced in various German states in the 1870s, in silver and gold coins.

Germany was unified in 1871, and started producing currency that year, although states continued to produce their own currency for a period after this time. Unified Germany opted for 5 Mark banknotes from the same period, with silver “5 Reichsmark” coins issued from 1927 to 1939. On that period, note that there are various “5 Reichsmark” coins being sold depicting Adolf Hitler, such as these. These are modern fantasy coins. There was never a circulation or authentic collector coin or banknote issued with his image, though Numista lists one pattern coin dated 1942.

Back to the denomination and banknotes of 5 Mark were issued again from 1940. Following the partition of Germany after WWII, 5 Mark notes continued sporadically in East Germany until 1975, and in West Germany until 1991.

In East Germany, four varieties of circulating commemorative 5 Mark coins were issued. Regular circulating coins were issued in West Germany in two standard series: 1951-1974, and 1975-2001. It was, however, commemorative 5 Deutsche-Mark coins where the German mints got to innovate. East Germany issued 42 non-circulating commemorative 5 Mark coins, all in either copper-nickel or nickel-brass. West Germany issued 43 non-circulating commemorative 5 Deutsche-Mark coins, with 28 of these in silver and 15 in Copper-nickel clad nickel. For both issuers, the nice large surface of 29mm (1.14 inches) made a good canvas to get creative on.

Obverse

The obverse features the country name, “BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND” around the left and top edges. From the bottom and to the right is the denomination, “5 DEUTSCHE MARK”, and the mintmark, G, for the Karlsruhe mint.

Officially Staatliche Münze Baden-Württemberg, this mint has been operating since 1827.

One thing I love about German coins, and particularly the 5 Mark coins, is the variety of Eagles. In covering the 1975 West German 5 Deutsche-Mark (Cancelled), I touched on the eagles and their history. I also compared the two regular circulating 5 Deutsche-Mark eagle designs:

It is interesting to note how different this design is to those two, while still being an eagle in a similar pose. The rounded shape of the Eagle fits with the wheel on the reverse (see below).

Reverse

The reverse features a “Steam locomotive wheel. Inscription that celebrates the 150 years of the Germany railroad.”

The edge of the coin features the inscription “EISENBAHN NÜRNBERG – FÜRTH 7. DEZEMBER 1835”. This translates to “RAILWAY NUREMBERG – FÜRTH 7 DECEMBER 1835”.

There were two variants of this coin issued, a regular strike with a mintage of 8 million, and a Proof version with 350,000 issued. This coin, as noticeable by the distinct difference between the frosted raised design and the mirror-like fields, is one of the proof coins. I covered a little about Proof coins in an earlier post on a Jamaican proof coin.

What is your favourite proof coin? Or perhaps your favourite coin series with a design variation like the eagle on these 5 Mark coins? Let us know in the comments below!