Commemorative coin for the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in 1917

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3-mark commemorative coin for the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in 1917 from the Muldenhütten mint (replica 2001)

The commemorative coin for the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in 1917 , also referred to as 3 Mark Frederick the Wise , is a 3 Mark coin from the German Empire with the bust of Friedrich the Wise , which was minted on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation . The imperial coin comes from the Muldenhütten mint , which was located in the Kingdom of Saxony . It is one of the most valuable and rarest silver coins of modern times . The Reformation commemorative coin is the most valuable coin of the empire.

Coin history

Friedrich Wilhelm Hörnlein ( signature mostly F.H.), known as an outstanding medalist with high artistic and technical skills, took over the post of coin engraver at the Muldenhütten mint on July 1, 1911 . Hörnlein cut the front stamp of the three-mark piece on the occasion of the 400th return of the Reformation based on the Schautaler from 1522, which was minted in Nuremberg or possibly in Zwickau , with the bust of Frederick the Wise in a hat .

Friedrich Hörnlein, who died with his family when Dresden was destroyed on February 13, 1945, knew how to tell about the commemorative coin - from the minting order to its accidental remelting. Walther Haupt passed on Hörnlein's knowledge about this in his “Saxon Coin Studies”.

"The Reformation commemorative coin", says Walther Haupt,

"At the instigation of the then Saxon Minister of Justice, Dr. Nagel , a well-known coin collector , was born. The as motive closest Luther head was rejected by pretending that only heads of monarchs are likely to appear on Empire coins; perhaps they did not want to expect too much from the Catholic Saxon royal family. The distress of wartime allowed only 100 copies with a face value of 3 marks. The Minister received thirty of these with his salary. The rest were retained, but in consequence of the revolution , accidentally melted down in 1918, with the exception of a few who were brought illegally to the side. "

Friedrich the Wise, Elector and Duke of Saxony (1486–1526), ​​whose bust was used instead of the head portrait of Martin Luther for the Reformation commemorative coin, was the founder of the University of Wittenberg and protector of Martin Luther.

"The last auction price that was achieved for such a piece in Frankfurt am Main in 1965 ," said Walther Haupt, "was 9,000  marks , which is the equivalent of 2 kg of fine gold ." For comparison: an auction in Munich in October In 2016, this piece achieved € 141,000.

Coin description

The commemorative coin commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Reformation bears the inscription " EIN FESTE BVRG IST VNSER GOTT 1517-1917 " on the obverse . The Saxon coat of arms is located between the years . The divided inscription FRIEDRICH - THE WISE is embossed in the pearl circle . The mint mark "E" of the Saxon state coin is arranged on both sides of the state coat of arms . The bust of Frederick the Wise shows the ruler with a hat and fur hood .

The imperial eagle based on the model 1888–1918 can be seen on the back . The inscription in the pearl circle reads DEUTSCHES REICH and contains the year 1917. The inscription and denomination DREI MARK are separated by two stars.

The margin is GOD WITH US . Between the words there is a cross and two tendrils. The diameter is 33 mm, the weight 16.67 g and the fineness of the silver 900/1000.

One-sided silver and aluminum markings exist from the front . These are trial discounts from the original stamps.

Replicas

Imitation had not been attempted until around 1974 . Reprints could be ruled out because the stamps were reliably officially held. That has changed so that hallmarked new coins, also known as re-stamping, were produced. But that does not mean that the stamps are no longer officially reliably stored. Günter Schön describes the later coins as modern replicas . The year of the replica is marked with a small hallmark on the back . These are the years from around 1991 to 2017. Hallmarks with REPLIK or COPY are also known. They are located under the imperial eagle's breastplate . This allows the replica to be distinguished from the original. However, tampering with these pieces can occur, which in this way turn into forgeries . Replicas are also galvanos , which u. a. can be recognized by the muffled sound during a sound test. Counterfeits are known to exist before 1976. The cliff-shaped embossing is a private piece of work.

literature

  • Walther Haupt: Saxon coinage . German Verl. D. Wiss., Berlin 1974, Berlin 1974
  • Paul Arnold, Harald Küthmann, Dirk Steinhilber: Large German coin catalog from 1800 to today , Augsburg 2010
  • Paul Arnold, Max Fischer, Ulli Arnold: Friedrich Wilhelm Hörnlein 1873–1945 , Ed .: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Münzkabinett Dresden, 1992
  • Kurt Jäger: The German coins since 1871 , 17th revised edition, edited by Helmut Kahnt, Regenstauf 2001.
  • Siegfried Bauer: German coins 1871 to 1932 including the coins of the former colonies and the state emergency money , Berlin 1976

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Arnold, Harald Küthmann, Dirk Steinhilber: Large German coin catalog from 1800 to today , Augsburg 2010, p. 287
  2. ↑ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde (1974), p. 190: It is one of the most valuable silver coins of modern times.
  3. ^ Paul Arnold, Harald Küthmann, Dirk Steinhilber: Large German coin catalog from 1800 to today , Augsburg 2010, p. 144: It is one of the rarest coins.
  4. ^ Paul Arnold, Max Fischer, Ulli Arnold: Friedrich Wilhelm Hörnlein 1873-1945 (1992), p. 144: based on an original
  5. ^ Paul Arnold: Walther Haupt and his "Saxon Coin Studies". In: Numismatic Hefte , Dresden No. 20, 1986 (p. 57: Schautaler or medals)
  6. ↑ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde (1974), p. 190: Hörnlein knew how to tell
  7. ↑ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde (1974), p. 190: Wert 1965
  8. ↑ primus: auction price € 141,000, source Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung, auction 240–242, 10. – 14. October 2016
  9. ^ Paul Arnold, Max Fischer, Ulli Arnold: Friedrich Wilhelm Hörnlein 1873-1945 (1992), p. 144: Discounts
  10. ↑ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde (1974), p. 190: reliably officially kept
  11. ↑ Günter Schön: Small German coin catalog, Augsburg 1995, p. 61
  12. ^ Siegfried Bauer: German Coins 1871 to 1932 ... (1976), p. 49: Beware of forgeries!
  13. ^ Siegfried Bauer: German coins 1871 to 1932 ... (1976), p. 49: Machwerk

Web links

  • acsearch: Friedrich III. der Weise, Guldengroschen 1522. This show thaler was created by Hans Krafft and served as a template for the 3-mark commemorative coin for the 1917 Reformation (Jaeger 141).