Germany 10 Euro Silver Coin 2007 Wilhelm Busch

Germany 10 Euro Silver Coin 2007 Wilhelm Busch

Commemorative issue: 175th birthday of Wilhelm Busch

Wilhelm Busch was a 19th century German painter and poet, who became famous for his (black and white) picture stories, done as wood engraving or zincography. with rhymed texts (mostly four-trochees). He's still widely known today, especially for his children's stories, like Max and Moritz, the success of which has made him one of the most-quoted poets in the German language right next to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Schiller.

Obverse: Stylized gothic eagle - the symbol of Germany and the 12 stars of the European Union. Inscription «BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND» ( «Federal Republic of Germany"), year of issue, as well as the mint mark.
Lettering: BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND D 2007 10 EURO.
Engraver: Othmar Kukula.

Reverse: Self-portrait of Wilhelm Busch, 1894, surrounded by his heroes: "Max and Moritz" at right and "Pious Helene" at left. Above the portrait «WILHELM BUSCH», at the bottom - "1832 - 1908".
Lettering: WILHELM BUSCH 1832-1908.
Engraver: Othmar Kukula.

Edge: Smooth with inscription.
Lettering: WER RUDERT, SIEHT DEN GRUND.

Face value: 10 Euro.
Metal: Silver (.925).
Weight: 18 g.
Diameter: 32.50 mm.
Shape: Round.
Mint mark: D - Munich.


Wilhelm Busch
Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch (15 April 1832 – 9 January 1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator and painter. He published comic illustrated cautionary tales from 1859, achieving his most notable works in the 1870s. Busch's illustrations used wood engraving, and later, zincography.
  Busch drew on contemporary parochial and city life, satirizing Catholicism, Philistinism, strict religious morality and bigotry. His comic text was colourful and entertaining, using onomatopoeia, neologisms and other figures of speech, and led to some work being banned by the authorities.
  Busch was influential in both poetry and illustration, and became a source for future generations of comic artists. The Katzenjammer Kids was inspired by Busch's Max and Moritz, one of a number of imitations produced in Germany and the United States. The Wilhelm Busch Prize and the Wilhelm Busch Museum help maintain his legacy. His 175th anniversary in 2007 was celebrated throughout Germany. Busch remains one of the most influential poets and artists in Western Europe.

Max and Moritz
Max and Moritz (A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks) (original: Max und Moritz - Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen) is a German language illustrated story in verse. This highly inventive, blackly humorous tale, told entirely in rhymed couplets, was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 1865. It is among the early works of Busch, nevertheless it already features many substantial, effectually aesthetic and formal regularities, procedures and basic patterns of Busch's later works. Many familiar with comic strip history consider it to have been the direct inspiration for the Katzenjammer Kids and Quick & Flupke. The German title satirizes the German custom of giving a subtitle to the name of dramas in the form of "Ein Drama in ... Akten" (A Drama in ... Acts), which became dictum in colloquial usage for any event with an unpleasant or dramatic course, e.g. "Bundespräsidentenwahl - Drama in drei Akten" (Federal Presidential Elections - Drama in Three Acts).

Pious Helene
The story of a girl who's sent to the countryside where people are supposedly better than in the city. However, Helene is more hypocritical than pious, and likes to play pranks on her relatives. Not however on her cousin Franz, with whom she falls in love, despite the fact he's supposed to become a Catholic priest. They keep up their relationship even after she marries, and he becomes the real father of her twins.

Germany 10 Euro Silver Coin 2007 St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Germany 10 Euro Silver Coin 2007 800th Anniversary of Elisabeth von Thüringen

Commemorative issue: 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Obverse: Stylized gothic eagle - the symbol of Germany and the 12 stars of the European Union. Inscription «BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND» ( «Federal Republic of Germany"), year of issue, as well as the mint mark.
Lettering: BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND 2007 A 10 EURO
Designer: Barbara G. Ruppel, Krailling

Reverse: St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as St. Elizabeth of Thuringia. St. Elizabeth holds a platter of food and a pitcher. The figure of Elizabeth, reminiscent of gothic sculptures, clearly expresses her sacrifice for the needy and sick. The work of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia is represented by four motifs: feeding the poor in the lower part and the places associated with the name Elizabeth - Wartburg Castle (where she lived in the 1221-1227 gg.) and the Church of St. Elizabeth in Marburg (built in 1235 after the saint's death) in the upper part.
Lettering: 800. GEBURTSTAG ELISABETH VON THÜRINGEN
Designer: Barbara G. Ruppel, Krailling

Edge: Smooth with inscription
Lettering: WIR SOLLEN DIE MENSCHEN FROH MACHEN

Face value: 10 Euro.
Metal: Silver (.925).
Weight: 18 g.
Diameter: 32.50 mm.
Shape: Round.
Mint mark: A - Berlin (Staatliche Münze Berlin)
Issued: 8 November 2007

Elizabeth of Hungary
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Third Order of Saint Francis (German: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, Hungarian: Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary, Landgravine of Thuringia, Germany, and a greatly venerated Catholic saint who was an early member of the Third Order of St. Francis, by which she is honored as its patroness. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. After her husband's death she sent her children away and regained her dowry, using the money to build a hospital where she herself served the sick. She became a symbol of Christian charity after her death at the age of 24 and was quickly canonized.

Early life and marriage
Elizabeth was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. Her mother's sister was St. Hedwig of Andechs, wife of Duke Heinrich I of Silesia. Her ancestry included many notable figures of European royalty, going back as far as Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus. According to tradition, she was born in Kingdom of Hungary, possibly in the castle of Sárospatak (see further for discussion), on 7 July 1207.
  A sermon printed in 1497 by the Franciscan friar Osvaldus de Lasco, a church official in Hungary, is the first to name Sárospatak as the saint's birthplace, perhaps building on local tradition. The veracity of this account is not without reproach: Osvaldus also transforms the miracle of the roses (see below) to Elizabeth's childhood in Sárospatak, and has her leave Hungary at the age of five.
  According to a different tradition she was born in Pozsony, Kingdom of Hungary (modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia), where she lived in the Castle of Posonium until the age of four.
  Elizabeth was brought to the court of the rulers of Thuringia in central Germany, to become betrothed to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia (also known as Ludwig IV), a future union which would reinforce political alliances between the families. She was raised by the Thuringian court, so she would be familiar with the local language and culture.
  In 1221, at the age of fourteen, Elizabeth married Louis; the same year he was enthroned as Landgrave, and the marriage appears to have been happy.

Religious inclinations, influences
  In 1223, Franciscan friars arrived, and the teenage Elizabeth not only learned about the ideals of Francis of Assisi, but started to live them. Louis was not upset by his wife's charitable efforts, believing that the distribution of his wealth to the poor would bring eternal reward; he is venerated in Thuringia as a saint, though he was never canonized by the Church.
  It was also about this time that the priest and later inquisitor Konrad von Marburg gained considerable influence over Elizabeth when he was appointed as her confessor. In the spring of 1226, when floods, famine, and plague wrought havoc in Thuringia, Louis, a staunch supporter of the Hohenstaufen Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, represented Frederick II at the Imperial Diet held in Cremona. Elizabeth assumed control of affairs at home and distributed alms in all parts of their territory, even giving away state robes and ornaments to the poor. Below Wartburg Castle, she built a hospital with twenty-eight beds and visited the inmates daily to attend to them.

Widowhood
Elizabeth's life changed irrevocably on 11 September 1227 when Louis, en route to join the Sixth Crusade, died of a fever in Otranto, Italy. On hearing the news of her husband's death, Elizabeth is reported to have said, "He is dead. He is dead. It is to me as if the whole world died today." His remains were returned to Elizabeth in 1228 and entombed at the Abbey of Reinhardsbrunn.
  After Louis' death, his brother, Henry (German: Heinrich) Raspe, assumed the regency during the minority of Elizabeth's eldest child, Hermann (1222–1241). After bitter arguments over the disposal of her dowry—a conflict in which Konrad was appointed as the official Defender of her case by Pope Gregory IX—Elizabeth left the court at Wartburg and moved to Marburg in Hesse.
  Up to 1888 it was believed, on account of the testimony of one of Elizabeth's servants during the canonization process, that Elizabeth was driven from the Wartburg in the winter of 1227 by her brother-in-law, Heinrich Raspe, who acted as regent for her son, then only five years old. About 1888 various investigators (Börner, Mielke, Wenck, E. Michael, etc.) asserted that Elizabeth left the Wartburg voluntarily. She was not able at the castle to follow Konrad's command to eat only food obtained in a way that was certainly right and proper.
  Following her husband's death, Elizabeth made solemn vows to Konrad similar to those of a nun. These vows included celibacy, as well as complete obedience to Konrad as her confessor and spiritual director. Konrad's treatment of Elizabeth was extremely harsh, and he held her to standards of behavior which were almost impossible to meet. Among the punishments he is alleged to have ordered were physical beatings; he also ordered her to send away her three children. Her pledge to celibacy proved a hindrance to her family's political ambitions. Elizabeth was more or less held hostage at Pottenstein, the castle of her uncle, Bishop Ekbert of Bamberg, in an effort to force her to remarry. Elizabeth, however, held fast to her vow, even threatening to cut off her own nose so that no man would find her attractive enough to marry.
  Elizabeth's second child Sophie of Thuringia (1224–1275) married Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and was the ancestress of the Landgraves of Hesse, since in the War of the Thuringian Succession she won Hesse for her son Heinrich I, called the Child. Elizabeth's third child, Gertrude of Altenberg (1227–1297), was born several weeks after the death of her father; she became abbess of the monastery of Altenberg Abbey, Hesse near Wetzlar.
  Elizabeth built a hospital at Marburg for the poor and the sick with the money from her dowry, where she and her companions cared for them. Her official biography written as part of the canonization process describes how she ministered to the sick and continued to give money to the poor.

Lifetime miracles

Miracle of the Roses
Elizabeth is perhaps best known for her miracle of the roses which says that whilst she was taking bread to the poor in secret, she met her husband Ludwig on a hunting party, who, in order to quell suspicions of the gentry that she was stealing treasure from the castle, asked her to reveal what was hidden under her cloak. In that moment, her cloak fell open and a vision of white and red roses could be seen, which proved to Ludwig that God's protecting hand was at work. Her husband, according to the vitae, was never troubled by her charity and always supported it. In some versions of this story, it is her brother in law, Heinrich Raspe, who questions her. Hers is the first of many miracles that associate Christian saints with roses, and is the most frequently depicted in the saint's iconography.

Crucifix in the bed
Another story about St. Elizabeth, also found in Dietrich of Apolda's Vita, relates how she laid the leper Helias of Eisenach in the bed she shared with her husband. Her mother-in-law, who was horrified, told this immediately to Ludwig on his return. When Ludwig removed the bedclothes in great indignation, at that instant "Almighty God opened the eyes of his soul, and instead of a leper he saw the figure of Christ crucified stretched upon the bed." This story appears in Franz Liszt's oratorio about Elizabeth.

Death and legacy
In 1231, Elizabeth died in Marburg at the age of twenty-four.

Miracles after death and canonization
Very soon after the death of Elizabeth, miracles were reported that happened at her grave in the church of the hospital, especially those of healing. On the suggestion of Konrad, and by papal command, examinations were held of those who had been healed between August 1232 and January 1235. The results of those examinations was supplemented by a brief vita of the saint-to-be, and together with the testimony of Elizabeth's handmaidens and companions (bound in a booklet called the Libellus de dictis quatuor ancillarum s. Elizabeth confectus), proved sufficient reason for quick canonization. She was canonized by Pope Gregory IX. The papal bull declaring her a saint is on display in the Schatzkammer of the Deutschordenskirche in Vienna, Austria. Her body was laid in a magnificent golden shrine—still to be seen today—in the Elisabeth Church (Marburg). Her remains were removed and scattered by her own descendant, the Landgrave Philip I "the Magnanimous" of Hesse, at the time of the Reformation. It is now a Protestant church, but has spaces set aside for Catholic worship. Marburg became a center of the Teutonic Order, which adopted St. Elizabeth as its secondary patroness. The Order remained in Marburg until its official dissolution by Napoleon in 1803. A bejeweled reliquary believed to have contained her head was taken as loot by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War and is today displayed in the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.

2007 octocentennial celebrations
The year 2007 was proclaimed "Elizabeth Year" in Marburg. All year, events commemorating Elizabeth's life and works were held, culminating in a town-wide festival to celebrate the 800th anniversary of her birth on 7 July 2007. Pilgrims came from all over the world for the occasion, which ended with a special service in the Elisabeth Church that evening.
  A new musical based on Elisabeth's life, Elisabeth--die Legende einer Heiligen ("Elizabeth--Legend of a Saint"), starring Sabrina Weckerlin as Elizabeth, Armin Kahn as Ludwig, and Chris Murray as Konrad, premiered in Eisenach in 2007. It was performed in Eisenach and Marburg for two years, and closed in Eisenach in July 2009.
  The entire Third Order of St. Francis, both the friars and sisters of the Third Order Regular and the Secular Franciscan Order, joined in this celebration through a two-year-long program of study of her life. This was conducted throughout the Order, across the globe. There were also religious ceremonies held worldwide during that period. The yearlong observance of the centennial which began on her feast day in 2007 was closed at the General Chapter of the Order, held in Budapest in 2008. The New York region of the Order produced a movie of her life, produced by a sister of the Order, Lori Pieper.

Germany GDR 20 Mark Silver Coin 1990 Brandenburg Gate

Germany GDR 20 Mark Silver Coin 1990 Brandenburg Gate

Commemorative issue: Opening of the Brandenburg Gate 22.12.1989

Obverse: The national emblem of the German Democratic Republic featured a hammer and a compass, surrounded by a ring of rye; "DEUTSCHE·DEMOKRATISCHE· REPUBLIK", (date) 20 and MARK below.
Lettering: * DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCHE REPUBLIK * A 1990 20 MARK.

Reverse: Brandenburg Gate at center; "HAUPTSTADT DER DDR" above and BERLIN below.
Lettering: 22. DEZEMBER 1989 BERLIN.

Edge: Smooth with inscription.
Lettering:20 MARK * 20 MARK * 20 MARK * 20 MARK *
Engraver: A. Bertram, W. Fitzenreiter, H. Polkehn.

German Democratic Republic.
Face value: 20 Mark.
Metal:  Silver (.999).
Weight:  18.2 g.
Diameter:  33.0 mm.
Shape:  Round.


Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, and one of the best-known landmarks of Germany. It is built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel.
  It is located in the western part of the city centre of Berlin within Mitte, at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building, which houses the German parliament (Bundestag). The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees, which led directly to the royal City Palace of the Prussian monarchs.
  Throughout its existence, the Brandenburg Gate was often a site for major historical events and is today considered not only as a symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany, but also of European unity and peace.

History
It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by architect Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. Having suffered considerable damage in World War II, the Brandenburg Gate was restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation).
  During the post-war Partition of Germany, the gate was isolated and inaccessible immediately next to the Berlin Wall. The area around the gate was featured most prominently in the media coverage of the tearing down of the wall in 1989, and the subsequent German reunification in 1990.

Design and construction
In the time of Frederick William (1688), shortly after the Thirty Years' War and a century before the gate was constructed, Berlin was a small walled city within a star fort with several named gates: Spandauer Tor, St. Georgen Tor, Stralower Tor, Cöpenicker Tor, Neues Tor, and Leipziger Tor (see map). Relative peace, a policy of religious tolerance, and status as capital of the Kingdom of Prussia facilitated the growth of the city.
  The Brandenburg Gate was not part of the old fortifications, but one of 18 gates within the Berlin Customs Wall (German: Akzisemauer), erected in the 1730s, including the old fortified city and many of its then suburbs.
  The new gate was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II to represent peace. The Gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, the Court Superintendent of Buildings, and built between 1788 and 1791, replacing the earlier simple guard houses siding the original gate in the Customs Wall. The gate consists of 12 Doric columns, six to each side, forming five passageways. Citizens originally were allowed to use only the outermost two on each side. Atop the gate is a Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses. The new gate was originally named the Peace Gate (German: Friedenstor) and the goddess is Eirene, the goddess of peace.
  The gate's design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and is consistent with Berlin's history of architectural classicism (first, Baroque, and then neo-Palladian). The gate was the first "Athens on the River Spree" by architect Carl Gotthard von Langhans. The capital Quadriga was sculpted by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

19th and early 20th centuries
  The Brandenburg Gate has played different political roles in German history. After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon was the first to use the Brandenburg Gate for a triumphal procession, and took its Quadriga to Paris.
  After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the Prussian occupation of Paris by General Ernst von Pfuel, the Quadriga was restored to Berlin. It was now redesigned by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for the new role of the Brandenburg Gate as a Prussian triumphal arch; the goddess, now definitely Victoria, was equipped with the Prussian eagle and Iron Cross on her lance with a wreath of oak leaves.
  The Quadriga faces east, as it did when it was originally installed in 1793. Only the royal family was allowed to pass through the central archway, as well as members of the Pfuel family, from 1814 to 1919. The Kaiser granted this honour to the family in gratitude to Ernst von Pfuel, who had overseen the return of the Quadriga to the top of the gate. In addition, the central archway was also used by the coaches of ambassadors on the single occasion of their presenting their letters of credence to council.
  When the Nazis ascended to power, they used the gate as a party symbol. The gate survived World War II and was one of the damaged structures still standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945 (another being the Academy of Fine Arts). The gate was badly damaged with holes in the columns from bullets and nearby explosions. One horse’s head from the original quadriga survived, today kept in the collection of the Märkisches Museum.

Cold War
Following Germany's surrender and the end of the war, the governments of East Berlin and West Berlin restored it in a joint effort. The holes were patched, but were visible for many years following the war.
  Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate, located in East Berlin, until the Berlin Wall was built, 13 August 1961. Then one of the eight Berlin Wall crossings was opened on the eastern side of the gate, usually not open for East Berliners and East Germans, who from then on needed a hard-to-obtain exit visa. On 14 August, West Berliners gathered on the western side of the gate to demonstrate against the Berlin Wall, among them West Berlin's governing Mayor Willy Brandt, who had spontaneously returned from a federal election campaigning tour in West Germany earlier on the same day.
  Under the pretext that Western demonstrations required it, the East closed the checkpoint at the Brandenburg Gate the same day, 'until further notice', a situation that was to last until 22 December 1989. The wall was erected as an arc just west of the gate, cutting off access from West Berlin. On the eastern side, the "baby Wall", drawn across the eastern end of Pariser Platz rendered it off limits to East Berliners, as well. The section of wall in front of the gate was built shorter and wider to protect it from a potential Western invasion in the event of a war breaking out between the two superpowers.

  When the Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the wall was demolished, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989. On 22 December 1989, the Brandenburg Gate border crossing was reopened when Helmut Kohl, the West German chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German prime minister. Demolition of the rest of the wall around the area took place the following year.

German States Coins Prussia 3 Pfennig 1867

German States Coins Prussia 3 Pfennig 1867

Obverse: Lettering around top. Central design of crown above a square shield containing an eagle - facing left with wings outstretched and holding a sword and orb (Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia).
Lettering: 120 EINEN THALER.

Reverse: Lettering around top, value and date in middle. Mint letter at bottom below dividing line.
Lettering: SCHEIDE MÜNZE 3 PFENNINGE 1867 B.
Edge: Plain.

Country:     German states (Prussia).
Years:        1861-1873.
Face value: 3 Pfenninge (1/120).
Metal:         Copper.
Weight:       4.4 g.
Diameter:    24 mm.
Thickness:  1.1 mm.
Shape:        Round.
Mint:           B - Hannover (Prussia) 1866-1873.
References: KM# 482.

German States Coins Prussia 1 Silbergroschen 1868 Kaiser Wilhelm I

German States Coins Prussia 1 Silbergroschen 1868 Kaiser Wilhelm I

Obverse: Bust of Wilhelm I (22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888), Wilhelm I, King of Prussia (2 January 1861 – 9 March 1888); Wilhelm I, German Emperor (18 January 1871 – 9 March 1888).
Lettering: WILHELM KOENIG VON PREUSSEN.

Reverse: Denomination and date.
Lettering: 30 EINEN THALER 1 SILBER GROSCHEN 1868 A SCHEIDE MÜNZE.
Edge: Smooth.

Country:        German states Prussia.
Years:           1861-1873.
Face value:   1 Silbergroschen 1/30 Thaler.
Metal: Silver .222.
Weight:         2.19 g.
Diameter:     18.5 mm.
Thickness:   1.3 mm.
Shape:          Round.

Germany Frankfurt 5 Ducat Gold Coin 1658 Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

Germany Frankfurt 5 Ducat Gold Coin 1658 Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

Coronation 5 Ducat of Leopold I, ND (1658) Medallic Coin

Struck on the occasion of the imperial coronation in Frankfurt on Main

Obverse: Expressive portrait of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor facing right, with smooth collar and Order of The Golden Fleece.
Reverse: Outreached arms with swords above crowned globe, radiant eye of deity looking down from heaven above.

Engraver: Georg Franz Hoffmann (Breslau).
Weight: 17.38 gms.
Förschner-99; Fr-982a var.; Julius-71.

Germany 2 Deutsche Mark Coin 1951

Germany 2 Deutsche Mark Coin 1951 - J

Obverse: eagle - coat of arms centered; along the edge: • BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND • (Federal Republic of Germany); ring of pearls at the edge
Reverse: in the centre in three lines face value: 2 / DEUTSCHE / MARK (German Mark); to the left and right symmetric cereal ears and grapes; along the top edge: 1951; ring of pearls at the edge
Edge: plain with concave inscription: EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT (unity and justice and liberty), words separated by oak leaves

Issue date: 8 V 1951.
Withdrawal date: 1 VII 1958.
Designer: Josef Bernhardt.
Metal: Copper-nickel.
Weight: 7 g.
Diameter: 26.75 mm.
Thickness:  1.87 mm.
Shape: Round.
Mint: (relevant mint mark below the eagle in the obverse)
(D) Bayerisches Hauptmünzamt (The Bavarian Main Mint), Munich;
(F) Staatliche Münze Stuttgart (The State Mint Stuttgart), Stuttgart;
(G) Staatliche Münze Baden Württemberg (The State Mint Baden Württemberg), Karlsruhe;
(J) Hamburgische Münze (The Hamburg Mint), Hamburg

Mintage: D - 19564000, F - 22608000, G - 13012000, J - 20104000.

German Third Reich Coins 50 Reichspfennig 1941

German Third Reich Coins 50 Reichspfennig 1941 - E

Obverse: Eagle above swastika within wreath; Legend, "DEUTSCHES REICH", (date).
Reverse: Face value 50 at center, E between oak leaves below, "REICHSPFENNIG" above.

Edge: Plain
Metal: Aluminum
Weight 1.3 g
Diameter 22 mm
Thickness 1.55 mm
Mint: Muldenhutten
Mintage
Circulation: 3.806.000

German Coins 500 Mark 1923 Weimar Republic

German Coins 500 Mark 1923 G Weimar Republic

Obverse: Eagle looking left (Coat of Arms of the Weimar Republic); "EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT" around.
"Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ("Unity and Justice and Freedom") is considered the unofficial national motto of Germany.

Reverse: 500 MARK and (date) below at center; "DEUTSCHES REICH" above and (date)and mint mark between leaves below.

Diameter:   27.1 mm.
Weight:      1.67 gr.
Edge:         Reeded.
Metal:        Aluminum.
Mint:          G - Karlsruhe.
Circulation: 4.404.000.
Demonetized: 10-11-1924
Krause: 36-1923G.

German States Coins 2 Gulden Silver Coin 1849 Maximilian II, King of Bavaria

German States Coins 2 Gulden Silver Coin 1849 Maximilian II, King of Bavaria

2 Gulden or Florin Piece

Obverse: Bust of Maximilian II of Bavaria.
Legend: "MAXIMILIAN II KOENIG VON BAYERN.", C. VOIGT.
Engraved by Carl Friedrich Voigt

Reverse: Crowned shield, bearing the arms of Bavaria, supported by two crowned lions.
Legend: "ZWEI GULDEN." Date of the year of issue 1849.

Weight : 327.335 grains.
Composition: Silver.
Fineness: 0.900.
Weight: 21.2100 g.
ASW: 0.6137 oz.
Diameter: 36 mm.

King Maximilian II of Bavaria
Maximilian II (28 November 1811 – 10 March 1864) was king of Bavaria from 1848 until 1864. He was son of Ludwig I and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Crown Prince of Bavaria
After studying at Göttingen and Berlin and travelling in Germany, Italy and Greece, he was introduced by his father into the council of state (1836). From the first he showed a studious disposition, declaring on one occasion that had he not been born in a royal cradle his choice would have been to become a professor. As crown prince, in the chateau of Hohenschwangau near Füssen, which he had rebuilt with excellent taste, he gathered about him an intimate society of artists and men of learning and devoted his time to scientific and historical study.
King of Bavaria
When the abdication of Ludwig I (20 March 1848) called him suddenly to the throne, his choice of ministers promised a liberal regime.
  Although, however, from 1850 onwards his government tended in the direction of absolutism, he refused to become the instrument the clerical reaction, and even incurred the bitter criticism of the Ultramontanes by inviting a number of celebrated men of learning and science (e.g. Geibel, Liebig and Sybel) to Munich, regardless of their religious views.
  Maximilian II responded also to the demands of the people for a united German state, by attending the Frankfurt Assembly which intended to create such a state. The progress of the revolution, however, gave him pause. In 1849 an uprising in the Bavarian Palatinate was broken down with the support of Prussian forces. The king strenuously opposed the unionist plans of the Frankfurt Parliament, refused to recognize the imperial constitution devised by it, and assisted Austria in restoring the federal diet and in carrying out the federal execution in Hesse-Kassel, Holstein and Lauenburg. In the aftermath of the failure of the Frankfurt Assembly, Prussia and Austria continued to debate of which monarchy had the inherent right to rule Germany. The dispute between Austria and the Electoral Prince of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) was used by Austria and its allies (including Bavaria) to promote the isolation of Prussia in German political affairs. This diplomatic insult almost led to war when Austria, Bavaria and other allies moved troops through Bavaria towards Hesse-Kassel in 1850. However, the Prussian army backed down and accepted the principle of dual leadership. This event was known as the Punctation of Olmütz but also known as the "Humiliation of Olmütz" by Prussia. This event solidified the Bavarian kingdom's alliance with Austria against Prussia.
  In his German policy Maximilian was guided by the desire to maintain the union of the princes, and hoped to attain this as against the perilous rivalry of Austria and Prussia by the creation of a league of the "middle" and small states - the so-called Trias. In 1863, however, seeing what he thought to be a better way, he supported the project of reform proposed by Austria at the Frankfurt Fürstentag (de). Attempts by Prussia to reorganize the loose and un-led German Confederation, were opposed by Bavaria and Austria while taking part in its own discussions with Austria and other allies in 1863 in Frankfurt without Prussia and its allies attending. The failure of this proposal, and the attitude of Austria towards the Confederation and in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, disillusioned him; but before he could deal with the new situation created by the outbreak of the war with Denmark he died suddenly at Munich, on 10 March 1864. He is buried in the Theatinerkirche in Munich.
  Close to the people and home-loving, he also studied art and customs of the people to promote to set a Bavarian national feeling against the German unification efforts. He supported Bavarian costumes, folk music and customs. In the summers of 1849 and 1855, he travelled in his kingdom. From 24 June to 27 July 1858, he undertook a journey on foot through his country, which began in Lindau. However, because of frequent rain he had to repeatedly use the carried body.
  For his government's policy, repeatedly requesting advice of his ministers and the surrounding scholar was characteristic, whereby decisions were often delayed for long. In addition, Maxilmilian often was travelling in Italy and Greece, and work stayed behind for a long time.
Cultural legacy
Maximilian offered Paul Heyse and other writers from North Germany large stipends. Hans Christian Andersen visited "King Max" (as he called him) in his castle Starnberg, and wrote of him as a young, highly amiable man. The King, having read his novels and fairy tales, let Andersen know that he was deeply impressed by The Improvisatore, En Digters Bazar, The Little Mermaid and Paradisets Have. During the visit Andersen also read The Ugly Duckling. Later Andersen visited the King at the Hohenschwangau castle.
  Next to Hohenschwangau Castle also the Hambach Castle was reconstructed from 1844 for Crown Prince Maximilian by August von Voit. In 1849 King Maximilian II instructed the architect Eduard Riedel to redesign Berg Castle in neo-gothic style with several towers and a crenellate.
  Maximilian II was the principal of the Maximilianstrasse and the Bavarian National Museum in Munich. Compared to his father, Maximilian preferred a new architectural style with strong reference to the Gothic Revival architecture which would combine the best features of historical models combined with then modern building technology. The neo-gothic Royal Mansion in Regensburg was built for Maximilian 1854-1856, the Royal Mansion in Berchtesgaden and the Royal Villa on Rose Island already in 1853. The hiking path in Upper Bavaria called Maximiliansweg is named after him, as he made a longer hike in the Bavaria alps in the summer of 1858.
Private life and family
Maximilian was a man of amiable qualities and of intellectual attainments far above the average, but as a king he was hampered by constant ill health, which compelled him to be often abroad, and when at home to live much in the country. The relationship with his father, who also has persisted in his architectural projects after his abdiction, was mostly tense. By his wife, Marie Friederike Franziska Hedwig, daughter of Prince William of Prussia, whom he married in 1842, he had two sons, Ludwig II of Bavaria and Otto of Bavaria, both of whom became king, were declared insane, and deposed.

German States Gold Coins 20 Marks 1906 Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt

German States Gold Coins 20 Marks of Hesse-Darmstadt of 1906 Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt

Obverse: Head of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Legend: "ERNST LUDWIG GROSSHERZOG VON HESSEN."
Exergue : Mint-mark "A" of the mint located in Berlin.

Reverse: The German Imperial Eagle.
Legend: "DEUTSCHES REICH, 20 MARK" and the date of the year of issue.
Exergue: "20 MARK."

Weight: 122.880 grains.
Years: 1905-1911.
Value: 20 Mark.
Metal: Gold (.900).
Weight: 7.965 g.
Diameter: 22 mm.
Shape: Round.

Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse
Ernest Louis Charles Albert William (German: Ernst Ludwig Karl Albrecht Wilhelm; 25 November 1868 – 9 October 1937) was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1892 until 1918. His nickname was "Ernie".
  Ernest Louis was the fourth child and eldest son of Grand Duke Louis IV and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was an older brother to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (née Alix of Hesse), empress consort of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
  Ernest Louis's early life was shrouded with death. When he was five, his younger brother Friedrich died. The two boys had been playing a game when the younger boy fell through a window onto the balcony twenty feet below. At first, Friedrich seemed only shaken. However, Friedrich suffered from haemophilia, and had begun bleeding in the brain. He lapsed into unconsciousness that afternoon and died.
  Ernest Louis was inconsolable. "When I die, you must die too, and all the others. Why can't we all die together? I don't want to die alone, like Frittie," he was telling his nurse. To his mother he said, "I dreamt that I was dead and was gone up to Heaven, and there I asked God to let me have Frittie again and he came to me and took my hand." The younger child's grave became a place of regular pilgrimage for the family, with Ernest Louis becoming obsessed with thoughts of death and dying alone.
  In 1878, an epidemic of diphtheria swept through Darmstadt. All the children (except Princess Elisabeth who was sent to stay with their paternal grandmother Princess Elizabeth of Prussia) and their father fell ill.
  Princess Alice cared for her sick husband and children, but on 16 November, the youngest of them, Princess May, died. Alice kept the news from her family for several weeks, until Ernest Louis, who was devoted to little May, asked for his sister. When his mother revealed May's death, Ernest Louis was overcome with grief. In comforting her grieving son, Alice kissed him, and within a week, she fell ill and soon died, on 14 December. Her death affected Ernest Louis for the rest of his life.
Marriage
On 9 April 1894, Ernest Louis married his first cousin, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ("Ducky"), in Coburg, on the encouragement of, and in the presence of, their mutual grandmother, Queen Victoria, an event which was overshadowed by the engagement of Ernst's youngest surviving sister, Alix to the Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia. The marriage was not a happy one. They had two children:
 - a daughter, Elisabeth, born in 1895, who died of typhoid fever at age eight,
 - and a son, stillborn on 25 May 1900.
Queen Victoria was saddened when she heard of the trouble in the marriage from Sir George Buchanan, her chargé d'affaires, but because of their daughter, Elisabeth, she refused to consider permitting her grandchildren to divorce. Efforts to rekindle the marriage failed, and so when Queen Victoria died in January 1901 her significant opposition to the end of the marriage was removed. The couple had become estranged and were divorced 21 December 1901 on grounds of "invincible mutual antipathy" by a special verdict of the Supreme Court of Hesse.
  Ernest Louis remarried in Darmstadt, on 2 February 1905, to Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (17 September 1871 – 16 November 1937), with whom he had two sons:
 - Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1906–1937), who married Princess Cecilie of Greece, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and had issue.
 - Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine (1908–1968), who married the Hon. Margaret Geddes daughter of Lord Geddes (Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes); no issue. Louis adopted Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse as his heir, thereby uniting the two lines of the Hesse family.
Grand Duke of Hesse
In 1892, Ernest Louis succeeded his father as grand duke.
  Throughout his life, Ernest Louis was a patron of the arts, founding the Darmstadt Artists' Colony, and was himself an author of poems, plays, essays, and piano compositions.
  Ernest Louis commissioned the New Mausoleum in 1903. It was consecrated on 3 November 1910, in the presence of the Grand Duke and his immediate family, that is to say, his wife Eleonore, Tsar Nicholas II and his two sisters, the Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna (Ella), Victoria Princess Louis of Battenberg and her daughter, Louise, and Princess Heinrich of Prussia accompanied by her husband. The remains of Grand Duke Ludwig IV, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine along with their children 'Frittie' and 'May' were re-interred in the New Mausoleum.
First World War
During World War I, Ernest Louis served as an officer at Kaiser Wilhelm's headquarters. In July 1918, roughly sixteen months after the February Revolution, which forced his brother-in-law, Nicholas II from his throne, Ernst's two sisters in Russia, Elizabeth, who had become a nun following the assassination of her husband, Grand Duke Sergei, in 1905, and Alexandra, the former tsarina, were killed by the Bolsheviks. At the end of the war, he lost his throne during the revolution of 1918, after refusing to abdicate.
Death
In October 1937, Ernest Louis died after long illness at Schloß Wolfsgarten, near Darmstadt in Hesse. He received what amounted to a state funeral on 16 November 1937 and was buried next to his daughter, Elisabeth, in a new open air burial ground next to the New Mausoleum he had built in the Rosenhöhe park in Darmstadt.

German States Coins 5 Thaler Gold Coin 1828 George IV, King of Great Britain and Hanover

German States Coins Hannover 5 Thaler Gold Coin 1828 George IV, King of Great Britain and Hanover

5 Thalers or 5 Dollars of George IV of Hanover.

Obverse : Laureated Head of George IV, King of Great Britain and Hanover.
Legend: "GEORGIUS IV D. G. BRIT. &. HANOV. REX F. D. (George IV by the Grace of God King of Great Britain and Hanover; defender of the faith).

Reverse: In centre, "V THALER" and the date of the year of issue / 1828 / B. - Minted by Hannover.
Legend: "BRUNSVICENSIS & LUNEBURGENSIS DUX."

Significance The obverse of the coins states George IV is King of Britain and Hannover while the reverse notes he is Duke of Brunswick and Luneburg.

Weight: 103.118 grains.

Edge Description Milled
Composition: Gold.
Fineness: 0.903.
Weight: 6.68 g.
AGW: 0.1939 oz.

German Gold Coins Hamburg 20 Mark 1897

German Gold Coins Hamburg 20 Mark 1897 J

Obverse: Shield supported by two lions, upon it a city gate with three towers above it, surmounted by a helmet, behind which are seen flags, spears, etc.
Legend: "FREIE UND HANSESTADT HAMBURG" (Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg.)

Reverse: The Imperial Eagle of Germany.
Legend: "DEUTSCHES REICH" (German Empire).
Exergue: "20 MARK." Around the edge"GOTT MIT UNS " (God with us).

Weight: 122.880. Fineness: 900.
Years: 1893-1913.
Value: 20 Mark.
Metal: Gold (.900).
Weight: 7.965 g.
Diameter: 22.5 mm.
Shape: Round.

Germany Hamburg 5 Mark Silver Coin 1901

German States Coins 2 Vereinsthaler 1861 King Johann of Saxony

German States Coins 2 Vereinsthaler 1861 King Johann of Saxony

Obverse: Head of Johann of Saxony.
Legend: "JOHANN V. G. G. KOENIG V. SACHSEN."
Exergue: Letter "B," Mint-mark of Dresden.

Reverse: Two lions supporting crowned shield bearing the arms of Saxony, beneath a scroll with: "PROVIDENTIAE MEMOR." inscribed upon; the whole surrounded by a raised double circle, inside of which the Legend: "ZWEI VEREINS THALER" (a fancy arabesque), "XV EIN PFUND FEIN," and the date of the year of issue, as Exergue, between two stars.

Saxonian motto Providentiae Memor - "Providence Remember".

Weight: 571.568 grains. Fineness: 900.
Value:      2 Vereinsthaler = 1/15 Metric Pound.
Metal:      Silver (.900).
Weight:     37.037 g.
Diameter:    40 mm.
Shape:        Round.

Saxon vereinsthaler
The Vereinsthaler was the currency of Saxony between 1857 and 1873. It replaced the Thaler at par and was replaced by the Mark at a rate of 1 Vereinsthaler = 3 Mark. The Vereinsthaler was subdivided into 30 Neugroschen, each of 10 Pfennig.

Vereinsthaler
The Vereinsthaler ("union" thaler) was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification.
  The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the previous standard Thaler (based on the Prussian Thaler) which was very slightly heavier. While the earlier Thaler had contained one fourteenth of a Cologne mark of silver (16.704 grams), the Vereinsthaler contained 16⅔ grams of silver, which was indicated on the coins as one thirtieth of a metric pound (pfund, equal to 500 grams).
  The Vereinsthaler was used as the base for several different currencies. In Prussia and several other northern German states, the Vereinsthaler was the standard unit of account, divided into 30 Silbergroschen, each of 12 Pfennig. See Prussian Vereinsthaler.
  In Saxony, the Neugroschen was equal to the Prussian Silbergroschen but was divided into 10 Pfennig. See Saxon Vereinsthaler. Some other north German states, such as Hanover, used the name Groschen rather than Silbergroschen for a coin of 12 Pfennig (see Hanoverian Vereinsthaler), while the Mecklenburg states and Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) used entirely distinct subdivisions (see Mecklenburg Vereinsthaler and Hesse-Kassel Vereinsthaler.
  In southern Germany, states including Bavaria used the Gulden as the standard unit of account, with 1¾ Gulden = 1 Vereinsthaler. The Gulden was divided into 60 Kreuzer, each of 4 Pfennig or 8 Heller. See Bavarian Gulden, Baden Gulden, Württemberg Gulden.
  In the Austrian Empire (and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire), a different Gulden (also known as the Florin or, in Hungarian, Forint) was the unit of account, with 1½ Gulden = 1 Vereinsthaler. The Gulden was divided into 100 Kreuzer.
  German unification saw the introduction of the Goldmark at a rate of 3 mark = 1 Vereinsthaler. Consequently, the new 10 pfennig coins were equivalent to the old Groschen of northern Germany and this became a nickname for the denomination. The Vereinsthaler coins continued to circulate as 3 mark coins until 1908, when they were replaced with smaller 3 mark coins. The name Thaler for 3 marks persisted until the 1930s.
  Austria-Hungary stopped issuing Vereinsthaler coins in 1867, following the Austro-Prussian War.

John of Saxony
John (full name: Johann Nepomuk Maria Joseph Anton Xaver Vincenz Aloys Franz de Paula Stanislaus Bernhard Paul Felix Damasus) (German: Johann; 12 December 1801 – 29 October 1873) was a King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin.
  He was born in Dresden, the third son of Maximilian, Prince of Saxony — younger son of the Elector Frederick Christian of Saxony — by his first wife, Caroline of Bourbon, Princess of Parma.

  During most of his life, John stood little chance of inheriting the Saxon Crown: he was preceded by his father and two older brothers, Frederick Augustus and Clement. However, in 1822 Clement died unmarried in Italy, and John was now only preceded in the line of succession by his older brother Frederick Augustus.
  When his uncle Anton succeeded his older brother as king (1827), John became the third in line to the throne, and after his father Maximilian renounced his succession rights in 1830, John became in the second in line. John's older brother became King Frederick Augustus II in 1836; now he was the first in line of succession to the throne. The King, married twice, was childless. John remained as heir presumptive during all the reign of his brother.

King of Saxony
John became King of Saxony after the death of his brother Frederick Augustus II on 9 August 1854.
  The Judiciary Organization of 1855, the extension of the railroad network, the introduction of the freedom of trade are attributed mainly to his suggestion and promotion. Under his government, came the acceptance of the French Commercial Treaty (1862) and the acknowledgment of a contract with Italy. He exerted himself under influence of his minister Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust for the Great Germany Solution (de: Großdeutsche Lösung) of the imperial arrangement (under inclusion of Austria). In 1866 Saxony fought on the Austrian side in the Austro-Prussian War. Finally, after the defeat of the Battle of Königgrätz, Saxony joined the North German Confederation and in 1871 the German Empire under the hegemony of the Kingdom of Prussia. The King died two years later, aged seventy-one.
  Beyond his political work, Johann was busy with literature. Under the pseudonym Philalethes he translated to German the Dante's Divine Comedy; some parts of this work were placed in the Schloss Weesenstein. The Dresden district of Johannstadt was named after him.

German States Coins Prussia Thaler Silver Coin 1830 Friedrich Wilhelm III

German States Coins Prussia One Thaler or Dollar Silver Coin 1830 Friedrich Wilhelm III., König von Preußen

This Thaler was coined from 1823 to 1831.

Obverse: Bust of Frederick William III, King of Prussia., facing to the right.
Legend: "FRIEDR. WILHELM III. KOENIG VON PREUSSEN.", or in English, "Frederick William III, King of Prussia".
Exergue: Letter "A," Mint-mark of Berlin.

Reverse: Crowned shield, bearing arms of Prussia, encircled by a laurel wreath and the Collar of the Black Eagle.
Legend: "EIN THALER XIV EINE F. M." (One Thaler or Dollar, fourteen to weigh one Mark, fine silver).
Exergue: Date of the year of issue.

Weight: 343.72 grains. Fineness: 750.
Value:  1 Reichsthaler = 1/14 Cologne mark.
Metal:  Silver (.750).
Weight:  22.272 g.
Diameter:  35 mm.
Shape:  Round.

Frederick William III, King of Prussia
Frederick William III,  (born August 3, 1770, Potsdam, Prussia [Germany] — died June 7, 1840, Berlin), king of Prussia from 1797, the son of Frederick William II. Neglected by his father, he never mastered his resultant inferiority complex, but the influence of his wife, Louisa of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he married in 1793, occasionally moved him outside his essentially pedestrian character.
  His policy of neutrality in the Wars of the Second and Third Coalitions accelerated the decline of Prussia’s prestige. Domestic reforms before the Battle of Jena foreshadowed later reforms without, however, altering the absolutist structure of the state. Until 1807 he clung to the traditional cabinet government, influenced by mediocre personages. After the military collapse of 1806–1807 and the loss of all provinces west of the Elbe River, he finally realized that Prussia would have to make decisive changes. He therefore sanctioned the reforms proposed by Prussian statesmen such as Karl Stein and Karl von Hardenberg, but these amounted only to a reform of the higher bureaucracy, not of the royal prerogative. The king never lost his fear that reform might lead to “Jacobinism,” and he could not tolerate outstanding men as advisers. Through the War of Liberation (1813–15) he remained remote from his people’s ardour, being always subservient to the Russian emperor Alexander I and in harmony with the Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich. In the crisis of the Vienna Congress over the partition of Saxony, he sided with Alexander I, thus bringing Prussia to the brink of war against England, France, and Austria (January 1815). The final compromise allowed Prussia to acquire the Rhine province, Westphalia, and much of Saxony. In contrast to these territorial gains, the last 25 years of Frederick William’s reign show a downward trend of Prussia’s fortunes, to which his personal limitations largely contributed.

German States Coins Prussia Doppeltaler Double Thaler of 3 1/2 Gulden 1855 Convention money of Frederick William IV

German States Coins Prussia Doppeltaler - 2 Convention thaler - Double Thaler of 3 1/2 Gulden 1855 Convention money of Frederick William IV

Obverse: Head of Frederick William IV.
Legend: "FRIEDR. WILHELM IV. KOENIG VON PREUSSEN.", or in English, "Frederick William IV, King of Prussia"
Exergue: Letter "A," Mint-mark of Berlin.

Reverse: Shield bearing the arms of Prussia, surrounded by the Collar of the Black Eagle, upon a mantle of ermine, draped from a crown from above.
Legend: "2 THALER VII EINE F. MARK 3 1/2 GULDEN" (Two Thalers, seven to weigh one Mark of fine silver = 3 1/2 Gulden).
Exergue: "VEREINS," the date of the year of issue, "MÜNZE" (Convention money).

Edge Lettering: GOTT MIT UNS - (God with us) is a phrase commonly used on armour in the German military from the German Empire to the end of the Third Reich.

Years: 1853-1856.
Value: 3 1/2 Gulden = 2 Reichsthaler = 1/7 Cologne Mark.
Metal: Silver (.900).
Weight: 37.119 g.
Diameter: 40 mm.
Shape: Round.

Convention thaler - Conventionsthaler
  The Conventionsthaler was a standard silver coin of the Holy Roman Empire. It was introduced in 1754 and contained one tenth of a Cologne mark of silver or about 23.39 grams.
  The Conventionstaler was used as a standard in most of the Empire, with a variety of subdivisions being used, including the Reichsthaler, Austro-Hungarian Gulden, South German Gulden, Groschen, Pfennig and Heller. The Conventionstaler replaced as standard the Kronenthaler which contained one ninth of a mark.
  During the early 19th century, the Conventionstaler was superseded by a Thaler containing one fourteenth of a Cologne mark of silver, based on the Prussian Thaler.
The fineness of the Convention thaler was specified by the Austro-German Monetary Convention of January 1857. Thirty Convention thalers were struck from 500 g refined silver; these counted as 30 thalers in North Germany and as 45 guilders in Austria.

Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia
Frederick William IV (German: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the throne", he is best remembered for the many buildings he had constructed in Berlin and Potsdam, as well as for the completion of the Gothic Cologne cathedral. In politics, he was a conservative, and in 1849 rejected the title of Emperor of the Germans offered by the Frankfurt Parliament as not the Parliament's to give. In 1857, he suffered a stroke, and was left incapacitated, until his death.

  Frederick William was educated by private tutors, many of whom were experienced civil servants, such as Friedrich Ancillon. He also gained military experience by serving in the Prussian Army during the War of Liberation against Napoleon in 1814, although he was an indifferent soldier. He was a draftsman interested in both architecture and landscape gardening and was a patron of several great German artists, including the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the composer Felix Mendelssohn. In 1823 he married Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria. Since she was a Roman Catholic, the preparations for this marriage included difficult negotiations which ended with her conversion to Lutheranism. There were two wedding ceremonies — one in Munich, and another in Berlin. Although it was a very harmonious marriage, the couple had no children.
  Frederick William was a staunch Romanticist, and his devotion to this movement, which in the German States featured a nostalgia for the Middle Ages, was largely responsible for his developing into a conservative at an early age. In 1815, when he was only twenty, the crown prince exerted his influence to structure the proposed new constitution of 1815, which was never actually enacted, in such a way that the landed aristocracy would hold the greatest power. He was firmly against the liberalization of Germany and only aspired to unify its many states within what he viewed as a historically legitimate framework, inspired by the ancient laws and customs of the recently dissolved Holy Roman Empire. As such, Frederick William opposed the idea of a unified German state, believing that Austria was divinely ordained to rule over Germany and contenting himself with the title of "Grand General of the Realm".

  Frederick William became King of Prussia on the death of his father in 1840. Through a personal union, he also became the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel (1840–1857), today part of Switzerland. In 1842, he gave his father's menagerie at Pfaueninsel to the new Berlin Zoo, which opened its gates in 1844 as the first of its kind in Germany. Other projects during his reign—often involving his close collaboration with the architects — included the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) and the Neues Museum in Berlin, the Orangerieschloss at Potsdam as well as the reconstruction of Schloss Stolzenfels on the Rhine (Prussian since 1815) and Burg Hohenzollern, in the ancestral homelands of the dynasty which became part of Prussia in 1850.
  Although a staunch conservative, Frederick William did not seek to be a despot, and so he toned down the reactionary policies pursued by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to create an elected legislative assembly, preferring to work with the nobility through "united committees" of the provincial estates. Despite being a devout Lutheran, his Romantic leanings led him to settle the Cologne church conflict by releasing the imprisoned Clemens August von Droste-Vischering, the Archbishop of Cologne. He also patronized further construction of Cologne Cathedral, Cologne having become part of Prussia in 1815. In 1844, he attended the celebrations marking the completion of the cathedral, becoming the first king of Prussia to enter a Roman Catholic building. When he finally called a national assembly in 1847, it was not a representative body, but rather a United Diet comprising all the provincial estates, which had the right to levy taxes and take out loans, but no right to meet at regular intervals.
  When revolution broke out in Prussia in March 1848, part of the larger series of Revolutions of 1848, the king initially moved to repress it with the army, but on 19 March he decided to recall the troops and place himself at the head of the movement. He committed himself to German unification, formed a liberal government, convened a national assembly, and ordered that a constitution be drawn up. Once his position was more secure again, however, he quickly had the army reoccupy Berlin and in December dissolved the assembly. He did, however, remain dedicated to unification for a time, leading the Frankfurt Parliament to offer him the crown of Germany on 3 April 1849, which he refused, purportedly saying that he would not accept "a crown from the gutter". The King's refusal was rooted in his Romantic aspiration to re-establish the medieval Holy Roman Empire, comprising smaller, semi-sovereign monarchies under the limited authority of a Habsburg emperor. Therefore, Frederick William would only accept the imperial crown after being elected by the German princes, as per the former empire's ancient customs. He expressed this sentiment in a letter to his sister the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, in which he said the Frankfurt Parliament had overlooked that "in order to give, you would first of all have to be in possession of something that can be given." In the king's eyes, only a reconstituted College of Electors could possess such authority. With the failed attempt by the Frankfurt Parliament to include the Habsburgs into a newly unified German Empire, the Parliament turned to Prussia. Seeing Austrian ambivalence towards Prussia taking a more powerful role in German affairs, Frederick William began considering a Prussian-led union. All German states, excluding those of the Habsburgs, would be unified under Hohenzollern authority, and these two polities would be linked in an overarching political framework. Frederick William, therefore, did attempt to establish the Erfurt Union, a union of the German states except for Austria, but abandoned the idea by the Punctation of Olmütz on 29 November 1850, in the face of renewed Austrian and Russian resistance. The German Confederation remained the common government of German Europe.
  Rather than returning to bureaucratic rule after dismissing the Prussian National Assembly, Frederick William promulgated a new constitution that created a Parliament of Prussia with two chambers, an aristocratic upper house and an elected lower house. The lower house was elected by all taxpayers, but in a three-tiered system based on the amount of taxes paid, so that true universal suffrage was denied. The constitution also reserved to the king the power of appointing all ministers, reestablished the conservative district assemblies and provincial diets, and guaranteed that the civil service and the military remained firmly in the hands of the king. This was a more liberal system than had existed in Prussia before 1848, but it was still a conservative system of government in which the monarch, the aristocracy, and the military retained most of the power. This constitution remained in effect until the dissolution of the Prussian kingdom in 1918.
  Following the revolutions of 1848, the increasingly gloomy king withdrew from the public eye, surrounding himself with advisers who preached absolute orthodoxy and conservatism in religious and political matters. A stroke in 1857 left the king partially paralyzed and largely mentally incapacitated, and his brother (and heir-presumptive) William served as regent from 1858 until the king's death in 1861, at which point the regent acceded to the throne himself as William I of Prussia.
  Frederick William IV is buried with his wife in the crypt underneath the Church of Peace in the park of Sanssouci, at Potsdam.