Staying, for now, within the numismatic realm of the German Empire (1871-1918), alphabetically our research brings us to the German State of Lippe-Detmold whose minor circulating coinage was struck by the Berlin Mint (mint mark A). Remember, when the German Empire was formed on April 14, 1871, 38 so-called German States were still in existance and had the right to authorize the striking of gold and silver coinage in denominations above 1 Mark. Mind you, though, before the German Empire was formed under the creative ingenuity of Otto Von Bismarck and William I (King of Prussia) became the German Emperor, there were 1,800 individual German States (some with populations as low as 300). Before we tackle the authorized coins of Lippe-Detmold, let me direct your attention back to that earlier reference to Otto Von Bismarck: At a place once known as Missouri Crossing in Dakota Territory, a city was founded in 1872 and given the name Edwinton, in honor of Edwin Ferry Johnson (1803-1872), a distinguished civil engineer who was engineer-in-chief for the Northern Pacific Railway from June 1866 to November 1870. In 1873 the Northern Pacific Railway changed the city's name to Bismarck, after the German chancelor Otto Von Bismarck, in an effort to attract German investment. The city became the Capitol City of North Dakota. Before we look at the authorized Silver 2 and 3 Mark coins struck by the Berlin Mint for Lippe-Detmold during the German Empire's existance (1871-1918) let's take a look at some previously struck coins such as these five silver One and Two Mariengroschen to get an idea of what the previous coinage looked like (photos courtesy of Coin Archives): LIPPE-DETMOLD PRE GERMAN EMPIRE COINS And here are two One-Third Talers from pre German Empire Lippe-Detmold (Coin Archives photos): LIPPE-DETMOLD PRE GERMAN EMPIRE COINS: Now it's time for you to see the two silver denominations authorized by Leopold IV in the days of the German Empire (Coin Archives Photos): The first is this 28mm silver (0.3215 ounce ASW) 2 (Zwei) Mark (20,000 business strike and 1,100 proofs): LIPPE-DETMOLD 1906-A 2 MARK The second is this 33mm silver (0.4823 ounce ASW) 3 (DREI) Mark (15,000 circulation and 150 proofs): LIPPE-DETMOLD 1913-A 3 MARK No gold coins were authorized. Thought you might like you know... Clinker
Good stuff, thanks Clinker! Im slowly starting to get into german coins when I get skim over world coins during my net travels.
Good to hear from you mat... Took the time to look at your ancients collection. Liked the way you set up the thumnails leading to the enlargements. Good job! May all your collections grow during 2011 and beyond... Clinker
In this case it does make sense to refer to that principality as "Lippe-Detmold"; in the German Empire there was another one which was officially called Schaumburg-Lippe. Guess you'll come to that later ... Today, in the Federal Republic, Lippe is a county in the state of North Rhine Westphalia (NW) while Schaumburg-Lippe is a county in neighboring Lower Saxony. As for the German Empire being "formed under the creative ingenuity of Otto Von Bismarck", weeell, I'll try to not get deep into politics here but others may see that differently. Bismarck's aim was to unite many German countries in an empire that was to be dominated by Prussia. So it was important for him to keep Austria out, for example. Germany was united "his way" as a result of the 1870/71 war against France, and Prussia did become the most influential state, until it was dissolved shortly after the end of WW2 in 1945. In case anybody wonders why the inscription says "Fürst zur Lippe" (usually one would expect "Fürst von Lippe"), the Lippe is a river in NW but not exactly close to the main territory of Lippe. However, the "House" of Lippe originally came from near that river. So the title means something like "Prince at/on the Lippe" instead of "Prince of Lippe" ... Christian
one of my main areas is the coins of the german states and i have built up a quite substatial collection, the best is that they tend to be very affordable as well.
Hi moneyer12... Good to hear from you. Maybe, you can post some photos of your "German States" collection in the near future. Clinker
