As you know, over the past several weeks, these trivia posts covered the coinage authorized by some of the 38 German States still in existence during the sovereignty of the German Empire. You know that period of the German Empire began in 1871 and ended in 1918 after World War I. You, also, know the regular circulation coinage for minor denominations from pfennig through 1 Mark was issued by the German Empire Mints. You know all of the 38 German States had permission to authorize the mintage of silver and gold coins of 2 Mark or more. Most of these silver denominations are Zwei (2) Mark, Drei (3) Mark and Funf (5) Mark,while gold denominations are 10 Mark and 20 Mark. You, also, know that we started visiting each of these German States in alphabetical order beginning with "A" for Anhalt-Dessau. Today's post reaches "R" for Reuss. Before we get into the coinage of the Reuss family line there are some things you should know. The Reuss Family lands, located inside Thuringia, were established in 1035. By the end of the 12 Century (1199) the Reuss Family had established the custom of naming all males in the ruling house Heinrich. You may have known that fact, from your prior knowledge of pre Germany history, but you may not know there were two factions within the Reuss family; the Elder (or Ober) line and the Younger (or Unter) line. For your knowledge, the Elder line modified the naming of male heirs Heinrich late in the 17th century from I (1) to C (100), then start over with I (1) again. The Younger line decided to start the numbering of Heinrichs with the first male heir born in each century. To complicate numismatic history further, the Greiz lines were founded in 1535 and its ruling lines' territories had become divided into Reuss-Obergreiz and Reuss-Untergreiz and remained so until 1768. In 1778 the ruler was made a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Upon the extinction (no male heir) of Ruess-Untergreiz in 1768 its territories passed to Reuss-Obergreiz which continued into the 20th Century until the end of WW I in 1918. This post will attempt to acquaint you with the coinage of all the Reuss lines authorizing the production of coins during German Empire years of 1871 through 1918. Mind you, Reuss-Obergreiz was ruled by Prince Heinrich XXII (22) from 1859 until his death in 1902. The heir, next in line, inheriting the title of Prince, was Heinrich XXIV (24) until he was ousted in 1918 by the end of WW I From the Reuss-Obergreiz lineage I present this gold 20 Mark 1875-B (Munich mint mark). Coin Archives photo: REUSS-OBERGREIZ 1875-B GOLD 20 MARK - From the Reuss-Jungere lineage I present this silver 1884-A (Berlin mint mark) Zwei (2) Mark authorized under the leadership of Prince Heinrich IV (Coin Archives photo): REUSS-JUNGERE SILVER 1884-A 2 MARK - PRINCE HEINRICH IV From the Reuss-Obergreiz Principality I present this 1901-A silver Zwei (2) Mark issued under the leadership of Prince Heinrich XXII (Coin Archives photo): REUSS-OBERGREIZ 1901-A SILVER 2 MARK - PRINCE HEINRICH XXII From the Reuss-Obergreiz Principality I present this 1909-A silver Drei (3) Mark issued under the leadership of Prince Heinrich XXIV (Coin Archives photo): REUSS-OBERGREIZ 1909-A SILVER 3 MARK - PRINCE HEINRICH XX1V From the Reuss-Schleiz Principality I present this 1882-A gold 10 Mark issued under the leadership of Prince Heinrich XIV (Coin Archives photo): REUSS-SCHLEIZ 1882-A GOLD 10 MARK - PRINCE HENRICH XIV And here's a photo of the Reuss-Schleiz 1881-A gold 20 Mark issued under the leadership of Prince Heinrich XIV (Coin Archives photo): REUSS-SCHLEIZ 1881-A GOLD 20 MARK - PRINCE HENRICH XIV Here's another Reuss-Obergreiz presentatiuon. It's a 1909-A silver Drie (3) Mark authorized under the leadership of Prince Heinrich XXIV (Coin Archives photo): REUSS-OBERGREIZ 1909-A SILVER 3 MARK - PRINCE HEINRICH XXIV Here's a bonus. When eyeballing the following Coin Archives Photos, notice Prince Heinrich XXII's beard's growth over the years. We start with this 1892-A silver Zwei (2) Mark: REUSS-OBEGREIZ 1892-A SILVER 2 MARK - PRINCE HENRICH XXII Check out this Reuss-Obergreiz 1899-A Silver Zwei (2) Mark: REUSS-OBERGREIZ 1899-A SILVER 2 MARK - PRINCE HENRICH XXII WOW!! See how the beard grew on this Reuss-Obergreiz 1901-A silver Zwei (2) Mark: REUSS-OBERGREIZ 1901-A SILVER 2 MARK - PRINCE HEINRICH XXII Here's another bonus presentation on the reverse change during 1884 to the silver Zwei (2) Mark coins authorized by Reuss-Jungere under the leadership of Prince Heinrich IV (Coin Archives photo): Early reverse Reuss-Jungere 1884-A Zwei (2) Mark - Prince Henrich XIV: EARLY REVERSE REUSS-JUNGERE SILVER 2 MARK - PRINCE HEINRICH XIV Late reverse Reuss-Jungere 1884-A Zwei (2) Mark - Prince Heinrich XVI: LATE REVERSE REUISS-JUNGERE 1884-A SILVER 2 MARK - PRINCE HEINRICH XIV Hope you enjoyed this post... Clinker
Some of these coins from the "two Reußes" are very rare and expensive. Let me just add that on the first coin (B was Hannover's mintmark by the way) you see "V.G.G.". That is short for "von Gottes Gnaden" (by the Grace of God). And "ÄLT.L." means "Ältere Linie" (Elder Line) while "J.L." is "Jüngere Linie" (Younger Line). The last two images show the same coin. Well, not the same piece of course, but the same type. That is the only 20M coin that Reuß ä.L. issued. By the way, in the Prussian-Austrian war (1866), Reuß j.L. was on Prussia's side while Reuß ä.L. was on Austria's side. But there was not much fighting in the two countries ... probably because they were small and not all that decisive. And yes, that beard is impressive, hehe. Christian
Thank you, my good friend for letting us know what those letters and words mean and stand for... Clinker
Hi, Mat... Thank you. Everytime I find something to write about, I always learn something new, as I did on this article... Clinker
