One of my co-workers ask me for help with this. It appears to be some type of medal. Her grandfather brought it home from Germany. He was in WWI. Based on the color and blackness of toning, my guess it is silver. The weight is 27.57g. and diameter is 39mm. Not magnetic. Translation would also be appreciated. Thanks
It may have something to do with elections in Wiemar Gerrmany on May, 11, 1924. Here is an interesting linc of the day. Perhaps Chris will translate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotfrontkämpferbund
Don't think there were any elections in Weimar on that day, but that medal is not from there anyway. The piece is from Cologne. It commemorates the first trade show at the (then new) expo halls. On one side you see a boat on the Rhine river, with the church of Groß St. Martin (left) and the Cologne cathedral (right) in the background. At the bottom, three crowns, referring to the Three Magi. The inscription "Köllen eyn Kroyn boven allen Steden schoyn" goes back to the Middle Ages: "Cologne, a crown, beautiful above all cities" or so. (In medieval times, Cologne was the biggest city in what could be considered Germany. Today it is the biggest city in this state, and the fourth largest in Germany.) On the other side you have the original logo of the expo company, a stylized cathedral (well, the two towers) above the Rhine (well, a wave). The text "Zur Erinnerung an die erste Kölner Messe / 11.-17. Mai 1924" means "In memory of the first Köln/Cologne Expo" and the dates. Christian
Thanks. She also gave me about 200 notes from Germany, Austria, France, and Italy. Most of the notes are German. A lot of notgelds. There is not a lot of duplication so it seems her grandfather had more of a disorganized collection than an accumulation. I am way over my head on the notes. I will have to find a publication on the notgelds or find a good reference source on the net. Some of the research I did last night show some of the notes as having some real value. Her father just passed away and her mother is in a financial bind. I need some advice on how to help her maximize the sale of the notes. I know very little about that area. I have scanned the notes to PDF. If anyone out there is a collector of these, sent me a pm and I will send you the file. These notes are from the early 1900s. Most between 1909 and 1945. I am afraid to send her to a dealer and get ripped off. Is there some way to post this to the paper money forum?
:yes:Thanks Chris for the translation. I like notgeld, its good stuff. Hope you post some of the notes.
I moved the note post to the paper money forum. I just posted some of the notes. Might do some more if it will help this girl and her mother.
