Hey folks, Looking for some information about the grade and value of these two Deutsche Marks. They are the key dates/mm for the series and have lofty catalog values. But the street value seems much lower. Any input on value or grade would be appreciated!
I grade them SS+ (VF++) and worth about 10-25 euros (in Germany). The '55 G is a little scarce than the '54 G. As you mention, they do have high catalog values but only in top, uncirculated condition.
Is SS+ short for Sehr Schon? It's been a while (28 years) since I took German but I might still remember a thing or two.
Yes, ss is the short for sehr schoen. (An ss in Germany is about VF/EF in the USA, normally). Those are nice coins, and scarce in the series. It was fun, and a challenge picking them out of circulation in the 80's and 90's. The '67 J is another scarce one if I remember correctly.
I am in general agreement with Eduard on the grading of the coins, with the exception that the 1955 G grades no higher than VF in my opinion. That being said, I am generally considered a conservative grader among my peers. As for the value, Frank S. Robinson (a dealer) has both coins listed in his World Coin List 130: A 1954 G in VF for $4.95 (Krause lists as $25). A 1955 G PCGS AU 50 for which Frank grades XF (with some luster) is listed for $88.00. Another raw VF $5.95. There is a huge bump in price between VF and EF grades. I referred to Frank because I have bought a huge number of US, world and ancient coins from him over the past 15 or so years, and find his grading essentially in line with mine. His pricing is extremely competitive, which might account for some disparity between Eduard’s and my estimates of value. I find a very large number of German and other European coins in the LCS junk boxes, many of which are in XF or better condition, including the above dates. Apparently, many were brought back by tourists and military (Fort Knox is near), thereby reducing circulation of those coins.
Keep in mind, by the way, that many of these 1 DM (and other) coins were turned in when they ceased to be legal tender. There are still plenty of them around somewhere - about 23 billion DM coins worth about €3.4bn have not been redeemed so far. But as for those that were turned in (and then destroyed), we do not know the statistics per denomination, and certainly not per year and mintmark. Christian
That is my experience as well. As a matter of fact, over the years I have found some very interesting German State coinage in the U.S, in Ebay, regular auctions (and some) in coin shops, at very good prices vs. what I would expect to pay in Germany.