German New Guinea, 1894, "Bird of Paradise" 5 Mark, ex Blackburn

I just posted this coin on another thread, and then decided that it really deserves its own.

In 1894 Germany, a recently united country under Bismark, issued a coin for one of her overseas possessions, German New Guinea. Germany's overseas holdings were quite small, compared to other European powers, including Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

However, the 5 mark coin produced for New Guinea was remarkable for its artistry and execution. Only 23,000 of these coins were produced, along with some minor denominations in silver (1/2, 1, and 2 marks), as well as in copper.

This example was purchased from Backburn & Blackburn, Carmel-by-the-Sea, in the early 1980s. I still have the original envelope.

Germany, 1894
New Guinea
5 Mark
Berlin
KM 7
Issued for the New Guinea Company
27.8 grams
Nicely toned EF



What other 19th-20th century colonial coins are out there? Please post.

Thanks

 

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Hi JoJo,
I always thought this coin's bird design 'delicious'!
Excellent use of silver,
J.T.

And indeed copper

 

And copper!

 

Very awesome!!! This is high on my wish list, very pricey however

 

Alas, this is destined to be an eternal hole in my Dansco German Colonies album. Jealous!

 

I have two

 

Love it, one of the must-have coins I had in my list when I was collecting crowns.

 

Yes, and copper.

 

Fabulous coins.

 

Great coin, robinjojo.

Blackburn & Blackburn were my favorite mail-order dealer back in the '80s. I used to buy loads of cheap-o crowns off of him - it brings back memories of the pre-Internet telephone scramble to reserve stuff from a mail order list. Hal Blackburn usually answered the phone, and was always such a nice guy, even though I was making small purchases. He always wrote a little personal note on the paperwork.

I remember back then China "Fat Man" dollars were selling around melt - Hal always had a lot of them. I wish I'd bought more, given what they go for now!

Anyway, here is a colonial issue for Mozambique - a Portuguese crowned PM on a Maria Theresa Thaler.



Just outside the 19th century timeframe, here is a tallero for Eritrea issued by Italy, in a failed effort to replace the Maria Theresa thaler (I got this cheap on eBay - because of the severe mount-mark on top):



Finally, a tad before the 19th century, my first Spanish colonial 8 reales, bought in 1987 from Blackburn & Blackburn, a 1799 issue for Bolivia (Potosi):



Thanks for bringing back those Blackburn memories...

 

Oh, that album... is one of the ones I'm still looking for...

 

Btw, awesome coin!

 

I have a couple colonial coins. First up is a 1919KN British West Africa 1 Penny Coin. It's a CuNi coin and 31mm. The Heaton mint also struck coins this year for the colony, but the King's Norton version is much rarer.

Second up is a ten cent coin from Dutch Suriname. In essentially all aspects, the coin is the same as the one that circulated in the Netherlands with one crucial difference, the privy mark to the left of the bow on the reverse. Home country 10 cent coins have a grape cluster. Ones minted for the colony have a palm tree privy. This coin arbitrarily served as the model for the size of the hole in the center of a CD.

 

Nice coins!

That's a bygone era, the time of price lists and phoning to reserve coins. Some of the price lists, such as Charlie Wyatt's, were nicely formatted, with many photos of the more important and expensive coins. I still have some and I wish I kept more of them - they are good references.

I used to drive to Hal Blackburn's shop on weekends, leaving San Jose early in the morning and spending a good part of the day at his shop and walking around Carmel. Peggy, his wife was usually there, as well as Dean, his son and another guy named Jim, but I forgot his last name.

His selection of coins was incredible. I remember going through coffee cans of cap and ray 8 reales, buying them near melt, and yes, there were Fat Man dollars coming out the walls just about. They were re-struck in the late 40's, so they were extremely common. It is truly amazing seeing the prices that many command today, just jaw dropping.

 

Lucky! I didn't even know he had a bricks-n-mortar store! It's just as well I was living far away in Ohio - I probably would've bankrupted myself with a coffee can full of cap-and-ray 8 reales!

I never met Hal B. in person, but chatted on the phone from time to time - his wife too, I seem to recall. It was a shock when he died so young - cancer I believe.

 

I've been building a collection of diverse pre-20th century world crowns and now I have this one to add, thanks to @robinjojo's post (and a fortuitously recent appearance in a Heritage Auction -- ex Maurice Storck Collection).

 

That's a beautiful coin and great acquisition.

Congratulations!

 

Here are a couple of other German colonials. German East Africa rupies 1890 and 1910. I love the Kaiser's helmet!

 

... and here's a 1 Pesa piece from 1892.

 

Here's 10 centimes Colonies Francaises (=French West Indies) 1825.