Today is German Unity Day, post a German coin

German Unity Day or Tag der Deutschen Einheit, is celebrated on 3 October and a public holiday here in Germany. It commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990 when the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) were unified.

Here is a 20 Euro Cent coin depicting the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, with the Berlin mintmark "A".



Throughout its existence, the Brandenburg Gate was often a site for major historical events and is today considered not only as a symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany, but also of European unity and peace.
When the Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the wall was demolished, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989.

The Berlin Mint
After the end of the Second World War the mint ended in the Soviet sector of Berlin (East Berlin), and with the currency reform in 1948, new coins were ordered to be made of aluminum.
In 1952, the mint started to issue new German Democratic Republic (GDR) coins.
With the closure of the Muldenhütten mint in 1953, Berlin was the only mint in the GDR.

The last GDR coins were minted in 1990. Due to the monetary, economic and social union of the GDR and the Federal Republic, the then named VEB Münze der DDR was appointed in May 1990 to produce Deutsche Mark (DM) coins. The first DM coins were minted on June 16th 1990, and the VEB Münze der DDR became the Staatliche Münze Berlin. Today, they account for 20% of the German coins minted.

 

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1948 and 1952 1 Pfennig coins from the GDR, minted in Berlin

 

A 3 mark silver coin from 1913, commemorating te centennial of the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon:

 

Type Non-circulating coin
Year 1987
Value 10 Deutsche Mark (10 DEM)
Currency Deutsche Mark (1948-2001)
Composition Silver (.625)
Weight 15.5 g
Diameter 32.5 mm
Thickness 2.25 mm
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment ↑↑
Demonetized 12-31-2001
References KM# 167, J# 442, Schön# 166

 

I love German coins. Especially the silver 5 and 10 Mark coins. I like all the different eagle designs. Here are three of my favorites:

1974F 5 Mark - 25th Anniversary of the German Constitution


1978F 5 Mark - 225th Anniversary - Death of Balthasar Neumann


1994A 5 Mark - 50th anniversary of German Resistance - 20 July 1944

 

Germany 5 Deutsche Mark 1951 (KM# 112.1) - Silver .625
Minted in Hamburg (J)

 

Thirty years -- wow. I wasn't even 30 when the Wall fell, but it still feels vaguely surprising to think of it.

I remember Dennis Miller's take on the the event: "German reunification: I view this in much the same way I view a possible Dean Martin - Jerry Lewis reconciliation: I never really enjoyed their work, and I'm not sure I need to see any of their new stuff."

Wasn't the first time he was wrong, and certainly wasn't the last.

 

1763, Saxony full Thaler.
4 x 5 Mark commemoratives, 3 different eagles

 

German States/Baden






and other coins...

 

To me nothing says German Unity better than this medal design of 1871. The medal exists in bronze and silver and I would expect in gold. The obverse depicts all the rulers of the German States in 1871 when they declared the German Empire (Second Reich).

 

1966 Federal



1966 Democratic

 

Excellent! What an amazing display of German coinage.

Here are a couple DDR Muldenhütten mint marked coins - with 'E'.




Here are some Weimar Republic Muldenhütten issues.





I'll end my exhibition with a BRD commemorative marking the centennial of German unification.



I could go on and on with just the fabulous variety of eagles shown just on the BRD issues. Lovely!
David

 

The coin pictured below is my oldest German coin. It was struck by an unidentified Germanic tribe of Foederati (mercenaries) on behalf of the Roman emperor Zeno. Many Germanic tribes were pushed westward from their homeland by invading Huns, & fought against them with the Roman army for promises of land west of the Rhine River. This coin is very rare.

 

I think this Roman denarius struck under Emperor Hadrian and depicting GERMANIA on the reverse is a suitable way to commemorate German Reunification.

The first German Reunification in fact occurred Two Thousand years ago, when Arminius succeeded in uniting the Germanic tribes to face the Roman legions.

The personification of Germania on this denarius bears witness to the fact that the Roman Empire viewed thereafter Germania as a united people living in a united territory.