I am trying to find information about German proof and pattern coins from 1933-1948. The only source I have is the Krause world coins and for proofs they only list general values for "common date proofs." What does that even mean? Were proofs made at every mint in every year or was it only at one mint like in here in the US? Also, does anyone have a listing of proof mintages? I know nothing about patterns from this era...so any information would be greatly appreciated.
German Reich "proof" or "prooflike" coins were only made from time to time. The catalogs I have - Jaeger, Schön - list the 10 Rpf 1925E (that type was made until 1936, but '25 is the only year with proof pieces according to Schön), 1927E and 1928E for the nickel 50 Rpf, and 1935A for the Hindenburg 5 RM. There may be more, don't know ... Christian
That seems strange based on what Krause shows. It's seems like a lot of proofs were minted between 1933-1948. It shows a proof issue for each of the 1933 2 and 5 Mark coins with Martin Luther from each mint (A, D, E, F, G, J). It also lists one for the 1934-F 2 and 5 Mark coins with Shiller (the only mint that made it that coin). It also lists proofs for each mint for the 1934 2 Mark with the Potsdam Garrison Church for each mint as well as listing a "1934 Proof" for the 5 mark with date. Proofs for each mint (A, D, E, F, G, J) are also listed for the 1935 50pf Aluminum design. Now, I know that these are considered commemorative coins...but I find it odd that they were so interested in proofs yet it seems like the information is so limited. Here is what Krause lists for proofs with the other coins: 1936-1940 "Common Date Proofs" 1pf Bronze 1940-1945 "Common Date Proofs" 1pf Zinc 1936-1940 "Common Date Proofs" 2pf Bronze 1936-1939 "Common Date Proofs" 5pf Aluminum-Bronze 1940-1944 "Common Date Proofs" 5pf Zinc 1936-1939 "Common Date Proofs" 10pf Aluminum-Bronze 1940-1945 "Common Date Proofs" 10pf Zinc 1938-1939 "Common Date Proofs" 50pf Nickel 1940-1944 "Common Date Proofs" 50pf Aluminum 1933-1939 "Common Date Proofs" 1 Mark 1936-1939 "Common Date Proofs" 2 Mark 1934-1935 "Common Date Proofs" 5 Mark with Church no Date 1935-1936 "Common Date Proofs" 5 Mark 1936-1939 "Common Date Proofs" 5 Mark I didn't list the Weimar designs I an considering part of this set or the occupation or military coinage...but they basically show the same thing. It almost seems like each mint was making proofs...but that seems like a ton of proofs...especially for a nation that plunged into war. There has to be actual information somewhere as mintage information is readily available for business strikes.
May well be so, except I cannot help you with that, sorry. I know that, before the Federal Republic was founded, proof coins were made from time to time, especially but not only when it comes to commemorative pieces. The list from the Schön and Jaeger catalogs is not actually complete, partly because they do not list all proof pieces, partly because I just went through the catalog briefly. And even in cases where we know the number of proof pieces made, we do not know how many are still around ... Hope you find some more useful info! Christian
Wow that's tough, I haven't been able to find any info, sorry. My only other guess is to contact someone who specifically deals in them. Coins of the Nazi German Third Reich Nazi Coins Maybe someone on those 2 sites can help. Good luck.
One book that has been suggested to me is a reference book by Kurt Jaeger. However, all the copies I have seen for sale online are in German. Does anyone know if an English translated version is available?
The Jaeger is actually a catalog, with a new version every couple of years. (The current edition is the 20th ed. 2007.) Covers the German Reich, the Federal Republic, and also issues from Saarland, the GDR, Danzig, etc. Here are a few sample pages from the publishing house's website: http://www.gietl-verlag.de/blaetter...r-Komplett-2008-pro/blaetterkatalog/index.php Don't think it is published in other languages. Christian
Do you think it would contain the information I am looking for with the proofs? Since what I want is mintage's and relative rareness of the proofs (so relative values), I would think I would be able to understand this information since it is all numbers. The patterns might be a different problem.
While the Jaeger is the catalog and reference for German (Empire, Fed. Rep., etc.) coins, it does not have much info regarding nazi proof coinage. For coins from the Federal Republic that is different - prooflike pieces are pretty common these days - but as I mentioned in #6, neither the Jaeger nor the Schön will help you much there. Have you tried contacting the guy who I mentioned in my PM? He may know more about such pieces. Christian
Jaeger and AKS will give you proof mintages for some coins and they shared information with each other. They only knew some mintages from mint records, but many of these were lost over time. Some of the mintages are incorrect and are reported with different numbers in different places. As a collector of German proofs, I know how you feel. As a general rule, proofs were minted at each mint for each denomination since 1871. The questions always has been "how many of each?". With German minors from the KR, I have a catalog of the greatest set of minors in proof " 24. Münz-Auktion, Komplette Sammlug, Kleinmünsen des Deutschen Kaiserrichs in einmaliger Qualität, Grün/Künker, Nov. 14, 1998" were they use the German 5 "R" scale for the coins in the sale. This is the only way that I can tell which coins(mostly proofs) are the most rare. The only other way to tell, is to watch sales, check CoinArchives, and talk with other collectors and dealers. For example, Jaeger reports that there were 800 proof 1929J Lessings 3 marks struck in proof, but I know of no one that has ever seen one and in fact the Lessing 3 mark proof from any mint is rarely found. As to patterns, the Schaaf book is the only reference about German patterns since 1871 and Ron Guth may still have some at germancoins.com. Hope this helps a little. 3Mark
