Went wandering through my LCS foreigns box and picked this up (among other things). Looked it up and only 280,000 minted. Need to give it a soak in distilled water to see if the grime comes off. But I think it’s pretty cool for 15 cents. Anybody know anything about these? Thanks!
I don't have much more info than you've already found. It's a nice example if you can get the gunk off of it. Not particularly valuable despite the low mintage, but a cool find from a bulk bin.
Dealers on MA shops have circulated examples listed for $10-15. IMO, yours would probably be less due to the residue. Years ago, I went through the foreign stuff that I accumulated as a kid and found I had a bunch german empire1-10 pfennigs. So I made a list of what I had and would search junk boxes at shows and at the LCS for new ones. Currently have about 90% of the 5 pfennigs from 1873-1945 and about half were junk box finds, while most of the rest cost only a few bucks. There doesn't appear to be a huge demand for circulated german minors in the US and I've been able to find low mintages cheap. However, that same low demand means it will be difficult to flip them for much of a profit, even if they have a decent price guide value
That black is probably a combo of grease and dirt. I would soak it in dish soap for about a week and then work it over with an old tooth brush. You may have to do this several times. After that if it is still black try finger nail polish remover.
Thanks for the input guys (and gals). @FredJB I'll try that.Right now have it soaking in distilled water.
Heavy, I would agree with you if the coin was high grade and had a finish worth protecting. The greatest risk to the coin in question here is that there may be pitting below the black crud. The same holds true for medals by the way.
Here are the results of my attempts to clean up this pfennig. Much cleaner, but I think I liked the grimey look better. Easier to photograph dirty too. View attachment 1192784 View attachment 1192785
