Baden 5 Mark 1900 G KM-268 As a long time collector I find myself taking things for granted that others may find interesting or do not know yet. Therefore as I thin out the herd I will show a few coins here before I sell them off. As long as I don’t hear any snoring I’ll keep doing it. First off is this Baden 5mark 1900 KM-268 with Grand Duke Friedrich facing left. The reverse has the Imperial German Eagle as redesigned by Kaiser Wilhelm in 1889. (I wish Kaiser Bill had left well enough alone…). Under the Imperial Germany coinage system the various states kept their old mint rights and could mint 2-20 mark coins with their ruler or arms on the obverse and the Imperial Eagle, date and denomination on the reverse. I tried to scan this coin but the results make the coin look more worn than it is. Grading some of the Imperial German coins can be tricky. This type for example did not have finely detailed hair lines to begin with so this type is often under graded due to what looks like wear at first glance or over graded to compensate for the design‘s lack of detail. This one for example (in my opinion) is a solid VF with a few very small rim bumps and a large one on the reverse at 6 0’clock. The large rim bump presents another problem for collectors; how much does such a dent effect the value of the coin. Speaking of rims, coins that have edges with incuse inscriptions or designs may also have compression rim bumps as a result. Food for thought, please think loudly.
The rim bump at the bottom of the reverse side is big. Unfortunately, that bump will lower the grade to F-12 for normal/general coin collectors. Only those who specialize in German State issue will understand. I agree with you that the state of the coin is in VF condition, but the bump would lead me to only consider it in the lower price range of VF somewhat closer to an F-12 condition.
