Bavaria 5 Mark KM-896 This Bavarian 5 mark 1876 D KM-896 (was KM 502) has mad king Ludwig II on the obverse and my favorite version of the Imperial Eagle on the reverse. Ludwig was unstable from the start of his reign and sank deeper as time went on. In 1886 he drowned (or was drowned) in Lake Starnberg during an escape attempt while being committed. Even though this coin is an EF with great design details it could bring a tear to many eyes due to it’s unnatural grey color. Under magnification it can be seen that some ding bat lightly tooled the fields as was fashionable long ago, and then it looks like someone worked it over with steel wool to give it a more even appearance. Who ever did this made old king Ludwig look sane in comparison.
But I wonder whether that eagle was appreciated much in Bavaria. It sure is a symbol of Prussian dominance, with the large Prussian eagle in the center of the German eagle. That was changed in the 1890 eagle - still the same elements, but the size proportions were modified ... Christian
