Just wondering what this 5 Mark East German coin is It says "20 Years of the DDR" with the 1969 date. It seems to be Nickel/Brass. I didn't see it in the Standard Catalog of World Coins and I wonder if it's a commemorative or a pattern. Any ideas?
I found it in my Krause catalog KM#22.1 and #22.1a, as well as on Numista I took a screenshot, but on second thought don't want to get in trouble with a mod for posting copyrighted material. Same info is on Numista anyway...
Yep, that is a GDR 5M coin minted for the 20th anniversary of the republic. Mintage about 50 million, and this piece actually circulated. But it stayed a one-year issue, followed (as from 1971) by the Cu-Ni "Hauptstadt der DDR" coin. About 40 million of those pieces were melted down later, but it is not exactly rare ... Christian
Interesting piece. Is the hammer and compass an East German symbol like the hammer and sickle are for the USSR?
Sort of, yes. The CoA of the GDR consisted of a circle of ears (representing the farmers), a hammer (working class), and a compass (academics). This version was introduced (on coins) in 1956 and can be found on every GDR coin issued since then. Christian
