I have a coin (I think that's what it is) and on one side it says in large letters..."WELTKRIEG" and then on the same side of the coin around another arc...."IM JAHRE 1914". ... On the other side shows a picture of 2 men, and says Kiaser Franz Joseph. Kaiser Wilhelm II. When my grandmother passed away she gave it along with a few other coins to my mother and when my mother passed it came to me.....when my husband took it to a coin dealership and asked what it was...he would not tell him, but offered to by it from him for $75.00....my husband said no thank and left the store....now we have been trying to figure out what it is and what it means....can someone help us.... Thank you
That is not a coin but a medal. At that time, Wilhelm was the German emperor (Kaiser), and Franz Joseph was the Austrian one. The inscription (World War in the Year 1914) indicates that the piece was made in that year, but a coin from that time would have a country name and a face value. Contrary to coins, medals can basically be "issued" by anybody including you and me. That is what makes determining the value somewhat difficult ... Christian
I might have to question the exact year of mintage - in 1914 the war was not yet a World War as such. In any case, it honors something from 1914. The 75$ offer might not have been unreasonable.
CRSBY9, I found this thread on another forum from someone who has the same type of coin.Maybe it will help.http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cach...da566b41d+im+jahre+1914+weltkrieg+medal&hl=en
Probably so. The word "Weltkrieg" came up very early in that war. From a German or Austrian perspective, WW1 was the first war that was fought in Europe and (due to the colonies) in Africa/Asia at the same time. So in 1914/15 the term was already in use. But I suppose it took a while until it was used on medals too ... Christian
Does it look like this one? If yes, check the edge of the coin. I have the same coin and made a post about it last year. I'll look for the link.
here is my original post.... http://www.cointalk.org/forums/whats-worth/3977-german-coin-medal-token.html
I even tested it first. It looks like the format of the link has changed. Here it is again... http://www.cointalk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3977 if this one stops working, you can go to "What's it Worth", do an advanced search with NESVT as the author and the word GERMAN in the subject.
I am sure you are right. I still think it might have been later than 1914 (even 1915 or later) since it was commemorating something in 1914, but it is likley from the era. I guess i was thinking of an item I saw on ebay that said WWI - now THAT one was not from the era, since the "I" was only relevent after WWII came to pass.
Well, before 1939 there was no Second World War. So until then, the war that we call WW1 now was just the "World War" ... Christian
Exactly my point Chris,the assumption was made that this coin couldn't have been minted in 1914 because this war was not called World War I at that time.I was pointing out that this is NOT true because it doesn't say World War I,only world war,and I'm sure everyone realized at the time that this is what it was. I doubt that the defeated Kaiser Wilhelm would have issued a coin commemorating the German-Austrian alliance after his humiliation at Versailles in 1919 especially one with the inscription ""In faithful union we strike the enemy."
