I was wondering what all are the German mints? And are any of them worth more than any other one? Also, are any of the mints that I have no longer producing coins? I have several German coins with different mints. My German coins include: Coins from Mint A: 1962 1 Deutsche Mark 1968 5 Pfennings 1983 5 Pfennings 1952 1 Pfenning 1968 1 Pfenning 1975 1 Pfenning 1979 1 Pfenning 1984 1 PfenningX2 1986 1 Pfenning Coins from Mint D: 1965 1 Deutsche Mark 1989 50 Pfennings 1990 50 PfenningsX2 1985 10 Pfennings 1950 5 Pfennings 1971 2 Pfennings 1971 1 Pfenning 1988 1 Pfenning 2002 1 Euro Cent (Uncirculated condition) 2002 2 Euro Cent (Uncirculated condition) 2002 5 Euro Cent (Uncirculated condition) 2002 10 Euro Cent (Uncirculated condition) 2003 20 Euro Cent (Uncirculated condition) 2002 50 Euro Cent (Uncirculated condition) 2002 1 Euro (Uncirculated condition) 2002 2 Euro (Uncirculated condition) Coins from Mint F: 1989 1 Deutsche Mark 1950 50 PfenningsX2 1968 50 Pfennings 1981 10 Pfennings 1977 2 Pfennings 1989 1 Pfenning 2002 1 Euro Cent Coins from Mint G: 1979 1 Deutsche Mark 1949 50 Pfennings 1976 2 Pfennings 1949 1 Pfenning 1950 1 Pfenning 1986 1 Pfenning Coins from Mint J: 1970 10 Pfennings 1950 5 Pfennings 1966 5 Pfennings 1970 5 Pfennings 1981 5 Pfennings 1986 2 Pfennings 1987 1 Pfenning 2002 2 Euro Cent Unknown Mints: (Unknown because I couldnt find a mint mark on the coin) 1958 50 Pfennings 1967 10 Pfennings 1971 10 Pfennings
There are four German mints (state operated) and five different mint locations: A: Berlin (BE) http://www.Berlin.de/senfin/muenze/index.html D: München (Munich, BY) http://www.hma.bayern.de/index.htm F: Stuttgart (BW, see Karlsruhe) G: Karlsruhe (BW) http://www.staatlichemuenzenbw.de/ J: Hamburg (HH) http://www.muenzehamburg.de/ In terms of mint marks, "F" is usually the most frequent one. In general, Stuttgart has a production share of 24 percent, Munich and Hamburg 21% each, Berlin 20%, Karlsruhe 14%. But these proportions are not always observed. By the way, the names of the small units are "Pfennig" and "Cent". Sure there are some year/mintmark combinations that are more common than others. You could try this database for example: http://www.muenzen.net/datenbank/suche.htm Wert: enter the value - just the digit(s) Einheit: for single coins, select Pfennig or Mark Jahr: enter the year Buchstabe: select the mintmark The Berlin mint (A) is located in what used to be East Berlin, and made East German and GDR coins between 1948 and 1990. In late 1990 it started minting the coins of the Federal Republic. The other East German mint (Muldenhütten) made coins with the E mintmark until it was closed in 1953. And that was the only mint which was closed after WW2. There have been rumors for a while that Karlsruhe may be closed some day, but I do not see that happen in the near future Christian
Ahaaaaa. The old Eastie Berlinmint explains why the quality of the A coins is noticably different. Also, can you order sets from each mint directly, or are they sold from one place?
Are the "A" coins really that bad? I usually get the Stuttgart pieces in an annual prooflike set, but the collectors coins from Berlin that I have got so far seem to be OK. From what I have read about the euro circulation coins, Austria, France and Ireland seem to make high quality pieces even with BU coins And no, the single mints do not sell coins to collectors. The Baden-Württemberg mint (F and G) has a few products in its "Eurosets" store http://www.eurosets.de/ but that is due to a cooperation with the Royal Dutch Mint. Collectors can buy coins from the Numismatic Office http://www.bwpv.de/sammlermuenzen.php3 which is part of the Federal Securities Administration. That office sells primarily on a subscription basis (and thus does not have a web store) but you can also place individual orders. It has a few English language pages too: http://www.bwpv.de/eng/collectorscoins.php3 Christian
Are those aluminum coins with a "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" inscription maybe? In that case, they are from East Germany, and there should be a tiny "A" mint mark on the obverse - at the very top, right above the oak leaf. Christian
Ah yes, Its VERY tiny. And on the 50 Pfenning coin, its warn almost completely off. But thanks for the info!! As usual, you saved the day! Also, that site you listed as a reference...I dont understand it. Not because its in German, ( I used an online Translater to get a general idea of what it was saying) But it said the same thing for every coin, "Appraise unit description year metal maintenance price (EURO) catalogue levy"
Those are column headers, so to say. In English ... Wert and Einheit = face value Beschreibung = description (Here you will usually see Kursmünze, ie. circulation coin) Jahr = year (followed by the mint mark) Metall = metal, ie. composition or alloy Erhaltung = grade (see below) Preis = price (the approximate price, in euro, that you would have to pay for the coin when buying it from a dealer) Katalog = the Jaeger catalog number of the coin Auflage = mintage (usually one figure for PP/proof coins and one for the regular issue) As for the grades listed, "Polierte Platte" is proof or prooflike (specially produced pieces that you do not find in circulation). "Stempelglanz" is (Brilliant) Uncirculated (BU, unc), "vorzüglich" is Extremely Fine (EF), "sehr schön" is Very Fine*(VF), "schön" is Fine (F), etc. The conservation/grade highlighted in green is the most common one ... Christian
I would not say bad, as such. But definitely different from the other German mints. This goes back to the pfennigs, as well. If you show me a few coins (with some mint luster - not worn) I can identify the A mint almost everytime just by the appearance of the strike. All of the devices and letters seem to have a slight convex (or is it concave?) area right next to the raised images. Not sure if this makes sense, but if you look at a few A coins you might see what I mean. It's almost as if the raised parts are being swept up of the surface of the coin. I agree that Ausria makes soem fine coins - well struck. Germany does also most of the time. I look at the edge of the 20 cent to get an idea. If it is fully struck, it will be wide and flat. If the coin is less fully struck, it will be rounded.
