Several years ago there was an auction on EBay which contained, among several other good-value items, this medal. I had no idea what it was or how much it was worth but did not take account of it in my bid. So I essentially got it for free. Over the years I have made attempts to find out something about it but the best I could come up with was that about 6 or 7 years ago three copies of it sold for around 60-70 Euros each on a German auction website. Unfortunately my German is not good enough to tell me anything further about it. It is clearly a commemorative medal related to the Reichstag in Berlin, but beyond that I have no idea. Can anyone help?
It's not a coin so it would not be in any normal Numismatic books.. so it would be hard ... I will send it to a co worker he speaks a few languages Sent from my C6740N using Tapatalk
It is a Lauer medal, appears to be commemorating the finishing of the Reichstag building in 1894. It is a lovely medal, not a bad pickup.
Lauer was a die-sinking establishment founded in 1729 that came into real prominence after its reconstruction in 1860 by Ludwig Christoph Lauer. The list of works produced by the firm just for the last 25 years of its existence is quite extensive and covers 10+ pages of fine print in the Forrer reference, Biographical Dictionary of Medallists. Chris
See here ... http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotvi...Lot=1830&Val=98ac5db462aa7e68c19d42d1bb202b0c Christian
Thanks Christian. That tells me it was minted in 1894 by Lauer. That's what I needed to know. Apparently it sold for 60 Euro last month. Not bad for something I got for free!
If you're referring to the Forrer reference, it is an 8-volume compendium with more than 5,200 pages covering the period 500 BC - 1900 AD. I purchased the set about 12 years ago online from Hedley Betts, www.medalsoftheworld.com. At that time, the set was $500. I believe it sells for about $600 now. Chris NOTE: I just checked the Betts site, and the Forrer set has been reduced to $400.