Today is German Unity Day, post a German coin

My father was in the Navy during WW2 in the South Pacific assigned to submarine duty. He was tired of living in a "tin can", so after WW2, he enlisted in the Army. He first serviced at Fort Knox, Kentucky, but after 5 years there, he was stationed at the hospital at Landstuhl, German. I was 6. Although it was several years after WW2, the amount of destruction was still there. We all loved Germany and its citizens. It was hard to believe they had been our enemies. Anyway, I collected two things, comic books and coins. In 1957, I was 10 and we were transferred to Fort Ord, California. Somehow, both collections that had been securely stored, did not make it. Thankfully, we were transferred to France, where I finished high school in Verdun in 1965. My new French coin collection were also stolen. DeGaulle closed all US bases down and after graduation night, we left for Mannheim, German. Wow! what a change. I worked on base to earn money so that I could hitchhike throughout Europe. That is a long story, however, I got my passport and travelled the country in 1966. I got to Berlin and was impressed buy the beauty. West Germany was a beautiful country and the citizens were wonderful. I stayed in Youth Hostels for about 50 cents a night. I was able to get papers to go to East Germany. The citizens were somber and would seldom talk to me. The city was dirty and the destruction was still in existent. My main purpose in East German was to collect as many coins as possible. I had some U.S. dollars and the people were more than willing to exchange them for their coins. When I left East Germany, I had to take everything out of my bags and pockets. My coins were taken from me. I was interrogated by the "krauts" and then I was allowed to leave. I checked my money, the coins were gone as well as a ten dollar bill. I did see the wall, but after that experience, I decided not to collect German coins.

 

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Gold, Saxony, 10 Mark

 

some of my oldest german coins.Found them searching through penny rolls.

 

All that in penny rolls? Impressive

 

SILVER AUSBEUTETALER - PRINCIPALITY OF FÜRSTENBERG

Year: 1790

Obverse: Portrait of Prince left - JOS M B FURST ZU FURSTENBERG L I D B U Z ST H Z HAUSENI KINZ THAL / XEINE FEINE MARK

Reverse: Friedrich Christian Mine - MIT GOTT DURCH KUNST U ARBEIT / DIE GRUBEFRIED CHRIST GABS ZUR AUSBEUT IM OUARTAL CRUCIS 1790

 

I collect some memorabilia from the Zeppelins - this LZ-126 was transferred to the US Navy as war reparations in 1924 and became the USS Los Angeles. This ship was designed to use hydrogen for lift, but the US controlled the supply of helium which didn't have as much lift as hydrogen but was much safer. Of all the US Navy airships, the USS Los Angeles was the only one that was not destroyed in an accident. In fact it was dismantled in 1939. Dr. Hugo Eckener, the designer of this airship is the subject of the obverse whilst the airship and it's 1924 travels across the Atlantic - the first airship to travel from Europe to N. America.

 

My father was in the army, stationed in Germany during the Korean War. From his service there I got 1950 1 pfennig, 5 pfennig, 10 pfennig, 50 pfennig, and 1 mark coins. (He did targeting for nuclear cannons - now there was a deterrent!)

 

The Graf Zeppelin was the first airship to circumnavigate earth in 1929, an event duly commemorated in 1930.

 

2 MARKS COIN - GERMANY - MAX PLANCK COMMEMORATIVE
(KM 116)

Date: A.D. 1958

Obverse: Portrait head left - MAX PLANCK 1858 - 1947

Reverse: Eagle - BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND 2 DEUTSCHE MARK (Republic of Germany 2 Marks)
Engraver: Karl Roth

 

Here are the few I have saved to my phone at the moment

 

Superb!

 

First dated gold coin of Germany.

 

Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel, Wilhelm VIII, 1 Heller, 1751
It's not much to look at, but my first coin from this particular German State.

 

tibor, That's s great early Renaissance coin ! Is it a ducat ?