Photo Friday - Victory Over Napoleon & Mansfeld Commemoratives

PCGSPhoto

Back in 2001 I came across a coin on eBay that looked so cool, and so surprisingly affordable, that I had to have it. It was a German (Prussian) 3 Mark coin commemorating the defeat of Napoleon in an MS63 ANACS holder (also my first graded coin).

The obverse reads The King Called and All Came and With God, For King, and Homeland.

This particular coin has been graded PCGS MS67 (not finalized) making it the finest I've come across.

This sparked an interest in the Kaiserreich era of German numismatics that continued for a few years, particularly the more heraldic issues like for Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg in the 3 Mark denomination (which were equivalent to the old Thalers).

The most elusive, and stunning 3 Mark however was the Mansfelder coin of 1915 which has a very cool stylized St George slaying the dragon motif, and a very cool eagle on the reverse. This example is also a PCGS MS67.

I no longer collect these coins, but I'll always have a certain fondness for them.

OldEastside

Them R Keool.............Congrats

Steve

coinkat

Nice examples... Congrats

PCGSPhoto

Just to be clear, these aren't mine, just nice examples that have passed by my office.

Coin Finder

Nice!

dadams

I like both but, that Mansfelder is WiCKed cool. Great pics!!!!

Jackthecat1

Early 20th Century German Empire 2,3, and 5 Marks are one of my favorite fields of collecting. Thank you for the great pictures.

Swampboy

Those are amazing images of wonderful coins.

I have an AU 1913 Zwei Mark with that same obverse and I enjoy it for the history. March 17th 1813 - Tsar Alexander I arrived at Frederick William III's court. The Prussian King issued that day an appeal to the German and Prussian peoples for their support in the fight against Napoleon.

Zoins

Beautiful coins! Thanks for sharing.

Love the 1915!

Weiss

Yeah, that 1915 is the bomb, yo.

brg5658

Both are great designs, and I'm of course partial because of the "horse" imagery.

IMO the 1913 was "eye appeal bumped" to MS67 -- simply not a technical MS67 coin. Beautiful photos and wonderful looking piece, but sad to see the "creep" of gradeflation for toning into the world coin realm.

The 1915 Mansfeld is stunning. These have a relatively low mintage, but were kept in huge quantities, so readily available in gem (they come to auction often in the MS65-67 range). While this one is beautiful, the "tab toning" area on the obverse isn't the most appealing to my eye. There are many beautifully toned examples of these around, but this one is superb technically for sure.