Bavaria 1876-D 5 mark
This specimen was lot 1448 in Sedwick sale 12 (Winter Park, FL, October 2012), where it sold for $118. The catalog description[1] noted, "Bavaria, German States, 5 mark, 1876-D. Nicely toned XF, no problems." This type was struck in Bavaria 1874-76. The victory of the Germans in the Franco-Prussian war resulted in the foundation of the German Empire. One of the results of unification was the termination of separate coinages for each of the independent states, including Bavaria. No more thalers were struck after 1871. Bavaria continued to issue coins using the united empire standard in the denominations of two, five, ten and twenty mark until 1918 when the empire collapsed at the end of World War One. The old thalers continued to circulate as three mark pieces. King Ludwig II ruled until 1886, when he was deposed in favor of his brother, Otto. Disliked for his extravagance and his homosexuality, he died soon after under very mysterious circumstances. This type is readily available in worn condition but expensive in high grade.
Recorded mintage: 1,130,000 (highest mintage date).
Specification: 27.77 g, 0.900 fine silver, .803 troy oz ASW, this specimen 27.6 grams.
Catalog reference: KM 896 (formerly KM-502), Dav-616.
- [1]Sedwick, Daniel F., Augi Garcia and Cori Sedwick Downing, Treasure Auction #12, Winter Park, FL: Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC, 2012.
- Jaeger, Kurt, Die Deutschen Münzen seit 1871, Basel: Münzen und Medaillen AG, 1982.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
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