East Germany 1990-A 20 mark KM-139
This specimen was lot 74663 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $105. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. West/East Germany. 20 Mark, 1990-A. Berlin Mint. NGC PROOF-68 Ultra Cameo. Commemorating the opening of the Brandenburg Gate on December 22nd, 1989. Nearly flawless, with a touch of sunset-orange patina about the peripheries." This commemorative honored the opening of the Brandenburg Gate and the concomitant fall of the Berlin Wall. Within months, the East German regime would be swept away and Germany reunified. Another twenty mark of 1990 honored sculptor Andreas Schlüter (KM 138).
Recorded mintage: 300,000 in copper-nickel plus 145,000 in silver plus 5,000 proofs.
Specification: KM 139: copper-nickel; KM 139a: 18.2 g, 0.999 fine silver, 33 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 139 (copper-nickel), KM-139a (silver).
- Jaeger, Kurt, Die Deutschen Münzen seit 1871, Basel: Münzen und Medaillen AG, 1982.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2024 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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