Germany 1878-E 50 pfennig
This specimen was lot 71218 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2021), where it sold for $432. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Empire. 50 Pfennig, 1878-E. Muldenhutten Mint. Wilhelm I. ANACS MS-61. A fairly RARE type, this minor features argent brilliance with a hint of subtle toning. Highly radiant and alluring." This coin is a silver fifty pfennig from a type issued 1877-78 from the Muldenhutten (mintmark "E") mint. Under the German Empire of 1871-1918, the denominations of two mark and up were permitted for the formerly independent principalities while the lower denominations (one pfennig thru one mark) were minted to a unified design. This a scarce date of a slightly better type. No fifty pfennig were minted between 1878 and 1895.
Recorded mintage: 364,000.
Specification: 2.78 g, 0.900 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-8; J-8.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The June 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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