Germany 1885-J pfennig
This specimen was lot 74682 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2023), where it sold for $80. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Empire. Pfennig, 1885-J. Hamburg Mint. Wilhelm I. PCGS MS-64. Tied for the finest certified on the PCGS Population report, this example tetters on the edge of Gem and with the amount of mint red remaining, on the edge of Red Brown. With tantalizing luster and a detailed strike, this example is sure to excite the collectior of German copper coinage." This coin is a copper pfennig from a type issued 1873-77, 1885-89 from the Berlin (mintmark "A"), Hannover (mintmark "B"), Frankfurt (mintmark "C"), Munich (mintmark "D"), Dresden (mintmark "E"), Stuttgart (mintmark "F"), Karlsruhe (mintmark "G") and Hamburg (mintmark "J", shown here) mints. Under the Empire, 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.
Recorded mintage: 1,696,000, a better date.
Specification: 2 g, copper, 17.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-1; J-1.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancient & World Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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