Germany 1891-E 5 pfennig
This specimen was lot 4242 in Künker sale 294 (Osnabrück, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €230 (about US$310 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"REICHSKLEINMÜNZEN, 5 Pfennig 1891, E. Vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. (Germany, unified minor coinage, five pfennig of 1891-E, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
This coin is a copper-nickel five pfennig from a type issued from the Berlin (mintmark "A"), Munich (mintmark "D"), Muldenhutten (mintmark "E", shown here), Stuttgart (mintmark "F"), Karlsruhe (mintmark "G") and Hamburg (mintmark "J") mints. 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 type was struck 1890-1915 but wartime shortages forced the regime to convert the coin to iron in 1915-22.
Recorded mintage: 173,000.
Specification: 2.5 g, copper-nickel, 18 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: J. 12, KM 11.
- 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]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Katalog 294: Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871 | Russische Münzen und Medaillen, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.
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