Hamburg 1896-J 5 mark
This specimen was lot 1710 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €120 (about US$166 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ALLEMAGNE, HAMBOURG, Ville libre, AR 5 Mark, 1896 J. Rare. (Germany, free city of Hamburg, silver five mark of 1896. Rare, Very Fine.)"
This type was struck in Hamburg 1891-1913. Hamburg, on the North Sea, was one of two imperial free cities permitted a continued existence under the Empire of 1871; Bremen was the other. She struck silver two, three and five mark and gold ten and twenty mark until that Empire's collapse in 1918. This type is readily available in worn condition but expensive in high grade. The Hamburg mint is still in operation, striking coins for the Federal Republic of Germany.
Recorded mintage: 16,000, a scarce date.
Specification: 27.77 g, 0.900 fine silver, 38 mm diameter, lettered edge.
Catalog reference: KM 610, Dav-659, J. 65; A.K.S. 45.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns and Talers, Since 1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- 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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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