Hesse 1898-A 20 mark
This specimen was lot 6489 in Künker sale 354 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €850 (about US$1,183 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"REICHSGOLDMÜNZEN, HESSEN, Ernst Ludwig, 1892-1918. 20 Mark 1898. Vorzüglich. (Germany, grand duchy of Hesse, Ernest Louis, 1892-1918, 20 mark of 1898, extremely fine.)"
The Darmstadt mint closed in 1882 and Hessian issues were coined at Berlin thereafter. This type was struck 1896-1903 at the Berlin mint and is rather scarce in circulated condition. Ernest Louis was the last grand duke of Hesse, abdicating upon the collapse of the German Empire in 1918.
Recorded mintage: 70,000 + 500 proofs.
Specification: 7.96 g, 0.900 fine gold, .230 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: KM 371, J. 225.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Jaeger, Kurt, Die Deutschen Münzen seit 1871, Basel: Münzen und Medaillen AG, 1982.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 354: Munzen und Medaillen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. Braunschweig-Luneburg. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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