Prussia 1879-A 10 mark

Künker sale 352, part of lot 2263

This specimen was part of lot 2263 in Künker sale 352 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), which sold for €650 (about US$905 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"REICHSGOLDMÜNZEN, PREUSSEN, Wilhelm I. 1861-1888. 10 Mark 1879, A, 1875 B, 1875 C. 3 Stück., Sehr schön. (Germany, unified gold coinage of the empire, kingdom of Prussia, William I, 1861-88, ten mark of 1879, 1875-B and 1875-C, three pieces. Very fine.)"

The first ten mark was struck 1872-73 in substantial numbers from the Berlin (mintmark "A"), Hannover (mintmark "B") and Frankfurt (mintmark "C") mints. It was superseded in 1874 by this type with a revised reverse. Tho this later type was struck 1874-83, 1886 and 1888, it is not as common as KM 502. There is a concurrent twenty mark gold piece with a similar design.

Recorded mintage: 1,011,923 + proofs.

Specification: 3.98 g, 0.900 fine gold.

Catalog reference: Fr-3822, KM 504, J. 245.

Source:

• 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.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
• Jaeger, Kurt, Die Deutschen Münzen seit 1871, Basel: Münzen und Medaillen AG, 1982.
• ^[1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 352: Die Sammlung Hermann Schwarz: Faszination des gepragten Goldes. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.

Link to:

• 1878-A gold 5 mark
• 1878-C 10 mark
• Baden 1879-G 10 mark
• Hamburg 1879-J 10 mark
• Hesse 1879-H 10 mark
• 1879 20 mark
• 1880 10 mark
• Coins and currency dated 1879