Germany 1918-A pfennig
This specimen was lot 6602 in Künker sale 354 (Osnabruck, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €2,200 (about US$3,062 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"WELTKRIEG UND INFLATION. 1 Pfennig 1918, A. Von großer Seltenheit. Etwas berieben, vorzüglich. (Germany, world war and inflation, one pfennig of 1918. Extremely rare, cleaned, extremely fine.)"
This coin is an aluminum one pfennig from a type issued 1916-18 from six mints, including the Berlin (mintmark "A") mint. 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. The one pfennig was originally copper but was switched to aluminum in 1916 to save materials for the war effort.
Recorded mintage: unknown but a rare date.
Specification: 0.50 g, aluminum, 17.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 24, J. 300.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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 354: Munzen und Medaillen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. Braunschweig-Luneburg. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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