New Guinea 1894-A 2 mark
This specimen was lot 6638 in Künker sale 354 (Osnabruck, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €1,100 (about US$445 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DEUTSCHE KOLONIEN, DEUTSCH-NEU-GUINEA. 2 Neu-Guinea Mark 1894, A. Vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. (Germany, German New Guinea, two mark of 1894, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
This is a popular, classic, rare and expensive German minor. Gold ten and twenty mark pieces also exist, along with silver half mark, mark and five mark pieces. The German colony of New Guinea fell to the Australians in 1914 and was held by them until 1975, when the area became part of Papua New Guinea. Mineral wealth abounds but the climate and terrain are harsh and the country remains poor.
Recorded mintage: 13,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 11.11 g, 0.900 fine silver, 28 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 6, J. 706.
- 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.
- [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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