Coins from the Third Reich should be a reminder of the lives that were lost. The German Third Reich Type Set, Circulation Strikes (1933-1948) is a perfect way to start a collection in this category. The set includes the 1933 Reichsmark coinage and runs through the coins from the Allied Occupation 1945-1948.
German coins value
You want to find out how much your German coins are worth? There are two possible options you could chose to get indicated, how much your coins are worth.
- UCoin.net is an International Catalog of World Coins.
- There are many different types of coins that come from Germany and seems a bit daunting. The reason being is that Germany has issued coins for hundreds of years by a large number of rulers representing numerous cities, states, regions and periods.
Coin-Catalogs
#1: You could simply use a catalog which lists coins from Germany to see, what value your coins are assigned. Such catalogs are well structured and make it easy to find your coin immediately. Unfortunately, the values are often set a bit too high which is caused by the fact that online prices for coins vary a lot, according to supply and demand.
Your own research
#2: You can check on prices yourself and look them up online. First of all, mintage numbers are always a good indicator for how rare a coin might be. If mintage and condition indicate that a coin might be valuable, check out ended listings on ebay. They actually show, which prices were realized for a coin. You will be able to see that there is a huge difference between prices that dealers declare and actually realized prices.
Typically valuable coins
When it comes to German coins value, pieces from former colonies and occupied territories are often quite valuable because they didn't circulate for a long time and usually have a lower mintage. Also make sure to have a closer look at denominations of 2 Mark and higher, minted between 1874 and 1918. Some German gold and silver coins are ultra scarce and worth a large amount of money.
Grading old German coins
Grading can be hard if you are not experienced. However, there are several descriptions of every single grade a coin can have. The first step to practice grading would be to study these grading scales. Afterwards, you can easily practice grading by checking online auctions which depict coins that have been graded by a professional grading institution. Such Third Party Grading organizations basically take in raw coins, put them in a slab and get them graded by professional and experienced numismatists.
Grading scales
Deutsche Coins
The table on the right side roughly translates the different grades from German to English and vice versa. Aditionally, there is also the numeric grading scale that is commonly used, however not very popular in Germany. Still, the table might help you when buying coins from Germany without further knowledge on the German grading system. Keep in mind though that especially private offers of coins that were not graded by a third party grading agency (TPG) should be checked by pictures of the respective coins. Always make sure to see high-res photographs or scans of the coins you want to buy. Also make sure to take a look at the edge of a coin to see if it shows the correct inscription or things like mount marks.
| German | US | Numeric |
|---|---|---|
| - | Very Good (VG) | 8, 10 |
| Schön (S) | Fine (F) | 12,15 |
| Sehr schön (SS) | Very fine (VF) | 20, 25, 30, 35 |
| Vorzüglich (VZ) | Extra fine (XF) | 40, 45 |
| Vorzüglich (VZ) | About uncirculated (AU) | 50, 53, 55, 58 |
| Stempelglanz (STGL) | Mint state (MS) | 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 |
| Polierte Platte (PP) | Proof (PF) | 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 |
News
Finders keepers? Not always, according to a German court. A man who found gold coins and cash while landscaping might walk away empty handed.
Some of the coins discovered in 2016 were only made that same year
A man who discovered a trove of gold coins and money in Germany might end up with nothing to show for it after a German court sided against him on Friday.
In 2016, an employee for a landscaping company was clearing roots and bushes at a cemetery in Dinklage, northwestern Germany, when he found plastic containers with gold and money. The man informed the police of his discovery.
On the following day, he and several others found more containers in the greenery that had already been cleared away and transported to the landscaping company grounds. In total, they discovered over €500,000 ($606,600) in gold and cash. Some of the coins bore the 2016 stamp, indicating they were buried only recently. The town then took custody of the trove. However, the officials were not able to track down the original owner.
Police make arrests over gold coin theft
No treasure, no reward
The landscaping employee eventually decided to sue the town. He argued that he was now the legal owner of the gold and money as the previous owner had failed to claim them during the six months following the discovery. The worker also applied for financial help with his lawsuit.
On Friday, the court rejected his plea for aid. While the ruling does not explicitly concern the ownership issue, the judges said his lawsuit would have no chances of success.
The containers, according to the court, were not lost — they were intentionally hidden. Therefore, the law of lost property would not apply. While German law also allows finders of a 'treasure' to keep half of it, the containers were apparently buried recently and could not legally be considered a lost treasure.
'As this is not a lost object that the man had found, he is also not entitled to a reward,' the court said.
'You can only find what had been lost.'
German Coins
German Coins 1950
Treasure trove found near pipeline
German Coins
dj/sri (AFP, dpa)