Frage, bitte: 1917-18 1-pfennig
Verfasst: Di 04.12.18 07:04
I was rewriting some stuff and ran across this note:
x: Germany’s WWI aluminum pfennigs have always seemed a bit anachronistic, and in two directions at once. The use of the metal seems somehow too modern (these are among the very first of the world’s circulating aluminum coins), and yet this 1917a pfennig employs the older, obsolete 1873-89 version of the eagle rather than the newer design of 1890-1916. (97)
Can anyone please say why the old 1873 version of the eagle was used on these coins rather than the newer version of 1890?
Was it perhaps to use surplus tooling remaining from the 1880s, to conserve material and effort during the war?
Or maybe it was an attempt to forestall confusion between the aluminum 1-pfennig and the iron 5-pfennig, which would have been somewhat silvery in appearance when new? (An additional question...I've always assumed the iron/steel 5-pfennig of 1915-22 was zinc-plated. Is that correct? )
Any ideas would be much appreciated....
v.
x: Germany’s WWI aluminum pfennigs have always seemed a bit anachronistic, and in two directions at once. The use of the metal seems somehow too modern (these are among the very first of the world’s circulating aluminum coins), and yet this 1917a pfennig employs the older, obsolete 1873-89 version of the eagle rather than the newer design of 1890-1916. (97)
Can anyone please say why the old 1873 version of the eagle was used on these coins rather than the newer version of 1890?
Was it perhaps to use surplus tooling remaining from the 1880s, to conserve material and effort during the war?
Or maybe it was an attempt to forestall confusion between the aluminum 1-pfennig and the iron 5-pfennig, which would have been somewhat silvery in appearance when new? (An additional question...I've always assumed the iron/steel 5-pfennig of 1915-22 was zinc-plated. Is that correct? )
Any ideas would be much appreciated....
v.