Kaiserreich coin questions

[villa66]

Can someone please help me understand the reason(s),

1) in Kaiserreich times (1905), for changing the 50-pfennig coin into a 1/2 –mark coin?
2) for the introduction of the 25-pfennig denomination in 1909?
3) why the 25-pfennig was discarded so quickly? And the fate of the 25-pfennig coins?
4) for the change from the small eagle to the large eagle about 1890?

Any help understanding why these things happened (and perhaps their significance) I would very much appreciate.

v.

[Mynter]

Hello,

I hope my english will do : = )

1. This change was made due to the fact that the redesigned 50 Pfennig was more simulare to the 1 Mark than to the 5 an 10 Pfennig. The first 50 Pfennig again had the same look as the 5 and 10 Pfennig and got very often confused with the 5 and 10 Pfennigs. Actually Theodor Fontane mentions a matter of confusing a 10 Pfennig with a 50 Pfennig in his novel " Jenny Treibel ", where a waiter in a Berlin Biergarten receives an unintended huge tip by one of the main caracters.

2. I allways wondered myself. My personal explanation: Northern revenge. When the mark was introduced Prussia and the northerngerman States demanded a quarter of a mark as a replacement for the 2 1/2 Groschen. Instead The Gulden - States reluctance to the Prussian Thaler ( 1 Mark beeing 1/3 of a Thaler ) was pacified by offering them to values they where familiar with : a gulden of 2 Mark and a 7 Kreuzer of 20 Pfennig. Decimal purists where at rage and demanded a 2 1/2 mark to be struck, as that would have been half a 5 Mark )

3. When the 25 Pfennig came at last one had gotten used to the 20 Pfennig.

4. This change was made to indicate that the building of the new empire was fullfild. The new eagle looked less prussian.

[*EPI*]

4. [...] The new eagle looked less prussian.

The "Hohenzollern Schild" (Coat of arms of the Prussia ruling family (Hohenzollern) on the breast of eagle) was made smaller (and the eagle larger).

4. This change was made to indicate that the building of the new empire was fullfild.

A proposal / an order by the new Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888-1918).

[villa66]

Thank you, Mynter. (And I appreciated your English, even if it wasn't necessary.)

Definitely some good information there, much of which I have now incorporated into my own thinking.

I am curious about the 20pf. From the look of the catalog listings (and from the appearance of the copper-nickel 20pf coins I have seen), the 20pf seems not to have survived the 25pf. Any idea when the copper-nickel 20pf actually departed circulation? (I assume the silver 20pf was retired when the copper-nickel coin was introduced? Or did the two coins circulate concurrently.)

Again, Mynter (and +EPI), I really appreciated the answers.

v.

[Schrottsammler]

Hi,

when I understand you correctly:

The silver 20 Pfennig departed on January 1th, 1902.
The copper-nickel ones departed on January 1th, 1903.

The 25 Pfennig departed Octobre 1th, 1918.

If you are interested in an oldm German coin catalog, you can have a look here: http://www.zvab.com.
It is a side where old book sellers can offer their books. There yon can find the Jaeger e.g.
Old variants are cheap. Maybe it's interesting.

Best wishes

Michael

[villa66]

Danke, Schrottsammler, for the retirement dates. I have to admit surprise at the late retirement date of the 25-pfennig, however. Given its pure nickel composition, I expected it would have been withdrawn for war use (or perhaps it departed circulation on its own--what with the coin hoarding that gave rise to the iron and zinc minors of WWI and after--and so was not available for the authorities to withdraw?).

v.

[Mynter]

The 25 Pfennig ceased to be legal tender in 1918, as Schrottsammler said, but actually it was withdrawn from circulation already in 1916 as a part of the german war effort.

[villa66]

Vielen Dank, Mynter.

v.