Collectors of German coins must also study catalog 388, which presents another collection of coins that were minted between 1800 and 1914. Künker dubbed this catalog , and the contents were compiled by a North German private collector.

The period between the turn of the century and the end of the First World War is one of the most fascinating episodes of the German past, both from the point of numismatics and history. This era saw the development of what we call the Federal Republic of Germany today. Many coins were created in the presence of the ruling prince at the time. They are a testament to the fact that rulers were highly interested in having an efficient monetary system. The credo of the economists of the time was that a German state without customs barriers be set up that had a currency that could be converted as easily as possible. They hoped that this would lead to progress following the British model. This required a shift from the self-sufficient subsistence economy of a peasant society to an industrial nation based on the division of labor. At the time, no one bothered about the collateral damage that would ensue from this progress, i.e., the destruction of livelihoods and the starving unemployed people. They also did not care about the fact that the trade war could turn into a real war at any time.

Catalog 388 contains all the testimonies to that century: konventionstalers and special issues dedicated to mint visits, diligence medals and commemorative coins. Moreover, collectors will also find those rare issues of the German Empire of which only tiny mintage figures could be created during the First World War due to a shortage in precious metal, for example the Bavarian Wedding issues or those showing Frederick the Wise.

It should also be mentioned that the collector paid attention to outstanding quality! , , and are the most common descriptions that you will find in this catalog.

To order a catalog, contact Künker, Nobbenburger Straße 4a, 49076 Osnabrück; phone: +49 541 / 962020; fax: +49 541 / 9620222; or via e-mail: service@kuenker.de. You can access the auction catalogs online at www.kuenker.de. If you want to submit your bid from your computer at home, please remember to register for this service in good time.

No. 1553: Brunswick. Charles II, 1815-1830. Under the guardianship of King George IV of Great Britain, 1820-1823. 1821 konventionstaler (speciestaler). Very rare. About FDC. Estimate: 7,500 euros

No. 1599: Nassau. Frederick William of Weilburg, 1806-1816. Konventionstaler n.d. (1815), commemorating the visit to the mint in Ehrenbreitstein. Hybrid coin. Extremely rare. Brilliant uncirculated. Estimate: 25,000 euros

No. 1605: Oldenburg. Paul Frederick Augustus, 1829-1853. Double vereinstaler 1840 for the Principality of Birkenfeld. First strike, FDC. Estimate: 5,000 euros

No. 1664: Württemberg. Frederick II (I), 1797-1806-1816. Konventionstaler 1806, Hanau. Very rare. Very fine to extremely fine. Estimate: 7,500 euros

No. 1710: German Empire. Bavaria. 3 marks 1918. Commemorating the golden wedding anniversary of the Bavarian royal couple. Very rare. About FDC. Estimate: 40,000 euros

No. 1722: German Empire. Hesse. 2 marks 1876. Extremely rare in this quality. Proof. Estimate: 25,000 euros

No. 1798: German Empire. Saxony. 3 marks 1917. Frederick the Wise. The rarest silver coin of the German Empire. Proof. Estimate: 100,000 euros

No. 1892: German Empire. Mecklenburg-Strelitz. 10 marks 1873. Very rare, especially in this quality. Extremely fine to FDC. Estimate: 50,000 euros

No. 1927: German Empire. Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 20 marks 1872. Very rare, especially in this quality. Extremely fine to FDC. Estimate: 100,000 euros