German Coins: 1933-1948

There should be plenty of info just about the coins - like designs, approx mintages (research has shown some of these figures to be wrong :), years, but deeper info is very hard to find!

As for BU's, it really depends on the types - some of the Silver Coins seem to show up in BU, but thats still a tall order - Zinc's, forget it! Most of these have gone dark grey long ago! Surprisingly, the Copper 1Rpf and 2Rpf tend to be the easiest (and cheapest) to find with some genuine mint-bloom - you can even occationally find these in lots! I've got a few nicer 1Rpf's.

Also, the Nickel 50Rpf and 1RM wear REALLY well... While Nickel is softer than Coining Silver, the shallower design or lighter weight or something, protects these coins - most of them in grades better than VF look great, however, these are also some of the rarest types (Nickel was recalled in 1940 for use in weapons production; with about a 90% success rate); Third Reich Nickel 50Rpf (both the Weimarer design J.324 and Third Reich J.368) are going to cost you... So will 1939 1RM's as large numbers never really made it into circulation - they went from the mints to the Reichsbanks (so the mints could get paid) then straight to the smelts!

I collect German Nazi coins and have found this seller to be very good with higher grades.

He will even try and find what you want if you give him a list.

http://stores.ebay.com/Sebas-Coins-and-Notes

I've never bought from Seba, but I definitely have noticed him :) Seem to always have good stock and good selection of Key Jahr/Mzz in decent grades... And he has been helpful in the past; but I've only emailed him once or twice. I PERSONALLY feel his prices are a bit on the HIGH side, BUT remember that the Australian Dollar has slipped to US$0.66 (was as High as US$0.90 at one point, so I was buying LOTS :) and below US$0.60, so I stopped buying!); so you buying is USD should get decent prices...

Now as for a guide to grades... Your search term should be 'Erhaltungsgrade', which roughly translates to Preservation Grade...

Now, I'm going to give this a bit of a go, BUT this is merely a GUIDE!
- PP = Polierte Platte (Polished Plate) - finely frosted relief, full lustre -> Basically a Proof
- Stgl. = Stempelglanz (Stamp Gloss) - no discernible signs of wear to the coin or the edge, lets call this Gem UNC
- Stfr. = Stempelfrisch (Stamp Fresh) - no major signs of wear, minimal defects to the edges and faces due to processing, also UNC
- vz = vorzüglich (excellent) - The coin design is all still intact, slightest signs wear - EF
- ss = sehr schön (very nice) - Normal wear associated with Circulation, no major damage, scratches or rim dents - VF
- s = schön (nice) - above average wear and tear, all inscriptions, Jahr and Mzz are still legible - F


There are also the 'halfway' grades;
- f.xx (f for FAST), eg f.ss means ALMOST-ss, or f.stgl, almost-stgl
- xx+ (+ for, well PLUS), eg ss+ means a bit better than ss

And like many other grading formats, we can also have each side graded differently, such as 'ss/vz' on the format 'Obv/Rev' - in general, the Adler/Reichsadler/Hoheitsziechen is the Reverse (Rs or Rückseite - Obverse is Vs or Vorderseite)...

Other standard abbreviations:

Rf. = Randfehler (Rand or Edge Error)
Sf. = Schrötlingsfehler (Planchet Error)
Mzz = Münzzeichen (Mintmark)
o.Mzz = ohne Münzzeichen (without Mintmark)
Rd. = Rand (Edge)
Vs. = Vorderseite (Front Side - Obverse)
Rs. = Rückseite (Back Side - Reverse)
J. or J.Nr = Jaeger Nummer (Jaeger Number - the way German coins are catalogued - forget about you Krause! :)

And finally, this may also help - yes its Swiss, but they seem to use the same grading schema as the German's - http://www.swissmint.ch/upload/_pdf...htlinien.pdf

And also have a look at this - you can translate it further with Google Translate, but the matrix is pretty self explanatory - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polierte_Platte

I will assume all is good... :)

Any more German Third Reich Questions?

I did try and keep it short... :)

BUT, as someone based in Germany, collecting German coins, how does my interpretations of the grades and my translations of 'key terms' sound? If anything isn't quite right, feel free to correct me! :)

Danke Christian :)

You're right about Spiegelglanz (Mirror Gloss); should have included that one... That said, its one that very rarely pops up in my travels (I have a small number of BRD Proof Sets), being more focused on Reich stuff...

As for translating them to German before relating them to an American Grade, well, why not :) Kind of helps to understand the grade a bit better and just makes things interesting - plus its just more translating practice (God knows I need it! :)

Cheers Christian...

I understand about the finals... Sat mine about a month ago - and maintained my HD GPA :)