German Silver Coins - Silver Bullion Coins

Germany, the land where scientific and musical geniuses such as Albert Einstein and Beethoven respectively have flourished was made infamous and reduced to ignominy by Hitler, has a rich reserve of German silver coins that reminds one of the horrors of the Third Reich. Though Germany has recovered from the brunt of World War II, there are traces of the scars that were left due to the Third Reich and the war of 1939 to 1945. Hitler, the brain behind Germany’s foreign expeditions and the cause of the World War II has left mementos to portray to the world the horrors of the Nazi Germany apart from giving a picture of the contemporary economy of Germany.

The silver coins bear the symbols very commonly associated with the Nazi regime. The 2 Reichsmarks issued from 1936-39 pictures Paul Von Hindenburg on one side and an eagle holding a wreathed swastika on the other. Nazi Germany was particular about the symbols used in their coins, so they used 3 different designs on the regular Reichsmark coins issued by them. The first one, issued from 1934-35, showed the Potsdam Military Church and an eagle and two small swastikas on each side.

The second type that became famous, pictured Paul Von Hindenburg on one side and an eagle on the other and came into operation from last part of 1935 to the first part of 1936. A very similar kind to that of the 2 Reichsmark was issued at the start of 1936 and portrayed an eagle holding a wreathed swastika. The eagle and swastika of 5 Reichsmark gained popularity from 1936-39. Nazi Germany stopped issuing silver coins after 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II.

There is a set of 7 Nazi German silver coins of lower denominations each portraying the eagle and swastika. Copper and aluminum-bronze alloys were used in making 1, 2, 5 and 10 Reichspfennig from 1936-39. But in 1940, the 1, 5 and 10 Reichspfennig coins were switched to zinc and the 2 Reichspfennig was discontinued as a result of the war. All the coins featured the eagle and the denomination on each side.

Germany released 3 commemorative silver 10 Euro coins in 2006. These 32.50 mm diameter coins were issued to mark the important events related to Germany like one was issued to commemorate the 2006 World Cup Soccer games being held in Germany; another was issued as a token of respect to celebrate the 250th birth anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart where the coin is shown bearing his portrait and the third one was issued to honor the German architect and artist Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The latest inclusion in this category is the commemorative coin marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. All the German silver coins are excellent examples of the rich cultural heritage of the country.