Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 10 Deutsche Mark 1987, KM# 166, Germany, Federal Republic, 750th Anniversary of Berlin
  • 10 Deutsche Mark 1987, KM# 166, Germany, Federal Republic, 750th Anniversary of Berlin
Description

Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany, as well as one of its 16 constituent states. First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945). After World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious countries, the city was divided; East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany, while West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989) and East German territory. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany.

Engraver: Reinhart Heinsdorff

Obverse

Depicts Federal Eagle, the country name, facial value and mint mark.

The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with red feet, beak and tongue on a golden field. This is the Bundesadler or "Federal Eagle", formerly the Reichsadler or "Imperial Eagle". It is a re-introduction of the coat of arms of the Weimar Republic (in use 1919–1935) adopted by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. The current official design is due to Tobias Schwab (1887–1967) and was introduced in 1928.

BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND
J
10 DEUTSCHE
MARK 1987

Reverse

Berlin bear drawn with a building façade and Berlin wall pattern. The bear is holding the city's medieval seal (1338).

Berlin’s founding date is set at 1237 because that is the earliest documentary evidence that exists for the city (a handwritten document naming a bishop of Cölln). The earliest city seal in existence from 1253 didn’t feature a bear but an eagle, which was the symbol of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, an important principality of the Holy Roman Empire that included Berlin. Then in 1280, a second city seal appeared with the Brandenburg eagle flanked by two standing bears. When Cölln and Berlin were officially merged into one city in 1709, the coat of arms featured the bear with a neck band below two eagles -red for Brandenburg and black for Prussia. By 1875, the bear had lost the neckband and gained a wall-crown, signifying Berlin’s status as a free city.

1237 1987
S•SECRETVM•CIVITATIS BERLIN
BERLIN 750 JAHRE

Edge

The "Deutschlandlied" (English: "Song of Germany") has been the national anthem of Germany since 1922. Since World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany, only the third stanza has been used as the national anthem. The stanza's beginning, "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ("Unity and Justice and Freedom") is considered the unofficial national motto of Germany, and is inscribed on modern German Army belt buckles and the rims of some German coins.

EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT

Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.625
Weight 15.5 g
Diameter 32.5 mm
Thickness 2.25 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Hamburg Mint (J)

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