2022-07-26 Tue

The rarest silver coin of the German Empire is the 1917 silver 3-mark piece of Saxony which was issued by Frederick III or Frederick the Wise who was an elector of Saxony from 1486 until his death in 1525.

He is best known today as a supporter of Martin Luther when he was at odds with the Catholic Church. The Saxon elector was considered a reformer who even understood the plight of the peasantry when they rebelled against the nobility.

The coin was issued by the German Empire as a 3-mark coin in 1917 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Luther. The coin was issued during the reign of Frederick August III, late during World War I and about one year before the German states stopped issuing their own coins.

The design is based on a special taler issued in 1522, which features an image of Friedrich the Wise based on a painting by Lucas Cranach the elder.

Image Courtesy: colnect.com