Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 2/28/2010

Question
l have a gold medallion or whatever from Bavaria. One side says PATRONA BAVARIAE, 1868 - 1968  and in fine print..900 which l presume is the purity of the gold. It weighs 32 grams. The other side says FREISTAAT BAYERN  1918...50...1968 The centre is etched with the rest of the coin being mirror finished. Brilliant and uncirculated. Any info would be helpful. Photo attached.
Regards....John

Answer
Hi John,
This is a medal commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Free state of Bavaria, a title regained after WWI that was lost at the beginning of that war in 1914.
This medallion was made in several sizes with the same exact design: a 3.5 gram and 9.6 gram coins are the more common varieties. I have never personally seen the 32 gram size, but all of these sell very close to gold bullion value. Your coin would have close to 1 ounce of actual gold weight and a good auction or retail estimate is right around $1,200. Because the 32 gram coin is more scarce than the other sizes, I would not be surprised if it actually sold for more like $1,500.
The embossed and mirror-like features you describe are those of what is called a "proof" coin, which is a very high quality and high relief type of coins striking done with highly polished dies. For the coin you have, all the examples were done in a proof quality.
Thanks for the question! =)