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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/German medallion identification

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Expert: - 3/16/2010


Question

Front
Yes--I have pictures. It was a late night mistake not to post them yesterday. See this and the next question for pictures of the two sides.

Here was the original question:

I have a medallion 2 inches in diameter that I have been trying to identify. The German inscription leads me to believe it is related to the 1933 Chicago world's fair but I could be completely wrong about that. The Nazi symbol on the back is confusing--would they let this be distributed in Chicago or is this from Germany?

Anyway--do you know anything about this? Or could you recommend a website where I can research this item? Can you place a value on it? If I want to sell it, what's the best way?

Thanks so much for your time

.. jeff

Following is the reason:

Jeff,
For something like this I would not be able to give you accurate in formation without pictures of the piece. If you can post another question with a two-side picture of the coin (or two separate questions with a picture on each side - since this website only allows for one picture to be attached per question), I can certainly tell you about it's history and value.
Thanks.

Expert: Dmitry Livshits

Answer
Hi again Jeff,
This medal is from a fair, but not the Chicago World's Fair. The piece commemorates "outstanding achievements" by the Society of Business and Culture during the annual German Week fair. This one is a little special in that it was the 100th annual German Week (1833-1933). These medals were awarded with different designs for each group that displayed at the fair. I recently saw one for the Teaching and Education Society for 50 euros (just under $70 US). Your medallion is also in excellent condition and I would estimate the value right in that same range.
The piece is definitely from Germany. In 1933 it was still early enough that a swastika would be displayed by the German representatives at the Chicago World's Fair, and in fact I believe there was one (though it was likely on the "down low" rather than right up there in people's faces. Fascism was not a direct threat at that time, but many Americans were not supportive of it).
There is not too much info out there about, but it still goes on. Now-a-days it has become focused more on teaching and education rather than other areas that were included in 1933.
Your best bet to sell something like this is eBay, since it's not valuable enough to be accepted as a single item by a large auction. The only problem is that you would not get a fair price unless the item was listed on one of the European eBay sites in euro currency.
If you were to sell it on the US eBay, then start the bidding at close to the value, rather than a low opening bid.
I've also pasted this answer into the other question.
Thanks again! =)
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentComprehensive answer to my question. Many thanks.


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Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

Experience

Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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