Expert: Brad Swain - 3/13/2010

Question
hi i was given a silver 5 mark coin in 1978,which i was told only a few were made,
1 side has a eagle and written on it says deutsche bundesrepublik deutschland,
and the other side is inside of a church,written on it ,BALTHASAR NEUMANN 1667-1751
I dont know if this rare or worth anything,could you give me a idea.Thank you.

Answer
Hi Davina, this is a West German 5 Mark coin issued to commemorate the 225th anniversary of architect Balthasar Neumann's death. It contains .2250 of an ounce of silver (currently worth about $3.85).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Balthasar_Neumann
There were 8 million of the regular uncirculated versions minted in Stuttgart (F) which may be worth up to about $6 depending on amount of wear and collector demand. There were 259,000 special Proof collector versions minted that may be worth up to about $12. Proof coins have mirror fields that allows reflecting newsprint to be read at least 6 inches away.
You might try Ebay.com for similar pieces for comparison. You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad