Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 4/16/2010

Question
QUESTION: Dmitry, you seem to be the expert on these Drei Mark coins.  The story on this one?  As an 11 year old, I found the coin in a bakery my parents bought back in the 70's.  It had previously been owned by an old German man named Roth.  I found the coin in the safe the family had sold us along with everything else in the bakery.  Back to the coin....I've held onto it for going on 40 years now and never really knew of it's history.  As a coin collector all those years, I knew it was in pretty good shape but had never thought to ask anyone if it was of any value.  I've done some searching for Drei Marks of the period and haven't been able to find any others like it, so I'm hoping it's fairly rare.  The wording on the front is "Ernst August . Viktoria Luise Herzog u Herzogin z Braunscheig u Luneb / 1 XL (Nov) 1913".  On the reverse is the imperial eagle, the detail still in very good shape with a mint date of 1915.  Looks to commemorate the marriage of this Duke and Duchess of the state they lived or ruled.  Can you give me an idea of it's possible value?  If it's not of great value, I'll probably just hang on to it.  I will send the back side photo seperately.

Thanks so much,
James

ANSWER: Hi James,
You will be pleased to know that this coin is indeed scarce and pretty valuable, especially in this condition which I would rate as a solid AU by the photos.
The commemoration is for the 1913 marriage and ascension to the throne of Ernst August, the ruler of the German State of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel.

These were made in 2, 3 and 5 mark denominations. The drei (3) mark is actually the most common with a mintage of 32,000. The other denominations have a mintage of less than 2,000 coins for each.

If I had it at one of my eBay auctions, I would expect right around $200 for it. The funny thing is, if it had been an old US coin with that mintage, the prices would be astronomical. It's a sad but true disparity in the coin collecting world.

I've pasted this into the other question as well.
Thanks for the question! =)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dmitry,

Thank you so much for the info on my coin!  Now the question is, if I were to try and sell it, what method would you suggest?  I'm an eBay shopper, but have never really tried selling there.  I have plenty folks here who can help me with that though.  Would eBay be the best way to try and sell it?  

Thanks again,
James

Answer
Hi again James,
Yes I would most definitely recommend eBay for something like this. The coin will get plenty of attention there.
On thing to note: as you do not have a reputation for being a coin seller, I would suggest starting the bidding close to $200, rather than something really low. The prices you get on eBay often depend on returning buyers who look for your auctions and may not necessarily do regular searches for certain coins.
Thanks again! =)