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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Prussian coins? or jewelry ?

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Expert: - 1/29/2011


Question

3 prussian coins?
I got this item from my great aunt and I'm not sure what it is. It looks like it is 3 coins chained together. the middle coin has the exact same front as Germany Preussan 1888 10 mark gold coin. The back is different than the 10 mark gold coin and has the image of a crown over what looks like letters or a monogram. the back has the dates 18 october 1831 and 15 june 1888. The top coin is the image of a Germany Preussan 1912 10 mark gold coin, again the back is different and has the image of a crown over a monogram, no date this time. The bottom coin has the face of Wilhelm Deutscher Kaiser (Konig? not sure of the spelling, the first letter has a chain link through it) V. Preussen. This time the back has the image of a star in the middle with a circle around it, followed by a circle of leaves around that. Can you please tell me what this is and perhaps what it is worth. Or can you point me in the direction of where to get more information on it?

Answer
Hi Greta,
Well, this piece is made from the exact coins you mentioned, but someone carefully personalized the items by tooling the reverse sides. This is basically what you see with a "love token", a coin that has a design carved into one side.
Love tokens are popular with collectors, though this item is a little beyond what most love token collectors look for or can afford.
The interesting thing is that it appears to be in commemoration of the ruler himself, rather than some private citizen.
This makes it a more valuable item. On the German market I would expect a retail price of no less than 50% above the gold bullion weight and likely as muchas double the gold bullion value.
The coins themselves are 22kt purity gold.
Thanks for the question! =)

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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