Item number: A2653

Year: AD 1914

Material: Silver (.900)

Size: 38.0 x 38.0 x 2.4 mm

Weight: 27.8 g

Manufactured by: Berlin Royal Mint

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a 5-Mark silver coin authorised by the German Empire and struck by the Kingdom of Prussia to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Wilhelm II’s accession to the throne.

The obverse features a right-facing half-length portrait of Wilhelm II, depicted in military uniform, adorned with the Order of the Black Eagle and its collar. Around the edge is inscribed in German “WILHELM · II · DEUTSCHER · KAISER · KÖNIG · VON · PREUSSEN”, meaning “Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia”, while the letter “A” below denotes the Berlin Mint.

The reverse shows the Imperial Eagle. At the centre lies a small two-coloured shield bearing the coat of arms of the House of Hohenzollern, displayed upon the chest of a single-headed Prussian Eagle with white shoulders and black feathers, thereby forming the shield of the Kingdom of Prussia. This shield is encircled by the Order of the Black Eagle and supported upon the chest of the black-feathered single-headed Imperial Eagle, surmounted by the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, thereby constituting the coat of arms of the German Empire. Around the upper edge appears “DEUTSCHES REICH 1914”, indicating the official state title “German Empire” and the year of minting “1914”, while the lower edge bears “FÜNF MARK”, denoting the denomination of “5 Marks”. According to the Coinage Act (Reichsmünzgesetz) promulgated after German unification in AD 1873, coins of one Mark and below could only be minted centrally, while constituent states were permitted to mint coins above one Mark, provided that the reverse bore the Imperial Eagle. Moreover, across the entire Empire, standards of fineness and weight were unified, with silver coins composed of a silver-to-copper ratio of nine to one. At that time, the Mark was backed by gold reserves and thus referred to as the “Goldmark”. It was not until the outbreak of the First World War that Germany abandoned the gold standard to finance its military efforts, leading to the widespread hoarding of precious metal coins by the populace and their effective disappearance from circulation, replaced by the “Papiermark”. Although nominally equivalent to the “Goldmark”, the Papiermark was no longer backed by gold, and following the war and the hyperinflation during the interwar period, the term became something of a bitter nickname.

The coin has an inscribed edge bearing the German motto “GOTT MIT UNS”, meaning “God with us”. The Latin version “Nobiscum deus” had already become a common battle cry during the later Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, while the German version was first adopted by the Teutonic Knights and later became the motto of the Prussian royal house. During the German Empire, all 3-Mark and 5-Mark coins were engraved with this motto.

In AD 1913, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Wilhelm II’s accession as German Emperor and King of Prussia, a series of grand celebrations were held throughout the Empire to foster patriotism and national consciousness. The Kingdom of Prussia also issued commemorative Mark coins, and, possibly due to their popularity, continued issuing them into AD 1914. That same year, the Sarajevo incident erupted, and Germany issued a “blank cheque” of support to Austria-Hungary, resulting in the escalation of tensions and Germany’s eventual entry into the First World War. At this time, German society remained largely optimistic, and the expectation that “the war would be over by Christmas” was widely circulated.

Wilhelm II (AD 1859–1941), after his accession in AD 1888, pursued an active Weltpolitik aiming to expand Germany’s international standing and colonial possessions, but his impulsive foreign policies contributed to Germany’s diplomatic isolation. Domestically, Germany rose as the leading industrial and military power in Europe, with surging nationalism and a deeply entrenched military culture. Following the outbreak of the First World War, the war failed to conclude swiftly as anticipated. With the Western Front descending into a protracted trench warfare stalemate, the scale and duration of the conflict far exceeded initial expectations. Wilhelm II gradually lost real authority during the war, with military leadership assuming effective control over decision-making, while societal discontent and resource shortages intensified. Ultimately, in AD 1918, following the outbreak of the German Revolution, Wilhelm II abdicated and went into exile, the German Empire collapsed, and governance passed to the Weimar Republic.

物件編號: A2653

年代: 公元 1914 年

材質: 銀 (900‰)

尺寸: 38.0 x 38.0 x 2.4 mm

重量: 27.8 g

製造地: 柏林皇家鑄幣廠

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚德意志帝國授權予各城邦，而普魯士王國為紀念威廉二世登基25週年，鑄行的5馬克銀幣。

銀幣正面為威廉二世的右側半身像。威廉二世身著軍服，配戴黑鷹勳章以及鍊章。環列德文「WILHELM · II · DEUTSCHER · KAISER · KONIG · VON · PREUSSEN」，意即「威廉二世，德意志皇帝，普魯士之王」，下方「A」則為柏林鑄幣廠的鑄幣標記。

銀幣背面為帝國鷹，最中央的雙色迷你盾徽，為霍亨索倫王朝的紋章，承托於白肩黑羽單首的普魯士鷹胸前，組合為普魯士王國的盾徽，盾徽由黑鷹勳章環繞，承托於黑羽單首的帝國鷹胸前，加以神聖羅馬帝國皇冠，組合成為德意志帝國的國徽。上方環列「DEUTSCHES REICH 1914」，即正式國號「德意志國」及鑄行年「1914」，下方環列「FÜNF MARK」，即面額｢5馬克｣。依德國統一後，公元1873年頒布的《鑄幣法》(Reichsmünzgesetz)，一馬克及以下面額的貨幣僅能由中央鑄造，各邦國可自行鑄造一馬克以上的貨幣，僅貨幣背面須得加上「帝國鷹」國徽。同時，帝國全境之成色與重量皆一致，銀幣當為銀銅比九比一。此時馬克以黃金作為準備金，故又稱「金馬克」。直到一戰開始，德國為籌集軍費，放棄金本位，貴金屬幣因保值被民眾儲藏，從而實質上退出流通，為「紙馬克」所取代。「紙馬克」理論上與「金馬克」為同樣的貨幣，只是價值不再與黃金勾兌，加以一戰及戰間期發生的劇烈通貨膨脹，故有此戲稱。

幣稜有邊銘，德文「GOTT MIT UNS」，意即「主與我們同在」。拉丁語版本「Nobiscum deus」在羅馬帝國晚期以及拜占庭帝國已成為經常使用的戰吼，而德語版最早由條頓騎士團開始使用，後成為普魯士王室的座右銘。德意志帝國時期，所有3及5馬克的硬幣都刻有該格言。

公元1913年，為威廉二世登基為德意志帝國皇帝以及普魯士王國國王的25週年，為此，帝國境內舉辦一系列盛大的慶祝活動，凝聚愛國主義與民族意識。普魯士王國亦發行相關紀念馬克，可能由於受到歡迎，隔年1914年持續發行。同年，薩拉耶佛事件爆發，德國向奧匈帝國提供「空白支票」支持，導致局勢失控，最終捲入第一次世界大戰。此時，德國社會普遍仍充滿樂觀情緒，流傳著「到聖誕節就結束」的期待。

威廉二世(生卒年公元1859至1941年)，其自公元1888年即位後推行積極的世界政策，試圖擴展德國的國際地位與殖民勢力，但也因冒進的外交風格使德國在國際間孤立化。國內方面，德國成為歐洲最重要的工業與軍事強國，民族主義高漲，軍事文化根深蒂固。一戰爆發後，戰事未能如預期般速勝。隨著西線陷入壕溝僵局，戰爭規模與持久性超出原本想像。威廉二世在戰時逐漸失去實際權力，軍方掌握決策主導權，社會不滿與資源短缺亦日益加劇。最終在公元1918年，德國革命爆發後，威廉二世退位流亡，德意志帝國滅亡，轉由威瑪共和執政。