Si S. writes: I came across a wooden German coin holder, which has slots for a variety of coin denominations: from 1 pf to 20 marks. It has two slots for 3 mark pieces: klien and gross. I could narrow down the age of this piece if I knew when the large and small 3 mark pieces were minted (start and end dates). I think that these pieces were not minted after WWII. Would you have any further info on the minting of large and small 3 mark pieces and 20 mark pieces. Thanks
You are probably referring to 3 Marks (Drei mark) of the Weimar Republic. The small (klein) was struck from 1922 – 1923 in Aluminum with a reeded edge and about 27 mm in diameter. In 1924-1925 the 3 Mark was .500 silver (.2411 ounce pure silver) and about the same diameter as the previous issue.
From 1925 – 1932 a series of commemorative 3 Marks were struck a bit broader (about 30 mm) than the previous issue but at the same silver standard (the gross – the larger).
