1/2 Mark German Empire (1871-1918) Silver

The German Emperor Wilhelm I died in Berlin on 9   March 1888, and Prince Wilhelm’s father was proclaimed Emperor as   Frederick III. He was already suffering from an incurable throat cancer   and spent all 99 days of his reign fighting the disease before dying. On   15 June of that same year, his 29-year-old son succeeded him as German   Emperor and King of Prussia.

Although in his youth he had been a great admirer of   Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm’s characteristic impatience soon brought him   into conflict with the “Iron Chancellor”, the dominant figure in the   foundation of his empire. The new Emperor opposed Bismarck’s careful   foreign policy, preferring vigorous and rapid expansion to protect   Germany’s “place in the sun.” Furthermore, the young Emperor had come to   the throne with the determination that he was going to rule as well as   reign, unlike his grandfather, who had largely been content to leave   day-to-day administration to Bismarck.

Early conflicts between Wilhelm II and his chancellor   soon poisoned the relationship between the two men. Bismarck believed that William was a lightweight who could be dominated, and he showed   scant respect for Wilhelm’s policies in the late 1880s. The final split   between monarch and statesman occurred soon after an attempt by Bismarck to implement a far-reaching anti-Socialist law in early 1890.