5 Mark

1914, Kingdom of Bavaria, Ludwig III. Large Silver 5 Mark Coin. NGC MS-63!

Mint Year: 1914
Reference: KM-1007.
Denomination: 5 Mark
Mint Place: Munich (D)
Condition: Certified and graded by NGC as MS-63!
Material: Silver (.900)
Weight: 27.78gm
Diameter: 38mm

Obverse: Head of Ludwig III right.  Mint initial (D) below.
Legend: LUDWIG III KOENIG VON BAYERN

Reverse: Crown of the German Empire above crowned Imperial German Eagle with shield at chest and star order.
Legend: DEUTSCHES REICH 1914 * FÜNF MARK *

One-year type commemorating the Royal Family with their circled portraits surrounding the central portrait of Therese von Bayern. This beautiful coin cought the attention of Nicholas I of Russia, who ordered a similar piece to be struck, honoring his family. A very nicely preserved and certified specimen of the beautiful and popular type!

The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806-1918. Elector Maximilian I Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918. Most of Bavaria's modern-day borders were established after 1814 with the Treaty of Paris, in which Bavaria ceded Tyrol and Vorarlberg to the Austrian Empire while receiving Aschaffenburg and parts of Hesse-Darmstadt. As a state within the German Empire, the kingdom was second in size only to the Kingdom of Prussia. Since the unification of Germany in 1871, Bavaria has remained part of Germany to the present day.

Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last king of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. He served as regent and de facto head of state from 1912 to 1913, ruling for his cousin, Otto. After the Bavarian parliament passed a law allowing him to do so, Ludwig deposed Otto and assumed the throne himself. He led Bavaria into World War I, and lost his throne along with the other rulers of the German states at the end of the war.