GERMANY. Bundesrepublik Deutschland. 1949-present. 10 Pfennig 1950 F (Copper-Nickel-Zinc, 20 mm, 4.00 g, 12 h), Pattern strike, Stuttgart. BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND / •1950• Oak sprig. Rev. F / 10 / PFENNIG within two rye ears. Edge: smooth. Cf. Jaeger 383 (for prototype). Schaaf -. XRF tested as 62.70% Copper, 19.46% Nickel and 17.84% Zinc. Apparently unpublished. Tiny marks and scratches, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.


This trial striking was previously unknown. It is not one of the numerous privately made uniface pieces (cf. Rudolf Schaaf, Die Proben der Deutschen Münzen, Basel 1979, pp. 375 f.), but an official product of the Stuttgart Mint. Schaaf lists nickel-alloy trials for the 10 Pfennig only for 1949, and solely from the Hamburg Mint (Schaaf 378 M 1–3).

Alongside the previously documented trial strikings in silver (Jaeger 383 note), zinc (Künker 166, 10 March 2010, 5673), and aluminum (Teutoburger 124, 24 May 2019, 4383), this specimen reveals that the Stuttgart Mint also experimented with a copper–nickel–zinc alloy for the 10 Pfennig. Its discovery closes yet another gap in the still only partially charted coinage history of the young Federal Republic of Germany.