GERMANY

Face value - 50 pfennig
Metal - aluminum
Mintage - 250 mln. pieces
In circulation since 1939 to 1944

Swastika

Swastika or Hakenkreuz ("hooked cross") is a symbol of Nazism, which Adolf Hitler chose for the flag of German Labor party, soon after renamed to National Socialistic Labor party. In his book "Mein Kampf" Hitler calls it "a symbol of struggle for Aryan people's victory". A word "swastika" in origin is Sanskrit word "suasti" or "good luck", and in many cultures it is considered as an ancient symbol of prosperity and success; in Buddha religion it is a symbol of permanent rotation of the universe. It was one of the main ornamental symbols in India, Russia and other countries. Nobody knows exactly why Hitler chose this symbol; they say, Guido von List, German poet-nationalist, proposed to use it as a symbol of anti-Semite organization in 1910. The usage of this emblem was totally forbidden in 1945 by United occupation troops.

Face value - 1 mark
Metal - copper-nickel
Mintage - 300 mln. pieces
In circulation since 1950 to 2002

Eagle

An eagle, shown on the coat of arms of Germany, is the most important symbol, used in heraldic. It is widely used to show power, force and victoriousity of a state or an empire. For the first time it appeared in Ancient Rome on the legion's standards, then was depicted on weapon, then turned to be an emblem of imperators, and soon after became a heraldic symbol of The Holy Roman Empire of German Nation (962-1806). Imitating roman imperators, Napoleon included an eagle into his coat of arms, when he was being crowned as imperator of France in 1804. many times in Germany an image of eagle changed its form and details, and to 1920 it lost all Prussian and monarchist emblems. In 1927 it was completely stylized in order to be more peaceful. This image was taken as a coat of arms of German Federal Republic in 1950, to show continuity of democratic politic of Weimar Republic.

GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Face value - 1 mark
Metal - aluminum
Mintage - 220 mln. pieces
In circulation since 1973 to 1990

Hammer and pair of compasses

After the end of WWII a lot of European countries changed their coats of arms, having added pictures of hammer and sickle, as the main national symbolic. a hammer is one of the oldest emblem of crafts, which is usually being used together with another one, which is subsidiary attribute. In coat of arms of German Democratic Republic a hammer is shown together with a pair of compasses, which symbolizes the working class, skilled and technically high equipped.