Item number: M321

Year: AD 1936

Material: Silver

Size: 35.4 x 35.4 mm

Manufactured by: Bavarian State Mint, Munich

Provenance: Stack’s Bowers 2024

This is an AD 1936 commemorative silver medal minted at the Bavarian State Mint in Munich, known as a “Restoration of the Goldmark.” The obverse side of the medal is a piece by the prominent early 20th-century German engraver Karl Goetz.

It depicts a line of people waiting in a bank lobby at the “GOLD MARK” (Goldmark) counter, where they are queueing to receive money, alongside a distressed cashier labelled with “DEVISEN” (currency), and a dejected customer sitting slumped on a sofa in the foreground. In the lower left corner, Goetz’s initials, “K.G,” can be faintly seen.

At the bottom of the medal, there are two lines of German text: “DANK-SORGE U. FREUDE” (Thankfulness, Worry, and Joy). These words poignantly reflect the complex emotions of the German people during the 1920s, a time when the country was grappling with an unstable financial environment following World War I. The inscription captures the mixture of gratitude, anxiety, and optimism that characterised the period of economic recovery and turmoil.

The reverse side of the medal features a spiral arrangement of German text encircling the denomination and date, “1 MARK 1936.”

AD 1924 and AD 1936 date versions of this medal also exist in both bronze and silver.

Karl Goetz’s Banks Worry & Pleasure medal, also known as Bankenfreude und Bankenleid, has two primary versions from AD 1924 and AD 1936. These satirical medals were produced to reflect on the economic situations involving the United States and Germany’s return to the gold standard. The design symbolizes shifting sentiments in the financial world, where the expression of “worry” and “pleasure” among banks depends on the fluctuating value of currency under the gold standard.

The primary differences between versions lie in minor design alterations and the production year stamps, with the original AD 1924 release marking Germany’s re-adoption of the gold standard. The AD 1936 version revisits this theme but reflects the evolving political and economic tensions leading up to WWII.

The German mark operated under the gold standard from AD 1871 until the onset of World War I. Like many countries, Germany suspended its gold standard in August AD 1914 due to the financial strains of the war, which led to gold coins ceasing to circulate.

After World War I, following the collapse of the German Empire after the November Revolution of AD 1918, defeated Germany was compelled by the Treaty of Versailles to pay enormous war reparations. However, plagued by hyperinflation and the collapse of the Papiermark, in AD 1923, the Weimar Republic introduced the Rentenmark to stabilize the currency, but it was only a temporary solution. As Germany’s post-war economy was not equipped to handle such reparation payments.

In response, Charles Gates Dawes, the Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget, led a recovery plan for Germany in AD 1923. Known as the Dawes Plan, which was aimed at reorganizing Germany’s reparations payments, the U.S. helped broker the currency reform that led to the creation of the Reichsmark. This new currency was backed by gold and was introduced to restore confidence in Germany’s financial system.

This financial support enabled Germany’s economy to recover more quickly, facilitating the repayment of reparations, while also allowing the U.S. to reclaim wartime loans from Britain and France. For his efforts, Dawes was awarded the Nobel Peace Prise in AD 1925.

物件編號: M321

年代: 公元 1936 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 35.4 x 35.4 mm

製造地: 慕尼黑，巴伐利亞州造幣廠

來源: SBP錢幣拍賣 2024

這是一枚公元1936年，慕尼黑的巴伐利亞州造幣廠鑄造之「恢復金馬克」的銀質紀念章。紀念章正面是活躍於20世紀初的德國雕刻家卡爾·戈茨的作品，於銀行大廳等著從「GOLD MARK」(金馬克) 出納台領錢的排隊人潮，以及一名站在「DEVISEN」(貨幣) 愁眉苦臉的出納人員，前方則是一位垂頭喪氣坐在沙發上的客人。左下角能依稀看到卡爾·戈茨的姓名縮寫「K.G」。正下方則有兩行德文「DANK-SORGE U. FREUDE」(感恩、擔憂與喜悅)，貼切再現20年代德國人面對不穩定的金融環境時內心複雜的情緒。

紀念章背面則是被螺旋排列的德文環繞的「1 MARK 1936」面額和年份字樣。

卡爾·戈茨（Karl Goetz）的《恢復金馬克》紀念章，也被稱為《銀行快樂與銀行憂慮》（Bankenfreude und Bankenleid），有1924年版和1936年兩個主要版本版存世，同時也再分有銅質和銀質兩種版本。這些諷刺性紀念章反映了與美國及德國重新回歸金本位制度相關的經濟情況。設計象徵著金融界情緒的變化，銀行的“憂慮”和“快樂”取決於金本位下貨幣價值的波動。

公元1924年的版本標誌著德國重新採用金本位制度。公元1936年的版本再次探討這一主題，但反映了二戰前的政治和經濟緊張局勢。

德國馬克在公元1871年至第一次世界大戰爆發期間實行金本位制。與許多國家一樣，由於戰爭帶來的財政壓力，德國在公元1914年8月中止了金本位制，並停止了金幣的流通。

第一次世界大戰後，隨著德意志國帝國於公元1918年十一月革命後的崩潰，德國被《凡爾賽條約》迫使支付巨額戰爭賠款。然而，由於惡性通貨膨脹和紙馬克(Papiermark)的崩潰，威瑪共和國於公元1923年引入了地租馬克(Rentenmark)來穩定貨幣，但這僅僅是臨時解決方案，因為德國戰後經濟無法承擔如此巨大的賠款。

於公元1923年作為回應，美國預算局局長查爾斯·蓋茨·道威斯(Charles Gates Dawes)主導了一項針對德國的經濟復甦計劃。該計劃被稱為道威斯計劃，旨在重組德國的賠款支付，此計畫下，因美國幫助促成了貨幣改革，最終導致帝國馬克(Reichsmark)的創立

這一新貨幣以黃金為擔保，並被引入以恢復德國金融體系的信心，讓德國經濟得以盡快恢復和償還賠款，美國也能藉此向英法收回戰時的貸款。道威斯以其名字命名的「道威斯計畫」讓他獲得公元1925年度的諾貝爾和平獎。