1000 Deutsche Mark Gold Minted Bar (Mintage: 5,000 | Proof)
- Purest gold: Fineness 999.9/1,000
- Give gold: genuine investment gold
- Official coin: Face value 25 dollars
- Purest gold0.16 grams of fine gold, its value follows the gold price
- Give goldA lasting value for baptism, wedding or Christmas
- Official coinLegal tender of the Republic of Liberia
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The last DM series, 1000 marks
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm,linguists.
A 1/200 ounce gold bar by Kettner Edelmetalle, just 15 × 8.5 millimetres in size, showing the design of the 1000 DM note from the last series of Deutsche Mark notes.
Image greatly enlarged. The bar measures 15 × 8.5 millimetres.
Image of the front of the bar with the design of the 1000 DM note: Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm
The face of the note
The dictionary at the centre
Wilhelm Grimm lived from 1786 to 1859, Jacob Grimm from 1785 to 1863. The Bundesbank calls the brothers linguists and collectors of German linguistic and cultural heritage. In the background stand historic buildings of the city of Kassel.
The double portrait needed the most space, so the brothers went on the largest note. For the back, the girl from the Sterntaler tale was planned first. Then the Deutsches Wörterbuch, the dictionary they had begun, moved to the centre, in front of the Königliche Bibliothek in Berlin, and the Sterntaler motif moved to the edge.
The Bundesbank also chose portraits as the main motif because human perception “responds particularly well to faces”. The back was new: it shows what the people on the front worked on.
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm
The numeral 1000
The Deutsches Wörterbuch
The series
Eight notes, nine faces
On 1 October 1990 the Bundesbank issued the first two notes of the new series, the 100 and the 200 DM notes. By 27 October 1992 the other six had followed, last of all the 5, the 500 and the 1000 DM notes.
The series was designed by Reinhold Gerstetter, a graphic artist at the Bundesdruckerei. Historians drew up proposals from an initial 70 to 80 names; the condition was an authentic portrait to work from. Five models were mirrored so that all portraits look towards the centre of the note.
Some things stayed from the Bundesbank’s first series: the colours of the values, the large portraits looking towards the centre and the word “Banknote” in Fraktur.
5 DM note1992
10 DM note1991
20 DM note1992
50 DM note1991
100 DM note1990
200 DM note1990
500 DM note1992
1000 DM note1992
The small format
The design of a note on 15 millimetres of gold
The 1000 DM note measured 178 × 83 millimetres. The bar carries its design on a surface narrower than a 1-cent coin.
The paper note was work on the smallest scale. For a steel-engraved portrait, a good engraver needs “a good two to three months”, said the designer Reinhold Gerstetter. Experts from botanists to architects checked every detail, down to the exact number of windows in a building.
Some things on the paper notes could only be seen with a magnifying glass: on the right of the back lies a very fine background, with clefs and notes on the 100 DM note and with frogs and crowns on the 1000 DM note. The bar’s finish is proof.
At a glance
- Motif
- 1000 DM note, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm
- Last DM series
- Maker
- Kettner Edelmetalle
- Face value
- 25 Dollars
- Liberia
- Weight
- 1/200 ounce
- Fine weight
- 0.16 g
- Fineness
- 999.9/1,000
- Dimensions
- 15.00 × 8.50 mm
- Finish
- Proof
- Mintage
- 5,000 pieces
- Packaging
- Coin capsule
All details except the design as stated in our product specifications. The bars are products of Kettner Edelmetalle, not an issue of the Deutsche Bundesbank.
The last series of the Mark, designed by Reinhold Gerstetter.
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm on 1/200 ounce of gold.
1000 Deutsche Mark Gold Minted Bar – purest fine gold featuring the design of the legendary Grimm banknote
- Minting quality: elaborately finished in the highest minting quality Proof with deep black fields and mirrored surfaces
- Investment goal: With a gold bar you build wealth in small, affordable steps and effectively protect it against gradual currency devaluation.
- Preservation of value: Pure fine gold is a proven store of value that safeguards the real purchasing power of your wealth and can be passed down through generations.
- Protection: Especially during periods of inflation, recession, and growing government debt, physical gold stabilizes your wealth.
- Fineness: 0.16 grams of fine gold in 999.9/1,000 – purest investment gold
- Coin status: through its face value of 25 dollars, officially legal tender of the Republic of Liberia
- Limited edition: limited worldwide to 5,000 pieces
- Design: modeled after the 1000 DM banknote featuring the portraits of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm
- Manufacturer: Kettner Edelmetalle
- Country of origin: Germany, issued for the Republic of Liberia
With the 1000 Deutsche Mark minted bar, you hold physical gold in its purest form in your hands. The nostalgic design is the personal touch – but the actual substance and reason to buy are the 0.16 grams of fine gold with a fineness of 999.9/1,000. The value of this small bar is primarily based on the precious metal it contains and moves in line with the gold price. So here you are not acquiring a mere keepsake, but full-fledged investment gold in a compact format.
A piece of German monetary history in fine gold
The obverse shows a remarkably detailed reproduction of the famous 1000 DM banknote. At the center sit the portraits of the Brothers Grimm: Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859) on the left, Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) on the right. Behind them, a historic German old town with half-timbered houses and a church tower can be seen, along with the word "Banknote" in old German Fraktur script. Inscriptions such as "DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK", the large "1000", and "TAUSEND DEUTSCHE MARK" complete the nostalgic overall image. Even the serial number and the tactile markings of the original note have been precisely replicated. The reverse references the life's work of the two scholars and shows the "Deutsches Wörterbuch" (German Dictionary) – a subtle nod to the fact that the Grimms not only collected world-famous fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood or The Star Money, but also wrote German cultural history as linguistic scholars.
What makes a minted bar special
At first glance, the piece looks like a classic bar – rectangular, compact, with rounded corners and a warmly shimmering gold surface. However, bars that carry a coin die and an impressed face value are referred to as minted bars. Through its face value of 25 dollars, this rectangular piece of gold attains the official status of a coin and is legal tender in its country of issue, Liberia. This dual nature as both bar and coin makes the format so appealing – while also clearly placing the piece within the broader category of gold bars.
Highest minting quality: Proof
The minted bar is struck in Proof quality – the most demanding minting quality of all. Multiply polished dies and blanks create the characteristic contrast between mirror-shiny surfaces and finely frosted design elements, which vividly highlights every detail of the original banknote. The piece is delivered as new merchandise, protected in a coin capsule that permanently preserves the delicate surface.
Investment gold that you can give as a gift
Whether for a christening, a wedding, a birthday, or Christmas: with this minted bar, you are not giving a mere souvenir, but genuine investment gold whose value is tied to the gold price. Small amounts of gold add up over the years to a considerable fortune – an ideal entry into physical gold investment. As an inflation hedge, gold has proven itself for thousands of years, and as crisis protection, the precious metal has repeatedly demonstrated its reliability.
For over 6,000 years, gold has served humanity as a store of value – it has outlasted every currency, every empire, and every crisis, never losing its shine.
Gold is considered the oldest currency in the world and possesses an intrinsic, globally recognized value. It is scarce, durable, tradable at any time, and can quickly be converted back into cash – not without reason do central banks around the globe hold huge gold reserves. For private individuals, capital gains from physical gold are tax-free after a minimum holding period of one year. Thus, this 1000 Deutsche Mark Gold Minted Bar "Made in Germany" combines a nostalgic German banknote design with the timeless permanence of the precious metal – making physical gold investment possible in a small, affordable denomination.
The most important facts at a glance
- Precious metal: gold, fineness 999.9/1,000
- Fine weight: 0.16 grams of fine gold (denomination 1/200 oz)
- Dimensions: 15.00 mm × 8.50 mm
- Face value: 25 dollars (Republic of Liberia)
- Condition: Proof
- Mintage: 5,000 pieces
- Delivery: as new merchandise in a protective coin capsule
- Manufacturer: Kettner Edelmetalle
Product depiction may differ from the final product.
