1000 Old German Mark Banknote Gold Minted Bar (Mintage: 1,000 | Old Design | Proof)
- Genuine Investment Gold: 999.9 fine gold
- Give Gold as a Gift: as a true investment
- Official Coin: valid in Liberia
- Genuine Investment GoldMinted fine gold, its value tied to the gold price
- Give Gold as a GiftGive genuine investment gold for birthdays or weddings
- Official CoinLegal tender with a face value of 25 dollars
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First Bundesbank series, 1000 marks
An elderly man,after Lucas Cranach the Elder.
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 Bundesbank’s first series.
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: Elderly man after Cranach
The face of the note
A portrait by Lucas Cranach
The portrait follows a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder from 1529. The painting is in Brussels. Even the Bundesbank was not sure whom it shows.
The back shows the cathedral of Limburg an der Lahn.
For its first series, the Bundesbank deliberately chose heads from old, recognised paintings. The names of painter and sitter do not appear on the notes, because some were unknown or uncertain.
The portrait after Cranach
The numeral 1000
The cathedral of Limburg
The series
Seven notes after old paintings
On 10 February 1961 the Bundesbank issued the first note of its first series, the 20 DM note. By 26 April 1965 the others had followed, last of all the 500 DM note. There were seven values from 5 to 1000 marks; a 200 DM note only came with the last series.
It was designed by Hermann Eidenbenz, chosen after a competition with 140 preliminary designs. The notes were printed by the Bundesdruckerei in Berlin and by Giesecke & Devrient in Munich. Each value was 5 millimetres higher and 10 millimetres longer than the next smaller one.
They remained valid until they were called in on 30 June 1995. Some things lived on in the last series: the colours of the values, the large portraits looking towards the centre and the word “Banknote” in Fraktur, which most notes of the first series already bore.
5 DM note1963
10 DM note1963
20 DM note1961
50 DM note1962
100 DM note1962
500 DM note1965
1000 DM note1964
The small format
The design of a note on 15 millimetres of gold
The 1000 DM note measured 180 × 90 millimetres. The bar carries its design on a surface narrower than a 1-cent coin.
The paper note was work on the smallest scale. Egon Falz, Hans-Joachim Fuchs and José Lopez engraved the portrait and motif of each note by hand in steel, over months. In intaglio printing, the design stood raised on the paper like a relief.
The bar’s finish is proof. The image shows it in a capsule on a black card with DEUTSCHE MARK, 1/200 OZ and 9999 FINE GOLD.
At a glance
- Motif
- 1000 DM note, Elderly man after Cranach
- The Bundesbank’s first 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
- 1,000 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.
Faces from old paintings, from 1961 to 1995.
Cranach’s elderly man on 1/200 ounce of gold.
1000 Deutsche Mark Banknote as a Gold Minted Bar – Strictly Limited Rarity in 999.9 Fine Gold
- Strictly limited: worldwide mintage of only 1,000 pieces – a deliberately small, strictly limited mintage.
- Growth potential: pronounced appreciation potential due to the consistent limitation and the continuing high demand for designs from the good old D-Mark era.
- Sought-after collector's coin and true rarity in an elegant minted bar format.
- Design: modeled on the historical 1000 DM banknote from the BBk I series – obverse featuring the portrait after Lucas Cranach the Elder, reverse showing the imposing Limburg Cathedral.
- Minting quality: the highest possible finish, Proof (PP), with mirror-like gleaming surfaces and crisply detailed relief.
- Investment goal: physical gold can effectively protect wealth against currency devaluation.
- Value preservation: minted fine gold as a proven store of value that secures the real substance of your wealth.
- Protection: especially in times of inflation, recession, and high national debt, you can safeguard your purchasing power with precious metal.
- Manufacturer: exclusive issue by Kettner Edelmetalle.
- Country of origin: Liberia, with an official face value of 25 dollars.
The thousand-mark note is one of the most iconic banknotes in German monetary history – hardly any other banknote stands so strongly for stability and sound money. This very design now lives on in gleaming fine gold. As an exclusive collector's coin with a very low mintage of only 1,000 pieces worldwide, this minted bar is a true rarity – and it is precisely this limitation that forms the basis for its high appreciation potential.
A Piece of German Monetary History, Refined in Pure Gold
The design is the personal touch of this issue – but the true substance is the gold it contains. The minted bar faithfully reproduces both sides of the historical 1000 DM banknote: the front shows the dignified portrait based on a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, while the reverse depicts the widely known Limburg Cathedral, once chosen by the Bundesbank as a symbol of Romanesque architecture. The striking tilt effect of the \"Proof\" finish makes the fine lines of the former banknote appear as if engraved.
What Makes a Minted Bar So Special
Bars that bear a coin die stamp and an imprinted face value are referred to as minted bars. At first glance, the piece looks like a classic bar, but the face value of 25 dollars gives it the status of a genuine coin, making it official legal tender in its country of issue, Liberia. This format thus combines the best of both worlds: the clean design language of a gold bar and the official character of a gold coin.
Technical Specifications at a Glance
- Precious metal: gold with a fineness of 999.9/1,000
- Denomination: 1/200 oz, fine weight 0.16 grams
- Dimensions: 15.00 mm x 8.50 mm
- Condition: Proof (PP), brand new
- Face value: 25 dollars (Liberia)
- Mintage: strictly limited to 1,000 pieces
- Packaging: high-quality coin capsule to protect the sensitive Proof surface
Gold – Preserving Value for Millennia
Gold is the oldest currency in the world and has been a proven store of value for over 6,000 years. It possesses intrinsic value, has never had a price of zero, and protects against the loss of purchasing power. It is no coincidence that central banks around the globe hold vast gold reserves – a clear sign that real precious metal is superior to printed fiat money when it comes to inflation protection. Its limited supply makes the metal a scarce commodity with high value stability, and its excellent liquidity ensures that it can be traded and sold worldwide at any time. This makes physical gold well suited both as crisis protection and as a long-term investment that can be passed down through generations.
Another advantage for investors: profits from the sale of physical gold are generally tax-free, provided the holding period is at least one year. This way, your precious metal works for you in the long term.
A Genuine Gold Investment – Also Perfect as a Gift
Whether for a birthday, a wedding, or as an entry point into physical gold investment: anyone giving this piece as a gift is not simply presenting a decorative item, but full-fledged investment gold whose value is tied to the gold price. Despite the personal occasion, what you are acquiring here is minted fine gold with real substance – and over the years, such small amounts of gold add up to considerable wealth. Secure one of only 1,000 pieces of this extraordinary minting worldwide now, before the strictly limited edition is sold out.
Product depiction may differ from the final product.
