2006 Germany €10 Silver Coin "Hanseatic League"

• Issue date:
• Mint: Hamburg (J)
• Denomination: €10
• Quality: Proof/Uncirculated
• Limits: 300,000/1.6 million
• Alloy: 92.5% Sterling Silver
• Diameter: 32.50 mm
• Weight: 18 grams
• Design: Heinz Hoyer
• Box/Capsule: No/Yes
• Certificate: No


• Image shows proof quality


• Edge lettering:

This German issue commemorates the 650th anniversary of the founding of the Hanseatic League.

In 1356 representatives of various towns and cities met in Lübeck to agree on a common approach to resolving disputes over trade and trading rights. This gathering in Lübeck is now regarded as the first "Hansetag" - the general assembly of Hanseatic towns - and 1356 as the date the "Hanse", or Hanseatic League, was founded.

This is the first time that a ship has been used as the principal design element on a coin from the Federal Republic of Germany.

The ship depicted on the reverse is a cog, the typical trading ship that was used by the Hanse up until about 1400. By incorporating other design elements such as figures, architecture and water, the design communicates a sense of dynamism and vitality of the Hanseatic League and Europe's development from these historical roots. The text on this side of the coin reads "650 JAHRE STAEDTHANSE", or 650 years of the Hanseatic state.

The obverse of the coin bears the traditional image of the German eagle. As well it features 12 stars representing the countries in the Euro zone as of 2006. Beneath the eagle are the words "Bundesrepublic Deutschland", and beneath that the mint mark J (Hamburg) and the denomination, 10 euros. To the right of the eagle is the year of issue, 2006.

The coin is edge lettered with the words "WANDEL DURCH HANDEL - VON DER HANSE NACH EUROPA", or "Change through trade - From the Hanseatic League to today's Europe".

Additional Information

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