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10 Pfennig - Wilhelm II
| Issuer | Neu-Guinea Compagnie (New Guinea Company) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1894 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | At center, a Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea) is depicted in high relief perched on a branch, facing left, its elaborate elongated plume feathers radiating outward and upward to fill the field in a naturalistic composition of exceptional engraving quality. The unlettered field is deliberately bare, allowing the exotic subject matter — emblematic of the German colonial territory — to dominate the design without distraction. The device is enclosed within a raised inner circle, itself surrounded by a continuous beaded border along the rim. No legend or inscription appears on the obverse, making the bird the sole identifying motif. The overall aesthetic reflects the refined academic engraving tradition of the Berlin Mint in the late nineteenth century. |
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| Reverse lettering | NEU-GUINEA COMPAGNIE 10 NEU-GUINEA PFENNIG 1894 A (Translation: New Guinea Company 10 New Guinea Pfennig 1894 A) |
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| Additional information |
The Neu-Guinea Compagnie was a chartered trading corporation granted administrative authority over German New Guinea in 1885, effectively running the territory as a private colonial enterprise — complete with its own coinage. This 10 Pfennig piece was struck at the Berlin Mint in 1894, one of only two denominations the company ever issued. The experiment was short-lived: the German Imperial government absorbed the territory's administration directly in 1899, rendering these coins obsolete after fewer than five years of circulation.
Mintage figures were modest, and the coins saw limited actual use among the indigenous population, who largely operated outside the cash economy the company was attempting to impose.