Ancient, British and World Coins, Tokens, Historical Medals and Banknotes

Germany, Centenary of the Birth of Otto von Bismarck, 1915, a cast bronze portrait medal by H. Schwegerle, armoured bust right, 84mm; same subject, 1915, a uniface cast bronze portrait medal by A. Thiele, 117mm [2]. Very fine, the latter with a particularly expressive portrait (£40-50)

Otto von Bismarck (1815-98), the ‘Iron Chancellor’, was the architect of German unification and the arbiter of European power politics throughout most of the last half of the 19th century