10 Euros 1200 Years of Magdeburg

Magdeburg received its town charter in 805 AD under Charlemagne, who established a trading post and customs station on the Elbe as part of his broader push to consolidate Frankish control over the Saxon frontier. The city's subsequent history was shaped largely by Otto I, who founded the cathedral and a Benedictine monastery there in 937, making Magdeburg a centerpiece of Ottonian imperial ambition rather than merely a regional market town.

The 2005 commemorative marks the 1200th anniversary of that 805 charter. German commemorative tens from this period were struck in proof and brilliant uncirculated finishes at both Hamburg and Berlin — the mint mark determines which.