10 Euros Johann Gottfried Schadow, Silver Proof Issue

Schadow's most consequential work — the Quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate, completed in 1793 — was hauled off to Paris by Napoleon in 1806 as a trophy of conquest. It sat there for eight years until Prussia reclaimed it following his defeat, at which point Schadow's student Karl Friedrich Schinkel added the Iron Cross and eagle to the returning sculpture. The coin was issued to mark the 250th anniversary of Schadow's birth in Berlin.

The .625 fineness is specific to Germany's collector silver program of this period, a deliberate step down from sterling to manage production costs while retaining a silver issue.