3 Mark - Frederick II

Anhalt-Dessau was one of the smallest sovereign states in the German Empire, with a population under 350,000, yet retained the right to strike commemorative coinage under the imperial constitution. This two-year issue honored Friedrich II, who ruled the duchy from 1904 until the abolition of the German monarchies in November 1918. The coins were struck at the Berlin Mint, as Anhalt maintained no facility of its own.

Mintages for Anhalt issues were tightly capped by the imperial authorities, keeping survival numbers low relative to Prussian or Bavarian contemporaries.