3 Pfennige - Frederick William IV Mule

A mule — the product of mismatched dies from different coin types — this piece pairs dies that were not intended for use together, almost certainly the result of a pressroom error at the Berlin mint rather than any deliberate policy. Such mistakes were not unknown in mid-19th century German state minting, where die inventories for multiple denominations were stored in close proximity and oversight was inconsistent. Frederick William IV's reign saw periodic coinage reforms that left obsolete dies in circulation within the mint workshops, creating the conditions for exactly this kind of accident.