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5 Deutsche Mark Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
| Issuer | Deutsche Bundesbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a boldly modelled truncated bust of the German Enlightenment playwright and philosopher Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in left-facing profile, rendered in a neoclassical silhouette style with fine detail to the collar and coat. Lessing's autograph facsimile signature is engraved in cursive script across the lower field beneath the bust. The circular legend 'GOTTHOLD EPHRAIM LESSING' arcs along the upper border, while the birth and death years '· 1729 · 1781 ·' appear along the lower border, commemorating the 250th anniversary of his birth and the bicentenary of his death. |
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| Mint | J, Hamburgische Münze, Germany (801-date) |
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| Additional information |
Issued to mark the 250th anniversary of Lessing's birth, this piece belongs to the long-running West German commemorative five-mark program — a series that consistently chose cultural and intellectual figures over military or political ones, a deliberate postwar policy choice by the Federal Republic. Lessing was selected in part because his 1779 play Nathan the Wise had been weaponized by the Nazis as a target, its author's Enlightenment arguments for religious tolerance made into evidence of Jewish-sympathizing decadence.
The copper-nickel clad nickel composition was introduced to this denomination in 1975, replacing the previous .625 silver standard.