5 Deutsche Mark Pattern

West Germany's 1951 coinage program was complicated by fierce debate over whether to introduce a 5 Mark circulation coin at all — the Bundesbank worried a high-denomination base-metal piece would undermine confidence in the still-fragile Deutschmark, introduced only three years earlier after the currency reform of 1948. Several pattern compositions were tested that year, including brass, before the denomination was shelved entirely for circulation. No 5 Mark coin entered regular production until 1951's silver pieces, and even those saw limited early release.

Brass patterns from this program survive in very small numbers, almost exclusively in institutional collections.