5 Mark - Albert George

Schaumburg-Lippe was among the smallest sovereign states in the German Empire, with a population that never exceeded 50,000 during Albert George's reign. The right to strike silver coinage of this size was jealously maintained by even the tiniest German princes as a mark of political standing within the imperial framework — not economic necessity. Albert George ruled from 1893 until his death in 1911, and production of this type was concentrated in just a handful of years, keeping total mintage figures extremely low across the series.