5 Pfennig - Wilhelm II type 2 - small shield - Pattern

This 1891 pattern represents an unsuccessful design proposal during the early reign of Wilhelm II, when the imperial administration was actively reconsidering minor coinage aesthetics following the young emperor's push to distinguish his rule visually from that of his grandfather. The small shield variant was rejected in favor of the established type, making struck examples vanishingly rare survivors of an internal minting evaluation rather than any sanctioned issue.