German Empire 20 Mark Gold Coin

The twenty-mark gold coin of the German Empire was an imperial gold denomination authorized by legislation and issued across the empire's constituent federal states. First authorized under the law of 4 December 1871 and formalised by the Coinage Act of 9 July 1873, the denomination formed the core of Germany's new gold-standard currency launched in 1873. Denominations higher than one mark were struck individually by the member states rather than by a central imperial authority, with the Principality of Lippe being the only state that did not issue any gold coinage during this period.

The imperial currency took full effect on 1 January 1876, operating on a strict gold standard where 2,790 marks equalled one kilogram of pure gold, or 100/279 grams of fine gold per mark. Imperial twenty-mark gold coins were governed by a legal minimum weight, known as the Passiergewicht, beneath which worn specimens were withdrawn from official circulation. The coins circulated until August 1914, when the German Empire abandoned the gold backing upon the outbreak of the First World War and gold coinage ceased to circulate.

Struck in gold, the twenty-mark coin combined a uniform imperial reverse with an obverse specific to the issuing territory. The reverse shows the imperial eagle alongside a single-letter mint mark identifying the facility where it was struck. The obverse depicts the reigning monarch of the issuing kingdom or duchy rather than the German Emperor, or the civic coat of arms in the case of the free cities of Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck. Although most issues were standard circulation types, occasional commemorative coins were also produced that departed from standard pictorial conventions.