Germany’s Finance Ministry has suspended the release of two upcoming commemorative coins after a sharp rise in silver prices pushed the metal’s value above the coins’ face denominations.
The decision affects the planned €20 and €25 silver coins that were due to be issued over the next three months. These collector’s items, which have become popular among numismatists, were deemed too costly to mint given the current price of silver.
According to the ministry, “the material value of the German €20 and €25 silver coins currently exceeds their respective face value by a significant margin.” Silver recently reached a record high of $54.30 per troy ounce, marking a 60% increase since the start of the year.
The first affected issue is a €25 “Three Wise Men” Christmas coin, part of a holiday-themed series launched in 2021. Each coin contains 22 grams of pure silver, now worth roughly €29 on the market. Previous editions have fetched up to €45.95 from collectors.
A second coin, intended to mark 125 years of Wuppertal’s suspension monorail, was also halted. The €20 coin, which includes 16.6 grams of silver, was to feature Tuffi the elephant, famously remembered for leaping from a suspended train car in 1950 during a circus publicity stunt gone wrong.
While Germany had planned to sell the coins at a premium, officials said continuing under current conditions was “not possible.” The ministry added that it is exploring alternatives, including reissuing the coins with adjusted parameters — potentially with reduced silver content, a method reminiscent of ancient “debasement” practices dating back to Roman Emperor Nero, who lowered silver content to preserve minting.
So far this year, Germany has issued 10 commemorative coins, including four €20 silver coins, but the recent surge in precious metal prices has forced Europe’s largest economy to reconsider its approach to numismatic releases.
