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Friday 22 January 2021

1646) "Frau Holle," Federal Republic of Germany: The latest issue of 20 Euro Silver Coins in the on-going Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales Coin Series" minted by the Mint of Stuttgart: Date of Coin issue: 21.01.2021:

1646) "Frau Holle," Federal Republic of Germany: The latest issue of 20 Euro Silver Coins in the on-going Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales Coin Series" minted by the Mint of Stuttgart: Date of Coin issue: 21.01.2021:

The State Mint Sales Department of the German Federal Ministry of Finance and Munze Deutschland has released on 21.01.2021, the first Silver €20 Commemorative Coins for 2021 which continue the Coin Series “Grimms’ Fairy Tales”, which  began in 2016. 

The Obverse and Reverse of the 20 Euro Silver Coin depicted against a background illustration of Frau Holle showering gold coins on the good girl and pitch on the lazy girl. On the Obverse is seen the German Eagle emblem. The Coin is minted by the "MUNZE DEUTSCHLAND" (meaning the "Deutschland  Mint").

This Coin features a popular story titled - “Frau Holle.” 

"When it snows, it only means Frau Holle is shaking out her blankets vigorously. "

This saying is based on the well-known Fairy Tale titled  - “Frau Holle” by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. This and a host of other fairy tales were published in the famous collection of children’s tales in the early 19th century

Many of these narratives come with fantastic and terrifying elements, with the focus usually being on the moral message of each fairy tale.

The unnamed heroine of the story, "Frau Holle", is a young girl who lives with her unmannerly widowed stepmother and her lazy step-sister.

The Fairy Tale of "Frau Holle":

"A widow had two daughters, the one was beautiful and industrious, the other ugly and lazy. She greatly favored the ugly, lazy girl, because she was her own daughter. And the other one had to do all the work, and be the Cinderella of the house.

Every day the poor girl had to sit by a well, next to the highway, and spin so much that her fingers bled. Now it happened that one day the reel was completely bloody, so she dipped it in the well, to wash it off, but it dropped out of her hand and fell in. She cried, ran to her stepmother, and told her of the mishap. She scolded her so sharply, and was so merciless that she said, "Since you have let the reel fall in, you must fetch it out again."

Then the girl went back to the well, and did not know what to do. Terrified, she jumped into the well to get the reel. She lost her senses. 

When she awoke and came to herself again, she was in a beautiful meadow where the sun was shining, and there were many thousands of flowers. She walked across this meadow and came to an oven full of bread. The bread called out, "Oh, take me out. Take me out, or I'll burn. I've been thoroughly baked for a long time." So she stepped up to it, and with a baker's peel took everything out, one loaf after the other.

After that she walked further and came to a tree laden with apples. "Shake me. Shake me. We apples are all ripe." cried the tree. So she shook the tree until the apples fell as though it were raining apples. When none were left in the tree, she gathered them into a pile, and then continued on her way.

Finally she came to a small house. An old woman was peering out from inside. She had very large teeth, which frightened the girl, and she wanted to run away. But the old woman called out to her, "Don't be afraid, dear child. Stay here with me, and if you do my housework in an orderly fashion, it will go well with you. Only you must take care to make my bed well and shake it diligently until the feathers fly, then it will snow in the world. I am Frau Holle."

Because the old woman spoke so kindly to her, the girl took heart, agreed, and started in her service. The girl took care of everything to Frau Holle's satisfaction and always shook her featherbed vigorously until the feathers flew about like snowflakes. Therefore she had a good life with her: no angry words, and boiled or roasted meat every day.

After she had been with Frau Holle for some time, she became sad. At first she did not know what was the matter with her, but at last she determined that it was homesickness. Even though she was many thousands of times better off here than at home, still she had a yearning to return. Finally she said to the old woman, "I have such a longing for home, and even though I am very well off here, I cannot stay longer. I must go up again to my own people."

Frau Holle said, "I am pleased that you long for your home again, and because you have served me so faithfully, I will take you back myself." With that she took her by the hand and led her to a large gate.

The gate was opened, and while the girl was standing under it, an immense rain of gold fell, and all the gold stuck to her, so that she was completely covered with it. 

"This is yours because you have been so industrious," said Frau Holle, and at the same time she gave her back the reel which had fallen into the well.

With that the gate was closed and the girl found herself above on earth, not far from her mother's house. 

As she entered the yard the rooster, sitting on the well, cried:

'Cock-a-doodle-doo,

Our golden girl is here anew.'

Then she went inside to her mother, and as she arrived all covered with gold, she was well received, both by her mother and her sister. The girl told all that had happened to her, and when the mother heard how she had come to the great wealth, she wanted to achieve the same fortune for the other, the ugly and lazy daughter. She made her go and sit by the well and spin. And to make her reel bloody, the lazy girl pricked her fingers and shoved her hand into a thorn bush. Then she threw the reel into the well, and jumped in herself.

Like the other girl, she too came to the beautiful meadow and walked along the same path. When she came to the oven, the bread cried again, "Oh, take me out. Take me out, or else I'll burn. I've been thoroughly baked for a long time."

But the lazy girl answered, "As if I would want to get all dirty," and walked away.

Soon she came to the apple tree. It cried out, "Oh, shake me. Shake me. We apples are all ripe."

But she answered, "Oh yes, one could fall on my head," and with that she walked on.

When she came to Frau Holle's house, she was not afraid, because she had already heard about her large teeth, and she immediately began to work for her. 

On the first day she forced herself, was industrious, and obeyed Frau Holle, when she said something to her, because she was thinking about all the gold that she would give her. But on the second day she already began to be lazy, on the third day even more so, and then she didn't even want to get up in the morning. 

She did not make the bed for Frau Holle, the way she was supposed to, and she did not shake it until the feathers flew. Frau Holle soon became tired of this and dismissed her of her duties. This was just what the lazy girl wanted, for she thought that she would now get the rain of gold.

Frau Holle led her to the gate. She stood beneath it, but instead of gold, a large kettle full of pitch spilled over her. "That is the reward for your services," said Frau Holle, and closed the gate.

Then the lazy girl went home, entirely covered with pitch. As soon as the rooster on the well saw her, he cried out:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo,

Our dirty girl is here anew."

And the pitch stuck fast to her, and did not come off as long as she lived."

The Commemorative Coin:

The Coins have been minted by Germany’s Staatliche Münzen Baden-Württemberg, at their facilities in Stuttgart, and are designed by the artist Jordi Truxa of Neuenhagen.


On the Reverse of the 20 Euro Silver Coin design shows the kindly Frau Holle shaking her bedclothes out of a window, feathers flying, and just below the young girl stands under the arch, being rewarded with gold while her step-sister is rained upon. 

Above the primary design is the text "FRAU HOLLE" and below the design is the name of the coin’s series, "GRIMMS MARCHEN". 

On the Obverse of the 20 Euro Silver Coin is included the image of a stylised eagle, a symbol of the German Federal Republic, along with the coins’ denomination - "20 EURO" and the year of issue -  "2021," (on the upper periphery)

To the left is the  mintmark  "F" of the Mint of Stuttgart. Below the eagle is the metal composition of the Coin - "925 SILBER" and the name of the issuing country - "BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND" (on the lower periphery). 

The design is surrounded by 12 stars representative of the European Union. The smooth edge of the coin includes an incused inscription that reads - "DAS IST ZUR BELOHNUNG DEINER DIENSTE *" (“THIS IS TO REWARD YOUR SERVICES *”). 

The Specifications of the Silver Coin are:

Coin Series Theme: "Grimms Marchen"; Coin Theme: "Frau Holle"; Denomination: 20 Euro;  Metal Composition: .925 Fineness Sterling Silver (Ag);  Weight: 18.0 grams; Diameter/Size: 32.5 grams; Coin Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated (BU)/Proof (P); Mint: Mint of Stuttgart; Mint Mark: "F"; Maximum Mintage: 120,000 pieces; Special Effects: Embossing Quality, Mirror Gloss; Designer: Jordi Truxa; Year of issue: 2021.

The Uncirculated Versions are available for their face value of €20 from post offices and commercial banks. The Proof strikes are available as a separate purchase from Munze Deutschland . 






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