GERMANY. Weimar Republic. Christening of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin Silver Medal, 1928. Munich Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-66 Gold Shield.
Kienast-408; Kaiser-478. Diamter: 36 mm; Weight: 19.49 gms. By K. Goetz. Obverse: Bust of Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin facing slightly right; Reverse: Zeppelin coat-of-arms, with balloon holding children as supporters; airship in background. Flawless matte surfaces, with an alluring brilliance and melange of cobalt and russet toning near the peripheries. A truly captivating piece, and assuredly one of the finest known. Technically surpassed in the PCGS census by just a sole example--a SPECIMEN-67--though, in the opinion of this cataloger, this piece is clearly undergraded. Compare to an inferior piece, a PCGS SPECIMEN-65, which realized $384 in February 2018. Zeppelin was a German general and aircraft manufacturer, who later founded the airship company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. Following Zeppelin's death in 1917, Dr. Hugo Eckener became the head of this company and oversaw post-war fundraising to expand upon its production, even serving as commander for the LZ 127 on numerous occasions. When this airship first entered use, it was the first commercial passenger transatlantic flight service in the world, eventually making 590 flights over nearly a decade. In 1940, she was scrapped for metal for the German efforts in World War II.
Estimate: $300.00- $500.00