(sold for $103.0)

1925, Germany. Large Proof Silver "President Ebert Memorial" Medal. PCGS PR-64!

Mint Year: 1925 Medallist: Oertel References: Heidelberg 28.2. R! Mint Place: Berlin (Prussian State Mint) Condition: Certified and graded by PCGS as PR-64! Denomination: Medal - Memorial Medal for the 1st President of the German Empire Material: Silver (.900) Diameter: 36mm Weight: 25gm 

Obverse: Bare head of President Ebert left. Medallist´s cipher in right field. Legend: DES DEUTSCHEN REICHES ERSTER PRÄSIDENT . EBERT . Translated: "Ebert. 1st President of the German Empire."   Reverse: A standing blacksmith worker, holding hammer and tongs behind anvil on a base. Legend: IN DER ARBEIT LIEGT DES DEUTSCHEN VOLKES STÄRKE .  Translated: "In the work is the German people´s strength."

Friedrich Ebert (4 February 1871 – 28 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first President of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.

Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on the death in 1913 of August Bebel. In 1914, shortly after he assumed leadership, the party became deeply divided over Ebert's support of war loans to finance the German war effort in World War I. A moderate social democrat, Ebert was in favour of the Burgfrieden, a political policy that sought to suppress squabbles over domestic issues among political parties during wartime in order to concentrate all forces in society on the successful conclusion of the war effort. He tried to isolate those in the party opposed to the war, but could not prevent a split.

Ebert was a pivotal figure in the German Revolution of 1918–19. When Germany became a republic at the end of World War I, he became its first chancellor. His policies at that time were primarily aimed at restoring peace and order in Germany and containing the more extreme elements of the revolutionary left. In order to accomplish these goals, he allied himself with conservative and nationalistic political forces, in particular the leadership of the military under General Wilhelm Groener and the right wing Freikorps. With their help, Ebert's government crushed a number of socialist and communist uprisings as well as such from the right, including the Kapp Putsch. This has made him a controversial historical figure.