3 Mark    (Venduta per $166.0)

1913, Saxe-Meiningen, George II (Duke). Silver 3 Mark Coin. Only 20,000 Struck!

Mint Year: 1913 Mintage: 20,000 pcs.   Denomination: 3 Mark Mint Place: Munich (D)  Condition: A nice AU++ Reference: KM-203. R! Material: Silver (.900) Weight: 16.63gm Diameter: 33mm

Obverse: Bearded Head of Duke George II of Saxe-Meiningen right. Mint initial (D) below. Legend: GEORG II HERZOG V. SACHSEN-MEININGEN

Reverse: Crown of the German Empire above heraldic eagle of Germany with prussian shield at chest and star order. Legend: DEUTSCHES REICH 1913 * DREI MARK *

The Duke was also the patron of one of Europe's leading orchestras, the Meiningen Court Orchestra. The orchestra attained its distinction after the Duke hired the conductor Hans von Bülow in 1880. Bülow instituted stringent rehearsal methods and, with the   Duke's agreement, hired eight musicians, raising its membership to 44.   He offered the orchestra as a trial ensemble to Johannes Brahms,   who was to try out his Second Piano Concerto and Third Symphony with   the orchestra and premiered his Fourth Symphony there, conducting it   himself. A dispute with Brahms over who was to conduct the premiere of   his Fourth Symphony in Frankfurt led Bülow to resign (he was scheduled   to premiere it there, but Brahms pre-empted him by conducting it with a   local orchestra). Bülow was succeeded briefly by his 20-year-old   assistant Richard Strauss, who resigned after a month, and then by Fritz Steinbach.   Steinbach championed the music of Brahms, instituting Brahms Festivals   in 1895 and 1897 in Meiningen with the composer present. A private   concert by the Meiningen Court Orchestra and Steinbach for Brahms in   1891 led the composer to notice the artistry of the ensemble's first   clarinetist, Richard Mühlfeld;   Brahms promised to compose music for Mühlfeld, and did indeed compose   his Clarinet Trio, Clarinet Quintet, and two Clarinet Sonatas. In 1897   the Duke undertook the construction of a Brahms monument in Meiningen's   English gardens, sculpted by Adolf von Hildebrand.

Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (Meiningen, 2 April 1826 – Wildungen, 25 June 1914), was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914.

Georg was the only son of Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his wife Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel. His birth was met with great relief by his father's subjects, as the   succession to the duchy was in jeopardy due to a lack of male heirs in   the family. Georg would remain an only child for seventeen years, until   the birth of his sister Princess Augusta in 1843.

Georg spent his first few years under the supervision of his parents and grandmother the Dowager Duchess Luise Eleonore.   It was the latter who instilled upon Georg the patriotic virtues of his   heritage, as well as the sense of duty needed to rule a duchy.

In 1862, his only sister married Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg, a younger son of Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. They would be the parents of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Altenburg.

Georg succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Meiningen on 20 September   1866, when Bernhard was forced to abdicate in favor of his son following   the defeat of Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. Unlike his father, Georg had remained loyal to the Prussians during the   war and was rewarded as Lieutenant General of the Prussian army. Also   unlike his parents, the young duke was familiar enough with Prussian   politics to regard their attitudes as impractical. During the Franco-Prussian War, Georg led two regiments of soldiers from Meiningen and had the honor of capturing the first French flags at the Battle of Froeschweiler. Notably, he fought in nearly every battle during the war. Georg was a member of Wilhelm I's staff when he entered Paris and would remain a close friend of the Emperor until his death.

Georg was married firstly in Charlottenburg on 18 May 1850 to the Princess Charlotte Frederica of Prussia. She was the eldest daughter of Prince Albert of Prussia and Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, and was a granddaughter of both Frederick William III of Prussia and William I of the Netherlands.

The couple had a short engagement, it was a love match. Among the   wedding gifts was an opulent old villa on Lake Como from her mother Marianne.   It was renamed the Villa Carlotta in the bride's honor. They spent the   next five years in Berlin and Potsdam but returned to Meiningen for the   birth of their children.

On 27 January 1855, their second son Georg died. Charlotte would   follow him three months later, dying in childbirth and leaving Georg   inconsolable. He succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in 1866, eleven years after Charlotte's death.

Despite his recent widowhood, Georg went on a search for a new wife, if   only to provide a mother for his two young children. Georg met his   second cousin Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg while he was on his way to Italy; they became engaged almost at once. She was a niece of Queen Victoria, being a daughter of Victoria's half-sister Princess Feodora of Leiningen and her husband Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. On 23 October 1858, they married at Langenburg.

Their marriage was unhappy however. Georg had never become reconciled to   Charlotte's death and Feodora was not temperamentally suited for the   life she was expected to lead. She had no intellectual or artistic attainments; even worse, she had no   interest in developing any. Despite this fact, Georg attempted to   educate her, as he was a great lover of the arts, especially theater.   Her mother approved, stating it was "very sensible of him indeed to   arrange for his bride to be much occupied with lessons, to take drawing   lessons, and to hear lectures on history". Georg soon realized however that she would never be as witty and clever   as Charlotte. After the death of their third son, Feodora stayed away   from Meiningen for as much as decently possible. In 1866, he succeeded as Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, making her Duchess consort of Saxe-Meiningen.

Feodora contracted scarlet fever in January 1872, and died the following month. Despite the many   differences between them, Georg had remained fond of her; when she   became sick, he was genuinely distraught and sent telegrams to her   parents twice daily.

He was married thirdly and unequally in Liebenstein on 18 March 1873 to Ellen Franz, a former actress. She was given her own style, being known as Helene, Baroness von   Holdburg shortly before their wedding and after their marriage.

This marriage was morganatic, and greatly angered Kaiser Wilhelm. Georg in turn became increasingly angry and defensive at anyone who failed to recognize his wife and treat her as an equal. Most Germans supported Georg's decision to marry, but Wilhelm felt   particularly upset because Georg's first wife had been a kinswoman of   his. Wilhelm was not the only one who objected to the marriage; Georg's   father ex-Duke Bernhard was equally angry and threatened to appeal   directly to the people with the mistaken view that they would support   his opinion. Officials and ministers of the Saxe-Meiningen court also objected to   the match. Many resigned their offices and their wives openly insulted   Ellen. The army also refused to salute her, further angering Duke Georg. He sent an emissary to Berlin with a complaint to Wilhelm, who   responded by ordering that all officers must in the future salute Ellen   as Baroness von Heldburg. She was never styled as Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen like his second wife.

The couple had no children. Well loved by the people, she and Duke Georg created and developed the progressive Meiningen Theater.

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