This c1894 a ½ Mark of German New Guinea, 
issued by the Neu-Guinea Compagnie and struck at the Berlin Mint, 
is a scarce colonial silver coin with a very low original mintage 
of just 20,070 pieces, of which 3,834 were later melted.
 
Struck in .900 silver, 
its celebrated design features the magnificent Bird of Paradise, 
an emblematic native species, 
while the reverse bears the denomination and date within an elegant palm wreath. 
 
The series is historically important as the New Guinea Company 
was granted permission to issue its own distinctive coinage only in 1894; 
production was not continued after administration passed to the German Imperial Government in 1899.
 
With its exceptionally limited surviving population, 
distinctive colonial provenance and iconic Bird of Paradise imagery, 
the ½ Mark represents a scarce and highly collectable issue of German colonial numismatics.
 
AU (About Uncirculated)