On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the death of the former Bavarian Minister President Franz Josef Strauß, the Bavarian State Mint has minted a commemorative medal
Dr. h.c. mult. Dr. h.c. mult. Franz Josef Strauß (born 6 September 1915 in Munich, died 3 October 1988 in Regensburg) was a member of the German Bundestag from 1949 to 1978 and from 25 January 1987 to 19 March 1987, Chairman of the CSU from 1961 to 1988 and Bavarian Minister President from 1978 to 1988. Further political stations in Franz Josef Strauß’s political career included offices as Federal Minister for Special Affairs (1953–1955), Federal Minister for Nuclear Affairs (1955–1956), Federal Minister of Defense (1956–1962) and Federal Minister of Finance (1966–1969).
“His greatest political achievement in Bavaria was undoubtedly transforming the agricultural state…into the most economically modern and successful federal state,” wrote the current Minister President Markus Söder on the occasion of Franz Josef Strauß’s 100th birthday.
Today’s Bavarian State Mint was founded in 1158 when Heinrich the Lion conferred the right to mint coins on Munich. In particular, the task of minting cash for the Federal Republic of Germany may only be carried out by five mints, which in addition to Munich (with the mint mark “D“) includes Berlin (A), Hamburg (J), Stuttgart (F) and Karlsruhe (G). For 860 years, both coins for payment transactions as well as medals as collector’s items for customers in Germany and abroad have been produced here. As one of the largest German mints, the Bavarian State Mint stands for modernity and innovation and was key in the development of unique polymer technology. In 2017, some 279 million federal coins and 312 million foreign coins were minted at the Bavarian State Mint. With 55 employees, the Bavarian State Mint generated net profit of €3.0 million in 2017, with sales of €16.9 million.
The commemorative medal is made of 999 fine silver, has a diameter of 45mm and weighs 45g. It will be available from 3 October from the » Bavarian State Mint Online Shop, at www.hauptmuenzamt.bayern, starting at €49.90.
