AR 5 Mark

Struck: 1914
Mint: Berlin
Size: 38mm
Weight: 27.77g
Die Axis: 0°
Grade: AU
Ref: KM# 536

Obv: Uniformed bust right.
Rev: Crowned imperial eagle, shield on breast.
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Born in Germany in 1859, to Germany's Frederick III and Victoria, Queen Victoria of England's eldest daughter, Kaiser Wilhelm served as emperor of Germany from 1888 until near the end of World War I when he abdicated in 1918. His tactless public statements and erratic foreign policy greatly antagonized the international community and are considered by many to be one of the main underlying causes for World War I.

A lax wartime leader, Wilhelm left virtually all decision-making regarding strategy and organization of the war effort to the German Army's Great General Staff. By August 1916, this broad delegation of power resulted in a de facto military dictatorship that dominated national policy for the rest of the conflict. Despite emerging victorious over Russia and obtaining significant territorial gains in Eastern Europe, Germany was forced to relinquish all its conquests after its forces' decisive defeat on the Western Front in the fall of 1918. Losing the support of his country's military and many of his subjects, Wilhelm was forced to abdicate during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 which ultimately converted Germany from a monarchy into a democratic state (now known as the Weimar Republic). The deposed emperor fled to exile in the Netherlands where he remained during its occupation by Nazi Germany in World War II, dying in 1941.