GERMAN STATES. Prussia. Friedrich III. 1888. AR 5 marks. 27.77 gm. 38 mm. KM 512. Davenport 787. Good Extremely Fine; beautifully toned; light hairlining; small spot in obverse field.

Friedrich III was the second German Emperor and King of Prussia in the Year of the Three Emperors. He passed away from cancer of the larynx 99 days after inheriting the throne following the death of his 90 year old father, Wilhelm I. His liberal ideology, which he shared with his wife Victoria (eldest daughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain) and in opposition of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, could have had wide-reaching implications for Germany's future if he had lived longer.