Description
This 2014 $5 silver coin features an image of the Berlin Wall, and pays tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl. The images of Gorbachev and Kohl can be seen when the coin is tilted, using lenticular technology. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 was a major event that allowed for a reunification of Germany. It marked the beginning of the reunification of West Germany (former Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany (GDR), which had been separated since the end of WWII. This political turning point also put an end to the cold war. Two statesmen were instrumental in this event: the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his active support of the reunification in 1990, and he nominated Helmut Kohl for the same honour in 2007.
