Austria 1794-A 1/2 souverain d'or Fr-473
This specimen was lot 2317 in Künker sale 439 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €1,800 (about US$2,476 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Franz II., 1792-1804. 1/2 Souverain d'or 1794 A, Wien. GOLD. Sehr seltener Jahrgang. Etwas berieben, vorzüglich. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. Erworben 1958 von der Tiroler Münzhandlung Sigmund Werkner, Innsbruck. (Holy Roman Empire, Francis II, 1792-1804, gold half souverain of 1794, Vienna mint. Very rare date, polished, extremely fine.)"
This type is filed under the Austrian Netherlands, an area which is now Belgium and Luxembourg. Besides Vienna, similar coins are known from Kremnitz, Hall, Günzburg and Venice. The type was struck at Vienna 1792-98 and previous souverains d'or date back to the reign of Maria Theresa. This example realized three times the catalog value.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5.53 g, 0.919 fine gold, .326 troy oz AGW, this specimen 5,54 g.
Catalog reference: KM 63, Fr-473; J. 135.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Veselý, Roman, Mince a medaile, 19. století, František II ab Karel I, Prague: Aurea Numismatika, 2020.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 439: Gold Coins from around the world, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Malta and Saxony | German Coins after 1871 including Coins from the Collection of Jürgen and Erika Schmidt, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
Links:
- 1792-B half souverain d'or, Kremnitz mint
- 1793-F demi-souverain d'or, Hall mint
- 1793-V half souverain d'or, Venice mint
- 1793-A souverain d'or, Vienna mint
- 1793 souverain d'or, Brussels mint
- 1793-H souverain d'or, Günzburg mint
- 1794-A kronenthaler, Vienna mint
- Milan 1794-M crocione Dav-1390
- 1794 kronenthaler, Brussels mint
- 1794-B ducat, Kremnitz mint
- 1794-E ducat, Karlsburg mint
- 1794-G ducat, Nagybánya mint
- 1794-F demi-souverain d'or, Hall mint
- 1794-A souverain d'or, Vienna mint
- Coins and currency dated 1794