Austria 1797-A 1/2 kronenthaler
This specimen was lot 4911 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €1,700 (about US$2,339 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Franz II., 1792-1804. 1/2 Kronentaler 1797 A, Wien. Hübsche Patina, vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. (Holy Roman Empire, Francis II, 1792-1804, half crown thaler of 1797, Vienna mint. Handsome patina, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
This type was struck at Vienna (A), Kremnitz (B), Prague (C), Karlsburg (E), Hall (F), Nagybanya (G) and Günzburg (H) in 1792-97. For a type that originated in the Austrian Netherlands, none were made at Brussels. This example sold for 39 times the catalog value.
Recorded mintage: unknown but a common date.
Specification: 14.72 g, 0.873 fine silver, lettered edge, 35 mm diameter, this specimen 14,80 g.
Catalog reference: KM 61.1 (listed under Austrian Netherlands), J. 133.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- 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 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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