Austria 1831-A souverain d'or Fr-478
This specimen was lot 2326 in Künker sale 439 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €1,600 (about US$2,201 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"KAISERREICH ÖSTERREICH, Franz I., 1804-1835. Sovrano 1831 A, Wien. 10,20 g Feingold. GOLD. Henkelspur, Sammlerpunze im Rand, sehr schön. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. Erworben 1959 von Günther Probszt, Graz. (empire of Austria, Francis I, 1804-35, souverain of 1831, Vienna mint. Mount mark, punch mark on the edge, very fine.)"
This denomination was originally introduced for circulation in the Austrian Netherlands, where it was called the souverain d'or. It was struck in Milan 1820-31, Vienna 1822-3 and 1831 and in Venice in 1822. The kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was assembled by the Austrians to provide a unified administration for the Italian territories under their rule. This comprised the former duchies of Milan and Mantua and the republic of Venice.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 11.33 g, 0.900 fine gold, 25.4 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM C11.2 (listed under Lombardy-Venetia), Fr-478; J. 230; Schl. 224.
- 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, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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.
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