Austria 1839-A souverain d'or Fr-482
This specimen was lot 2332 in Künker sale 439 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €5,500 (about US$7,566 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"KAISERREICH ÖSTERREICH, Ferdinand I., 1835-1848. Sovrano 1839 A, Wien, für die Lombardei und Venetien. 10,20 g Feingold. GOLD. Sehr seltener Jahrgang. Kl. Kratzer, fast vorzüglich. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. Exemplar der Slg. König Faruk von Ägypten, Auktion Sotheby's, Kairo, Februar 1954, Nr. 1024 (Lot). (empire of Austria, Ferdinand I, 1835-48, souverain d'or of 1839, Vienna mint, for Lombardy-Venetia. Very rare date, light hairlines, about extremely fine. Ex-Farouk.)"
This denomination was originally introduced for circulation in the Austrian Netherlands, where it was called the souverain d'or. This sovrano was struck at Vienna 1837-41 and 1847. This example realized 2½ times the catalog value. 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 C21.1 (listed under Lombardy-Venetia), Fr-482; J. 260; Schl. 310.
- 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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