Austria 1859-A 1/2 krone Fr-498
This specimen was lot 1659 in Künker sale 352 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €3,400 (about US$4,732 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"KAISERREICH ÖSTERREICH, Franz Josef I. 1848-1916. 1/2 Vereinskrone 1859, A, Wien. Feingold. GOLD. R Sehr schön +. (empire of Austria, Francis Joseph I, 1848-1916, half union crown of 1859, Vienna mint. Rare, very fine or better.)"
The krone was minted by Austria (Fr-496), Saxony (KM 1197), Hannover (KM 232), Prussia (Fr-2437) and Bavaria (Fr-280) but does not seem to have been a success, as survivors are few. This issue, minted 1858-65 at Vienna, Kremnitz, Venice and Karlsburg, seems to be somewhat available. The Austrians dropped the krone after 1866.
Recorded mintage: 402,302, highest mintage date.
Specification: 5.56 g, 0.900 fine gold, 20 mm diameter, this specimen 5,00 g in gold.
Catalog reference: Herinek 14, Veselý 34, KM 2251, Divo/S. 260; Fr-498; J. 314; Schl. 426.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- Veselý, Roman, Mince a medaile, 19. století, František II ab Karel I, Prague: Aurea Numismatika, 2020.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 352: Die Sammlung Hermann Schwarz: Faszination des gepragten Goldes. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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