Austria 1892 20 heller
This specimen was lot 2088 in SINCONA Auction 97 (Zürich, May 2025), where it sold for 50 CHF (about US$73 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RDR / ÖSTERREICH, Franz Joseph I. 1848-1916. 20 Heller 1892, Wien. Fast vorzüglich. (empire of Austria, Francis Joseph I, 1848-1916, twenty heller of 1892, Vienna mint. About Extremely Fine.)"
When Bismarck kicked Austria out of Germany after the war of 1866, German and Austrian coins began to diverge. This type was struck 1892-95 and 1907-14 as part of the reform which decimalized Austrian coinage in the last years of the Hapsburg regime. The mintages are generally large and most dates are common. This one is slightly scarce and the only one that comes in proof. One hundred heller made a corona or krone, units still in use in the Czech Republic.
Recorded mintage: 1,500,000.
Specification: 4 g, nickel, 21 mm diameter, reeded edge, this specimen 3.98 g.
Catalog reference: KM 2803, Frühwald 1986, Herinek 965.
- 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]Richter, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 97: World and Swiss Coins and Medals, SINCONA Bullion Auction, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
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