Austria 1529 6 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 1240 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €700 (about US$970 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SAINT EMPIRE, VIENNE, assiégée par les Ottomans, AR 6 Kreuzer, 1529. Klippe. D/ Croix cantonnée des écus d'Autriche, Hongrie, Bohême et Castille. R/ TVRCK/ BLEGERT/ WIEN/ I5Z9 entre quatre feuilles. Rare. (Holy Roman Empire, Vienna, besieged by the Turks, silver six kreuzer of 1529, klippe. Obverse: cross cantonned with the arms of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Castile; reverse: three line inscription and date between leaves. Rare, Very Fine.)"
The Turkish army of Suleiman the Magnificent besieged Vienna during September and October 1529 but failed to take the city. Other coinage of the siege included one kreuzer, quarter thaler, half thaler, quarter ducat, half ducat, ducat, two ducats and four ducats. Those made after the siege would have been sold as souvenirs to non-participants.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 3,23 g.
Catalog reference: Markl 305; Mailliet 121, 10; Brause-Mansfeld 42, 16.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Korchnak, Lawrence C., Siege Coins of the World, 1453-1902, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, 2021.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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