20 Kronen Österreich Gold

Summary

• Crowns were the last currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

• Austro-Hungarian crown coins were made of gold and silver.

• Reproductions of the crown coins are produced by the Austrian Mint.

• Crown coins are characterised by their high purity.

• Crown restrikes are subject to VAT in Switzerland.

Introduction to Austrian crowns

Crowns were the last currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before its end in the course of the First World War and also the currency of the subsequent Republic of Austria. It was introduced in 1892 and replaced the guilder. The 10, 20 and 100 crown coins were made of 90 per cent gold and the 1, 2 and 5 coins were made of a silver alloy

The Austrian Mint produces gold restrikes of the historical crown coins. In addition to other historical restrikes, it also produces the Vienna Philharmonic bullion coin. In contrast to the historical coins, which have a high numismatic value due to their rarity, the restrikes are traded relatively close to their gold value.

Austrian law only allows the Austrian Mint to produce these coins and obliges it to keep the fineness and weight exactly the same as the genuine old coins. One of these restrikes is the Kronen coin.

20 crown coin

The 20 crown coin was the second largest gold coin in the crown currency. It was almost equivalent to a farm labourer's monthly wage (approx. 25 crowns) and about a twelfth of a grammar school teacher's monthly wage (approx. 250 crowns).

The appearance of the crown coin

The obverse shows the head of the old Emperor Franz-Josef I. When the coin was introduced, the monarch was already 62 years old.

The portrait is surrounded by the inscription "FRANC ISCVS IOSEPHVS I D G IMPERATOR ET REX BOH GAL ILLETC ET AP REX HVNG", which means "Franz Joseph I, by the grace of God Emperor and King of Bohemia Galicia, Illyria etc. and King of Hungary".

The double-headed eagle of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy can be seen on the reverse. The double-headed eagle bears the imperial crown as well as the sword and orb. Above the eagle is the inscription "IMPERIVM AVSTRIACVM" Austrian Empire.

One exception is the 100 crown coin from 1908, which shows Fortuna with a laurel wreath on the reverse.

While the originals bear the respective year of minting under the double-headed eagle, the restrikes are labelled with the year 1915.

Historical crowns

The historical crown coins have become very rare. They were minted from 1892 onwards. Due to their value, the gold coins were not in circulation as much as the silver coins. In addition, many of the coins were lost due to wars, unrest and reparation payments to foreign countries and were melted down. As a result, the original coins are extremely rare today and their numismatic value significantly exceeds their gold value.

The Austrian Mint, manufacturer of the crowns

The Austrian Mint, the manufacturer of Austrian gold coins, is considerably older than the crowns. Its history and that of its predecessor institutions can be traced back to the 14th century. From 1918, it is the only mint for the Republic of Austria, which has existed since then. However, the Austrian Mint not only produces circulation coins and the Philharmonic, but also makes copies of coins from the Austro-Hungarian Empire for collecting and saving, for example guilders, crowns, ducats and the Maria Theresa thaler.

The Austrian Mint, which belongs to the National Bank, itself holds stakes in other companies, such as Argor-Heraeus, a precious metal refinery in Ticino, whose bars it also sells, until 2017.

Special tax features of the crowns

The Austrian Mint's restrikes are among the few bullion coins that are not exempt from VAT in Switzerland. Although the coins are produced by a state-owned mint in accordance with legally defined standards, as the restrikes are not produced for payment transactions, they are not exempt from VAT under Swiss law. This is in contrast to their siblings, the Vienna Philharmonic coins, which have the character of means of payment due to their imprinted face value.

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