I've been slowly accumulating a diverse array of prooflike coins from around the world. When I saw these two coins on Ebay recently, I knew that I had to have them. Austria in the 19th century was one of the major world powers. After the Congress of Vienna (which basically decided how Europe would be divided after Napoleon), the Austrian Empire was one of the great powers in Europe. The empire included parts of modern Austria, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Bosnia, Croatia, and other countries. At the time, the main denominations were heller (equal to a half pfennig), and there were 4 pfennig in a kreuzer. There were 60 kreuzer in a florin. The capital mint in Vienna was the most important, but there were many other mints. The first coin I bought is a 20 Kreuzer coin, minted in 1847 at Vienna. The coin was issued by the emperor Ferdinand I. Although Ferdinand was technically the emperor, his empire was really governed by the regent's council, headed by Prince Metternich. Ferdinand had many medical problems, including epilepsy and neurological issues that made it hard to govern. This coin has been graded MS-63PL. In 1848, Ferdinand was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph. Franz Joseph ruled the Austrian empire for 68 years, up until WWI. It was actually Franz Joseph's nephew, the archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was assassinated to start WWI. This second coin is a Florin from 1860, also minted at Vienna. It has been graded MS-62PL. I was lucky enough to visit Vienna a couple of years ago. The city is absolutely beautiful. Here is the palace in Vienna where much of the government business was conducted; it is now a series of museums. The bottom picture is Schonbrunn palace, where Franz Joseph lived. The place is enormous:
Great coins! I'm a fan of Austrian coins as well, but my leanings are more towards the modern niobium series.
Great pictures. I'm jealous of you gif-makers. They look a little trippy sometimes, though. Sure did capture the cartwheel luster on that florin in the OP. Awesome. Almost makes me wanna send some of mine off to you for the "treatment"...
Those coins images are terrible. I could not even look at them. Only static images are suitable for coins. There are some people who would have serious medical issues viewing flashing images like that. Fortunately I am not one of them, but I cannot look at them without feeling very uncomfortable. Please be considerate of others when posting such images.
