Austrian 100 Corona

Unlike the Austrian 4 Ducats gold coin, the 100 Corona gold coin was minted as official Austrian legal tender. Austrian monetary reform in 1892 created the Corona as an official monetary unit. The 100 Corona gold coin contains almost one full troy ounce of gold (see specifications below).

Design of the Austrian 100 Corona

The obverse (front) of this Austrian 100 Corona gold coin features a bust of Austrian King and Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef I. He is surrounded by the words: 'FRANC ' IOS ' I ' D ' G ' IMP ' AVSTR 'REX BOH ' GAL ' ILL ' ETC 'ET AP ' REX HVNG .'

The coin's reverse (back) features the coat of arms of Austria superimposed over a crowned Imperial double-headed eagle. The date and the face value of the coin are written twice ' in Latin and German. The Latin information lies at the top of the gold coin: 'C CORON' for 100 Corona and 'MDCCCCXV' for the date, although 1915 is typically written as MCMXV.

Austrian 100 Corona Coin Minting Information

Corona pieces are no longer minted in Austria, but these gold coins were once an important part of Austrian commerce. They were minted in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and this 100 Corona gold piece. All 100 Corona featuring a 1915 date are official restrikes from later dates, although they are no longer minted today.

Franz Josef I

Franz Josef I (1830-1916) ruled as both Emperor of Austria (1848-1916) and King of Hungary (1867-1916). It was during his reign that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was created. He became King of Hungary when he married the popular Elisabeth, also known as Sisi, whom the Hungarian people accepted as their true sovereign until her assassination on September 10, 1898.

Josef's wife was not the only one to perish this way. His brother Maximillian who had served as Emperor of Mexico was executed in 1867 and his nephew and heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. It was this last act that is commonly considered the catalyst for World War I. Josef died two years later on November 21, 1916.