The
Imperial Coat-of-Arms of Austria is featured on the obverse 1851
Austrian 1 Kruezer. It was the first time the denomination
had been struck since 1816, and was one of the first coins of Emperor
Franz-Joseph I, Franz-Joseph reigned for almost 68 years,
until his death in 1916. During his reign Austria lost its
possessions in Italy in the Italian Wars of Independence in 1859 and
1866. Its defeat in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 lead to
the unification of Germany under Prussia. After this rocky
beginning of his reign, a forty-eight year period of peace
then
prevailed in Austria until the start of World War I in 1914.
The reverse of the 23mm copper coin features the denomination and
date. 
This 1912 Uncirculated Bronze 1
Stotinka of the Kingdom of Bulgaria was part of a hoard found in the
basement of a church in Sophia, Bulgaria. The coins were probably
hidden there at the beginning of World War I, then forgotten.
One side of the coin has the arms of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the other
has the denomination and date. The coin was struck to the
standards of the Latin Monetary Union, it is 15mm and weighs just 1
gram. Even after over 100 years the coin still retains much
of its original red luster. 
This
silver Bracteate Hohlpfennig was issued by
Friedrich II (Frederick II) who was the
Prince-Elector of the
Margravate of Brandenburg from
1440 to 1470. It is believed that he was nicknamed "The Irontooth" or
"The
Iron" due to his great strength and power. Friedrich
strengthened Brandenburg forming the basis of what was to become
Prussia and the German Empire. The rights of the towns and
nobility were curtailed and he regained Neumark (East Brandenburg) from
the Teutonic Knights. The citizens of Berlin revolted when he
attempted to build a palace on Colin island in the Spree
river. Friedrich prevailed, built the castle that became the
Stadtschloss (Berlin Palace), and the rights of the city were greatly
curtailed. The Stadtschloss was torn down by East Germany in the 1950's
and is now being rebuilt. The silver Bracteate Hohlpfennig is
an extremely thin and single sided coin wtih a raised rim.
The
design is
embossed from the reverse. This coin is approximately 16mm in
diameter and features an eagle with outstretched wings.
Because the coins are so thin and fragile, few survive today.
The
Demak Sultanate was founded about 1475 by Sultan Pangeran al Patah,
also known as Raden Patah. He was of Javanese nobility and his mother
may have been a Chinese princess who had been exiled from China.
His Sultanate was the first Muslim state in Java.
He quickly expanded his Sultanate to include most of the
northern coast of Java and southern Sumatra. This was
an important step in bringing Islam to what is now Indonesia.
The Sultan ruled until his death in 1518. The Sultanate
lasted about another 30 years, until it collapsed in a dynastic
feud. The Sultanate prospered through trade in spices, rice
and its control over Javanese trading ports. This
Pitis of Sultan Pangeran al Patah is one of the few
affordable coins of the Demak Sultanate. The uniface tin coin
is approximately 19mm to 20mm in diameter and grades Very Fine.
OLD SILVER COINS OF THE KINGDOM OF ITALYSPAIN 1 CENTESIMO ALFONSO XIII 1906
KM96 UNC.-toned
Umberto
I became king of Italy in 1878 upon the death of his father Victor
Emmanuel II. He added Italy's African colonies of Somalia and
Eritrea, however, his forces were defeated in Ethiopia. Domestically,
he faced social unrest and serious economic difficulties. He
was assassinated by an anarchist in 1900. This 10 Centesimi
of Umberto was struck only two years: 1893 and 1894. The coin
was struck to the standards of the Latin Monetary Union: 30mm copper
coin weighing 10 grams. 
Until
the 1600's most nations did not put dates on coins. These silver
1/2 Grossus (Groschen) coins of Sigismund II Augustus from the 1500's
are some of the earliest affordable coins bearing an AD date.
Sigismund was both the King of Poland and Grand Duke of
Lithuania. In 1569 he formally united the two countries with
the Treaty of Lublin to form the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth. His coins reflect this dual
nationality. One side features his titles as Grand Duke of
Lithuania, and Vytas, the White Knight, which is the national symbol of
Lithuania. Below Vytas is the date. The other side
features the Polish Eagle and his titles as King of Poland.
The 19mm silver coins date from 1547 to 1572. In 1572
Sigsmund died childless, despite having three wives (two of which were
first cousins) and carrying on affairs with "two of the most beautiful
of his countrywomen". He was the last of the powerful
Jagiellonian dynasty controlled much of central Europe for almost 200
years.
This
10 Soldi, (1/2 Lira) was struck for Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio
Amedeo III) who was the King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy.
His territory included the island of Sardinia and the region around his
capital of Turin including Piedmont and Savoy. This coin was issued for
use in Piedmont and Savoy. Victor Amadeus joined
the War of the First Coalition against the newly formed French Republic
in 1792. He was defeated by Napoleon in 1796 and forced to
cede Savoy and Nice to France, abandon the Coalition and allow the
French Army free passage through his territory. He died
shortly thereafter. The 22mm coin is struck in billon (low
fineness silver) and tends to be weakly struck. It depicts Victor
Amadeus on one side and the national arms on the other. The
coin was struck for only three years: 1794, 1795 and 1796. It
represents a violent and transitional period of French and Italian
history. 
Perhaps
it was his unlucky number 13, or perhaps he had bad advisors, but the
reign of Alfonso XIII was a disaster. He was the posthumous son of King
Alfonso XII, so became king at birth in 1886. During his
reign Spain
lost the Philippines and her last American colonies in the
Spanish-American War. Its troops were defeated in Morocco in
1921 and there were numerous uprisings, strikes and riots. He was
called “the playboy king” due to his numerous extramarital affairs and
large collection of pornographic films, many of which he
commissioned. His fondness of soccer led to the patronage of
several “royal” (real in Spanish) teams, including Real
Madrid. In 1931 he was forced to flee the country and the
Spanish monarchy was abolished. The King at age 20, is shown
on this 1 Centimo of 1906. The Spanish coat of arms is on the
reverse. The coin was minted only one year. This
attractive coin retains much of its original copper-red
luster. It is a nice, old, high-grade coin and is downright
cheap when compared to similar US coins of that era.SPAIN 10 CENTIMOS ALFONSO XII 1877-1879 KM675AFGHANISTAN COINS COINS OF
INDIA and PAKISTAN COINS OF THE
MIDDLE EAST 2400 YEARS OF CHINESE COINS and
CURRENCYCOINS
OF DEAD NATIONS<--
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