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
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.
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.
The
Republic of Ragusa, also known by its Slavic name Dubrovnik Republic,
was a small, wealthy city-state on the Adriatic coast of what is now
Croatia from 1358 until it was conquered by Napoleon in 1806.
Though
Ragusa never relinquished its sovereignty, it was given to the
Hapsburgs by the Congress of Vienna following the defeat of Napoleon,
and was later incorporated into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
This
thin, crude, silver Grosetto of Ragusa was issued for 135 years from
1626 until 1761. One side depicts Saint Blaise holding a
crozier. The
other side features Jesus surrounded by stars holding an orb.
DUBROVNIK REPUBLIC 3 PERPERA 2022 PROOF
Queen
Christina of Sweden was one of the most educated, wittiest, unorthodox
and unconventional women of the 17th century. She succeeded
her father on the throne of Sweden in 1632 when she was only six years
old. She took a deep interest in philosophy, religion, art,
mathematics and science. She was fond of books,
paintings and had a collection of over 33,000 coins and medals. She
frequently dressed as a man. She knew at least nine languages - and
could out-cuss a soldier. She was headstrong and often in conflict with
her own Chancellor. In 1638 the first Swedish settlement in
the New World was established and named after her: Fort Christina,
which is now Wilmington, Delaware. She founded Sweden's first
newspaper. Her efforts helped bring about the Peace of Westphalia,
ending the Thirty Years' War. She had an intimate relationship with her
handmaiden and in 1649 she announced that she decided not to
marry. In 1654 she abdicated her throne and left Sweden in
order to convert to Catholicism. She was warmly
received by Pope Alexander VII and for a time was given her own wing
inside the Vatican. Though often running short of money, she
was a major patron of the theater and the arts. She gave much
occasion for gossip as she did not follow the norms for women of that
era and freely socialized with men. She used her position to
protect the Jews of Rome. Missing politics, she attempted to
regain the throne of Sweden and gain the thrones of Naples and Poland,
all without success. She died in 1689, and is one of only
three women buried within St. Peter's Basilica. This Solidus of Queen
Christina was issued for Riga between 1634 and 1654. Riga,
now the capital of Latvia, was under Swedish control from 1621 to 1721.
It was given considerable autonomy, including the right to
issue its own coins. The copper or silver-washed Solidus of
Riga have Queen Christina's royal monogram on one side and the arms of
Riga on the other. The crudely made coins are 15mm in
diameter, typically are struck somewhat off center without a date.
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. 
This
silver Dener of Transylvania was struck for Gabriel Bethlen. Bethlen
became the Prince Transylvania in 1613 with support from the Ottoman
Empire. His reign marked the start of a golden age for
Transylvania. He developed mines and industry, founded a
college
and supported the arts. He nationalized much of the foreign trade,
profits of which helped support his many programs. He was
Calvinist, and waged three wars against the Catholic
Hapsburgs.
In 1620 he was elected King of Hungary. After a string of
military defeats by Hapsburg forces, he renounced the title in 1621 in
return for guarantees of religious freedom for Hungarian
Protestants.. The obverse depicts the Madonna and
Child. The reverse has the arms of
Hungary. The
slightly irregular coin is approximately 13mm. The coin is
dated 1621 and were struck at the Kremnica Mint (KB) and
show
virtually
no wear. The
AFGHANISTAN 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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