Gold Coin Twenty-Crown Franz Joseph I of Hungary minted in 1903

Illustrative photo: The condition of the coin in the picture may not correspond to the actual condition of the coin we currently have in stock. If you are interested, we will send you an actual photo or you can see the coin in person at our shop.

1903 Franz Joseph I. gold 20-karat coin

Gold investment coin from the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued in 1903 and minted by the Hungarian Mint during the reign of Franz Joseph I. These gold twenty-crown coins are very rarely obtained and are therefore highly sought after by collectors.

Franz Joseph I.

Franz Joseph Karl (Franz Joseph Karl von Habsburg) was born on 18 August 1830 at 9:45 a.m. in Vienna, the son of Archduke Franz Karl (younger son of Emperor Franz I) and his wife Sophie, Princess of Bavaria. He had 4 siblings: Maximilian, Karl Ludwig , Maria Anna (died in infancy) and Ludwig Victor.

He became emperor at the age of 18 when his uncle Ferdinand I resigned and his father abdicated the throne during the suppression of the March Revolution in 1848. From the beginning, he saw his main role as preventing another revolution. He relied primarily on the army and the Church. However, the fact that he is depicted in uniform in most contemporary photographs stems from the fact that in his time there was no civilian dress worthy of an emperor.

In Austria-Hungary, all his problems became apparent during the war. One of the biggest problems was national disunity and the poor economic situation. The war was draining Austria-Hungary more than other countries and it was forced to orient itself more and more towards Germany, which aroused resentment among the non-German peoples of the monarchy.

Franz Joseph I died in the middle of the First World War, on 21 November 1916, in Vienna. His pompous funeral was overshadowed by the events of the war and the subsequent fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which the emperor had associated.

After his death, Charles I ascended the throne, but his policies failed to find a way to new national aspirations. In an already desperate situation, he attempted to declare a federation on 16 October 1918, yet during October Austria-Hungary began to disintegrate. On 28 October 1918 Czechoslovakia was proclaimed.

Twenty coins of Franz Joseph I. issued in 1892 - 1915: Hungarian mintage