8 Florin 20 Francs | Gold | New Edition

8 Florin 20 Francs Gold New Edition

The currency of guilders in the 19th Century was a silver standard, although “Club crowns” from 1858 to 1865 (or 1866) were minted in gold. 1865 France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland founded the the Latin Union, in which issues of the coins should regarding value, size, weight, etc. should be decided on. Within the Union, all coins should have been valid. Although Austria had signed a preliminary agreement with the Latin Union in 1867, it failed to achieve the required currency conditions for entry into the union. Nevertheless, as of 1870 a 8-guilder piece (= 8 Florin or 20 francs) and a 4-guilder piece (= 4 Florin or 10 Francs) were minted, which resembled the gold coins of the Latin Union. These coins were minted until 1892, the year in which the “crown currency” (English: Corona) was introduced in Austria.

These so-called “trade gold coins”, which have a premium on the current price of gold, as are gold bullion coins. These coins are copies by the Mint of Austria and all bear the year 1892, the year in which they were last officially minted. The two motifs are completely identical, except for the nominal specification, which occurred respectively in Florin (Fl) and Franc (Fr). One side shows a portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph I (1848-1916),the other the Austrian Coat of Arms with two denominations. The edge is smooth with engraved edge lettering. Here, too, copper was used as alloy metal.

The annual circulation figure was much lower compared to the ducats. The record year of of the 4-guilder coin with 211,343 pieces was 1977 and of the 8-guilder coin 1968 with 336,719 pieces. In other years, there was no or only very small editions. With 500 minted copies, the last edition of the 8-guilder piece was issued in 1988. The 4-guilder piece was last minted the 1999.