Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Austrian Empire
4 ducats
奧地利帝國
4 達克特
Item number: A230
Year: AD 1915
Material: Gold
Size: 40.1 x 40.1 x 1.0 mm
Weight: 11.0 g
Manufactured by: Münze Österreich
Provenance: Private Collecor, Taiwan, 2016
This coin is a gold coin with a denomination of 4 ducats issued by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the year AD 1915.
On the obverse side of the coin, there is a portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, wearing a laurel wreath and traditional attire, facing right. The Latin inscription around the portrait translates to: “Francis Joseph I, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria.”
On the reverse side, there is the double-headed eagle coat of arms of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the centre, with the denomination of the coin enclosed within brackets below. Surrounding the coat of arms are Latin inscriptions denoting the various territories ruled by Emperor Franz Joseph I. Starting from the upper right corner and moving clockwise, these territories are the Kingdom of Hungary, the Crown Lands of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, the Kingdom of Illyria, and the Grand Duchy of Austria.
In the year AD 1848, after Franz Joseph I assumed control of the Austrian Empire, he initiated industrialisation and the development of modern infrastructure such as railways. To address the challenges posed by the rising tide of nationalism across Europe since the 19th century, Franz Joseph I restructured the empire into the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, granting equal rights to the Hungarian nobility within its borders.
However, in the summer of AD 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, was assassinated during a visit to Sarajevo by Serbian nationalist extremists. This event triggered the outbreak of World War I. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, along with Germany, formed the Central Powers, opposing the Allies led by Britain, France, the United States, and Russia.
In AD 1916, Emperor Franz Joseph I passed away, and the empire struggled until AD 1918 when it declared surrender. After the war, inspired by President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points,” various ethnic groups within the Austro-Hungarian Empire gradually declared independence. The once-prominent Habsburg family’s empire, rooted in European history, came to an end.