Historical gold and silver re-strikes offer the investor a unique combination of antique appeal and the value of their gold and silver content.
In addition to the Vienna Philharmonic in gold, silver and platinum, other gold and silver coins from earlier centuries are suitable for investment. These investment coins are current restrikes of historical coins.
As in the case of the Vienna Philharmonic in gold, the sale price of gold historical restrikes is very close to the current gold price. The higher the fine weight of the coin, the lower the premium on the gold price. In addition, the spread between the purchase and sale price is comparatively small. These coins are internationally recognised and are therefore easy to sell worldwide. Unlike the Vienna Philharmonic, however, they are no longer legal tender.
The most important among these gold investment coins include Ducats, Crowns and Gulden, all of which were widely used in earlier centuries. These coins differ from the Vienna Philharmonic in gold in one important respect for investors in that they have a slightly lower fineness than the 999.9 of the Vienna Philharmonic – the highest possible. A three-digit number indicates the proportion of gold in a total of one thousand parts. For example, 900 gold means that the coin has a fineness of 90 per cent, consisting of 90 per cent fine gold and 10 per cent of one or more other metals. A distinction must therefore be made between the total weight of the coin, which is also known as the rough weight, and the fine weight, which is the weight of the pure gold it contains. Like the Vienna Philharmonic in gold, the Ducat, Crown and Gulden historical restrikes in gold are VAT-free.
The first Ducat was minted as early as 1284, in Venice. In the 16th century, use of the Ducat began to spread to the Holy Roman Empire. Münze Österreich continues to mint a restrike of the Ducat that was originally minted in the Danube Monarchy from 1872 to 1914. Like their historical predecessors, these new coins bear the year 1915 are made of 986 gold, that is 98.6 per cent gold and 1.4 per cent copper, the latter being added to make the coins harder. This alloy is also known as ‘ducat gold’. The ducat is a very thin coin, which is why it is relatively large for its fine weight of 3.44 grams (1 ducat coin) or 13.77 grams (4 ducat coin).
Originally from Florence, the Gulden was first minted in 1252. First minted on Austrian territory a century later, the Gulden was legal tender in Austria until 1892. The Gulden is made of 900 gold and is minted as both 4 gulden and 8 gulden coins with 1892 the year of issue. The 4 gulden coin has a fine weight of 2.90 grams of gold, the 8 gulden coin a fine weight of 6.45 grams.
In 1892, a gold currency was introduced in Austria-Hungary and with it the Crown. New gold coins were minted for this purpose. Crowns are continually minted in denominations of 10 crowns, 20 crowns and 100 crowns, and bear the year 1912 (10 crowns) and 1915 (20 and 100 crowns). Crown coins are made of 900 gold with a fine weight of 3.05 grams (10 crowns), 6.10 grams (20 crowns) and 30.49 grams (100 crowns).
| DUCAT | CROWN | GULDEN | |||||
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| Gold | 986 gold 1 | 986 gold 1 | 900 gold ² | 900 gold ² | 900 gold ² | 900 gold ² | 900 gold ² |
| Total weight | 3.49 g | 13.96 g | 3.39 g | 6.78 g | 33.88 g | 3.23 g | 6.45 g |
| Fine weight | 3.44 g | 13.77 g | 3.05 g | 6.10 g | 30.49 g | 2.90 g | 5.81 g |
| Year of restrike | 1915 | 1915 | 1912 | 1915 | 1915 | 1892 | 1892 |
1 986 gold = 98,6% fine gold; 1,4% copper
² 900 gold = 90% fine gold; 10% copper
A silver coin that was first minted in 1741, the Maria Theresa Taler was an official means of payment in the Austrian Empire until 1858. The coin’s significance extends far beyond Austria and those almost 120 years, however. The Maria Theresa Taler was and still is so highly regarded that some 400 million were minted worldwide between 1751 and 2017. The coin was particularly popular in the Arab world, as well as in Ethiopia and India. The restrikes bear the year 1780.
