| About Minting in Austria |
He was then handed over to emperor Heinrich VI and kept prisoner at Trifels Castle (Germany) until Feb. 4, 1194. He was released only after the payment of truly a King's ransom. It may sound strange to the modern 21st century individual but payment of such ransoms were not a totally uncommon practice in those days. King Richard supposedly composed ballads while detained so his incarceration must not have been too severe an experience. However the price paid is said to have been equal to Britain's gross national product of three years. That is certainly not a trivial amount of money for a nation to pay for a Monarch that they had never laid eyes on. When the ransom was paid, a large part of it was in Silver, and that may have motivated the founding of a mint at the Babenberg Court around 1194. Shortly after 1397 the Mint was located in the Wollzeile, and after 1752 it was located in the Himmelpfortgasse Palace which was Prince Eugen's winter palace. In 1834 Emperor Franz I ordered the building of the Mint in the Heumarkt where it has remained to the present. Up to the 16th century, coins were minted by "hammer minting". Attempts at roller minting were made in the 16th century, but the so-called rocker press, a combination of rolling and stamping, was used only after the mid 17th century. The Vienna Mint used the screw press in the 18th century and the lever press in the 19th century. Electricity replaced steam power in 1907. On January 1, 1989, the state mint was sold by the Ministry of Finance to the Austrian National Bank, the central bank responsible for the issue of banknotes and for currency policy. At #1 Am Heumarkt, overlooking Vienna’s famous Stadtpark (city park), the Austrian Mint still produces all the nation's official circulating coinage, commemorative and bullion products. |
| The first coins minted in the land later to be known as Austria were created by the Celts who were active in the area during the 5th through the 1st century BC. Modern Austria, the Second Republic (1946-present), produces coins to meet the demands of commerce and for collectors and is well known for the exceptional quality of their products. Between the Celts and today, coins were minted by the Romans, (the Romans probably didn't mint coins in Austria but had them imported from their already established mints) various kingdoms and emperors, the Babenburgs, Archbishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburgs, the First Republic as well as the National Socialists (Nazis 1938-1945). An impressive variety of coins, medals, tokens and jettons have been issued by the authorities, as well as numerous private manufacturers that contributed their products to the mix. Many have designs that reflect goals, ideals or depict cultural aspects of the different issuing authorities that have come and gone throughout Austria's long and complex history. They were created to serve purposes that range from dissemination of the basest of political propaganda to the celebration of lofty, universally held ideals. Some are satirical in nature while others are humorous, utilitarian, or honorary. Over the years they have varied in quality from very crude in manufacture or design to examples that represent some of the finest of the minter's art. Weather created of Zinc, Brass, Copper, Nickel, Silver or Gold; all can give valuable insights into the culture and history of a country that once played a dominate role in European politics and continues to contribute to modern European society. |
| Austrian Coins, Medals & Tokens |
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A Mint in Vienna http://www.austrian-mint.at/ was founded
more than 800 years ago. Richard I (Richard the Lionheart)
the crusader King of England, conquered Cyprus in May
1191, and led the conquest of Acre on July 12, 1191 where
he clashed with the Austrian Duke Leopold V. On his way
back from the 3rd crusade, he was taken prisoner by Duke
Leopold V of Babenberg in Erdberg near Vienna on Dec.
21/22, 1192 and was subsequently kept hostage at Dürnstein
Castle until March 1193.
more than 800 years ago. Richard I (Richard the Lionheart)
the crusader King of England, conquered Cyprus in May
1191, and led the conquest of Acre on July 12, 1191 where
he clashed with the Austrian Duke Leopold V. On his way
back from the 3rd crusade, he was taken prisoner by Duke
Leopold V of Babenberg in Erdberg near Vienna on Dec.
21/22, 1192 and was subsequently kept hostage at Dürnstein
Castle until March 1193.
| The Vienna Mint |
| The Hall Mint |
http://www.stadtwerke-hall.at/burg-hasegg/index.php
The Mint (in castle Hasegg) in Hall, a city in the Austrian State of Tyrol, began in 1477 and was
later the site of important innovations with the coining of thalers deserving special mention. Hall
was the location of a mint from 1477 until it's closure in 1806. In modern times the Mint in Hall
again struck coins (100 Schilling denominations), in celebration of the Olympic Winter Games
held in Innsbruck in 1976. The Hall Mint is now a museum with many exhibits of old coining
machinery and historic coins. Tours are available and visitors can mint a souvenir medal for
themselves by "hammer" minting or by using a screw press.
The Mint (in castle Hasegg) in Hall, a city in the Austrian State of Tyrol, began in 1477 and was
later the site of important innovations with the coining of thalers deserving special mention. Hall
was the location of a mint from 1477 until it's closure in 1806. In modern times the Mint in Hall
again struck coins (100 Schilling denominations), in celebration of the Olympic Winter Games
held in Innsbruck in 1976. The Hall Mint is now a museum with many exhibits of old coining
machinery and historic coins. Tours are available and visitors can mint a souvenir medal for
themselves by "hammer" minting or by using a screw press.