Austro-Hungarian Krone

The crown (german: Krone, hu, korona, it, Corona, pl, korona, sl, krona, sh, kruna, cz, koruna, sk, koruna, ro, coroană) was the official currency of Austria-Hungary from 1892 (when it replaced the florin as part of the adoption of the gold standard) until the dissolution of the empire in 1918. The subunit was one hundredth of the main unit, and was called a in German and a in Hungarian.

Name

The official name of the currency was (, pl. ) in Austria and in Hungary. The Latin form (plural ), abbreviated to on the smaller coins, was used for the coinage of the mostly German-speaking part of the empire known as Cisleithania. Currency names in other ethnic languages were also recognised and appeared on the banknotes: (pl. ) in Czech, (pl. ) in Polish, , (pl. , ) in Ukrainian, (pl. ) in Italian, (pl. ) in Slovene, (pl. ) in Croatian, , (singular and plural) in Serbian, (pl. ) in Slovak, and (pl. ) in Romanian. These terms all translate to the English word ''crown''.

The symbol of the currency was the abbreviation K. or sometimes Kr.

History

Introduction

After several earlier attempts the Austro-Hungarian Empire adopted the gold standard in 1892 according to a plan drawn up by the Hungarian Minister of Finance Sándor Wekerle. This plan included the introduction of the new currency, the crown. It consisted of 100 ''heller'' (German) or ''fillér'' (Hungarian). The value of the crown was set at K 2 = ƒ1 of the previous silver-based currency. From 1900 onward, crown notes were the only legal banknotes of the Empire.

First World War

The currency depreciated sharply as a result of the First World War, which was financed mostly by the issue of War Bonds rather than through taxation. Consumer prices rose sixteenfold during the war, as the government had no hesitation in running the Austro-Hungarian Bank's printing presses to pay its bills: this triggered a higher inflation rate than in other combatant countries.

After 1918

Austria

After the end of the First World War it was initially hoped that the crown might remain the common currency of the Empire's successor states, but in January 1919 the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) became the first successor state to overstamp the Austro-Hungarian Bank's notes, limiting their validity to its own territory. Czechoslovakia followed suit in February 1919, and on 12 March 1919 the new Republic of Austria stamped the notes circulating in its territory with "DEUTSCHÖSTERREICH".

The Austrian economy did not stabilise after the war, and a period of hyperinflation followed: the money supply increased from 12 to 30 billion crowns in 1920, and to about 147 billion crowns at the end of 1921. In August 1922 consumer prices were 14,000 times greater than before the start of the war eight years earlier. The highest-denomination banknote issued was the 500,000 crown note, issued in 1922. Faith in the currency had been lost, and people spent money as fast as they received it. In October 1922 Austria secured a loan of 650 million gold crowns from the League of Nations, with a League of Nations Commissioner supervising the country's finances. This stabilized the currency at a rate of 14,400 paper crowns to 1 gold crown. On 2 January 1923 the Austrian National Bank (Österreichische Nationalbank) began operations, taking over control of the currency from the Austro-Hungarian Bank which had gone into liquidation.

In December 1923 the Austrian Parliament authorised the government to issue silver 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 crown coins which were to be designated ''half-schilling'', '' schilling'', and ''double schilling''. The schilling became the official currency of Austria currency on 20 December 1924, at a rate of 10,000 crowns to 1 schilling.

Over-stamped Austro-Hungarian krone

Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

In these territories of Austria-Hungary, which became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) in 1918, Krone banknotes were stamped by the new authorities and became issues of the Serb, Croat and Slovene crown. In 1920 this was replaced by the dinar at a rate of 1 dinar = 4 crowns.

Czechoslovakia

In Czechoslovakia the currency was superseded by the Czechoslovak crown, at par. The names of the present-day ''koruna'' and ''haléř'' (in the Czech Republic) and the pre-Euro ''koruna'' and ''halier'' (in Slovakia) were the names of the main unit and subunit of the Austro-Hungarian currency respectively.

Fiume

The Fiume Krone (Corona Fiumana) - (Cor., FiuK) was introduced on 18 April 1919 by over-printing the existing Austro-Hungarian crown notes, under the authority of the Italian National Council of Fiume who ruled the city. There were two issues: the 1919/21 Issue (1 and 2 crowns), and the 1920 Issue (2-, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, and 1,000 crowns). The over-printed notes were in circulation from April 1919 to February 1921. In September 1920 the Italian Lira was introduced as the official currency. The unofficial exchange rate to the lira was 2.5 FiuK to 1 lira.

Hungary

In Hungary the Austro-Hungarian currency was overstamped and then replaced by the Hungarian korona at par. The Hungarian korona was devalued by hyperinflation, due to the consequences of World War I and the Treaty of Trianon. It was replaced by the pengo on 21 January 1927, at a rate of 12,500 crowns to 1 pengoe.

Romania

In Romania there were two issues of over-stamped notes: the 1919 First Provisional Issue (stamp on the Austrian side of the note), and the 1919 Second Provisional Issue (stamp on the Hungarian side). Both issues included 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 1,000, and 10,000 crown denominations. The issue dates of the base Austro-Hungarian krone notes used ranged from 1902 to 1918.

Complete denomination sets of over-stamped notes

Historic exchange rates and prices

Coins

Banknotes

Crown banknotes were designed and printed in Vienna from 1900 onward. These banknotes were used throughout the Monarchy. All banknotes issued by the Austro-Hungarian Bank were bilingual in German and Hungarian: the denomination was also indicated in other languages of the Monarchy. Until World War I, all banknotes had a German and a Hungarian side; during the war, some banknotes were issued with text in both languages on either side. The designers included Koloman Moser, Rudolf Rössler, Josef Pfeiffer and László Hegedűs. The engraver was Ferdinand Schirnböck.

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

*
bankjegy.szabadsagharcos.org
(Hungarian banknote catalog)
*
www.numismatics.hu
(Roman and Hungarian related numismatic site)
*
papirpenz.hu
(pictures of Hungarian banknotes)
*

(homepage of the Hungarian Coin Collectors' Society)

(pictures of Austro-Hungarian banknotes at Ron Wise's World Paper Money Homepage)
geldschein.at
(nearly 1000 pictures of Austro-Hungarian banknotes + collectors information)
austriannotes.com - paper money and history of Austria
(Austrian banknotes explained and historical background information)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austro-Hungarian Crown
Currencies of Austria
Crown
Economic history of Austria
1892 establishments in Austria-Hungary
1918 disestablishments in Austria-Hungary