Austro-Hungarian Florin
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The florin (german: Gulden, hu, forint, hr, forinta/florin, cs, zlatý) was the
currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...
of the
lands Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water. Land, lands, The Land, or the Lands may also refer to: Entertainment and media Film * ''Land'' (1987 film), a British television film by Barry Collins * ''Land'' (2018 film), ...
of the
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
between 1754 and 1892 (known as the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
from 1804 to 1867 and the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
after 1867), when it was replaced by the
Austro-Hungarian crown 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 ...
as part of the introduction of the
gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...
. In
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, the florin was initially divided into 60 kreutzers (german: Kreuzer, hu, krajcar, hr, krajczár cs, krejcar). The currency was decimalized in 1857, using the same names for the unit and subunit.


Name

The name ''Gulden'' was used on the pre-1867
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n
banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...
s and on the
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
side of the post-1867 banknotes. In southern Germany, the word Gulden was the standard word for a major currency unit. After 1867 Austrian coins used the name ''Florin''. "Florin" is derived from the city of
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
where the first
florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
s were minted, from 1252 to 1533.


History

The florin (German: ''Gulden'') first emerged as a common currency of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
after the 1524 ''
Reichsmünzordnung The ''Reichsmünzordnung'' (, "imperial minting ordinance") was an attempt to unify the numerous disparate coins in use in the various states of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century. The ordinance was issued in several steps at Diets at Aug ...
'' in the form of the ''
Guldengroschen The ''Guldengroschen'' or ''Guldiner'' was a large silver coin originally minted in Tirol in 1486, but which was introduced into the Duchy of Saxony in 1500. The name "''Guldengroschen''" came from the fact that it has an equivalent denominati ...
''. In the succeeding centuries the gulden was then defined as a fraction of the ''
Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
'' specie or silver coin. As of 1690 the florin used in Southern Germany and the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
adhered to the Leipzig standard, with the florin worth th a Cologne Mark of fine silver or
reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
specie coin, or 12.992 g per florin. Below is a history (in terms of grams of silver) of the standards of the Austro-Hungarian florin from 1690 until the gold standard was introduced in 1892. MAIN reference p 360-393: German monetary system https://books.google.com/books?id=GrJCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA360#v=onepage&q&f=false A comparison with the lower-valued
South German gulden The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
is also included. The course of value of the florin before 1618 is found under ''
Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
''. The florin departed from the Leipzig standard in the 1730s when the gold-silver price ratio dropped from 15 to 14.5, prompting several states to reissue their gulden in cheaper gold. The Austro-Hungarian florin then departed from the
South German gulden The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
after it valued the Carolin d'or of 7.51 g fine gold at 9 Austrian florins, versus 11 gulden in Southern Germany. This made the Austrian florin worth 7.51/9 = 0.834 g fine gold or 0.834x14.5 = 12.1 g fine silver. As Austria was the leading state of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, it initiated the currency convention of 1754 in which the ''
Conventionsthaler The ''Conventionstaler'' or ''Konventionstaler'' ("Convention ''thaler''"), was a standard silver coin in the Austrian Empire and the southern German states of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous exam ...
'' replaced the
reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
specie as the standard currency of the Holy Roman Empire. The ''Gulden'' was defined as half of a Conventionsthaler, equivalent to of a Cologne mark of
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
, or 11.6928 g. The ''
South German gulden The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
'' was set lower at 24 florins per Cologne mark of silver, or 2.4 florins per Conventionsthaler, or 9.744 g. The ''North German
Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
currency unit'' was then defined as Gulden or a Conventionsthaler, or 17.5392 g. Following the winding up of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Gulden became the standard unit of account in the Habsburg lands and remained so until 1892. The florin was subdivided in 60 ''
kreuzer The Kreuzer (), in English usually kreutzer ( ), was a coin and unit of currency in the southern German states prior to the introduction of the German gold mark in 1871/73, and in Austria and Switzerland. After 1760 it was made of copper. In s ...
'', each of 4 ''
pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, i ...
'' or 8 ''heller''. In 1857, the ''
Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler (, ''union thaler'') was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification. The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the various versions of the North Ger ...
'' was introduced across the
German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
and Austria-Hungary, with a silver content of
gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...
s. This was slightly less than times the silver content of the Gulden. Consequently, Austria-Hungary adopted a new standard for the florin, containing two-thirds as much silver as the Vereinsthaler, or g. This involved a
debasement A debasement of coinage is the practice of lowering the intrinsic value of coins, especially when used in connection with commodity money, such as gold or silver coins. A coin is said to be debased if the quantity of gold, silver, copper or nick ...
of the currency of 4.97%. Austria-Hungary also decimalized at the same time, resulting in a new currency system of 100 kreutzers = 1 florin and florins = 1 Vereinsthaler. In 1892 the Austro-Hungarian florin was replaced by the
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
, with each crown containing grams of gold, at a rate of 2 crowns = 1 florin (gold-silver ratio 18.2). In 1946 the Hungarian florin (''magyar forint'') was re-introduced and remains the official
currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...
in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
.


Coins


Austria

Copper coins were initially issued in denominations of 1 ''heller'' ( kreutzer) up to 1 kreutzer, with silver coins in denominations from 3 kreutzers up to 1 Conventionsthaler. The Turkish and Napoleonic Wars led to token issues in various denominations. These included a 12 kreutzer coin which only contained 6 kreutzers worth of silver and was later overstruck to produce a 7 kreutzer coin. In 1807, copper coins were issued in denominations of 15 and 30 kreutzers by the Wiener Stadt Banco. These issues were tied in value to the bank's paper money (see below). The coinage returned to its prewar state after 1814. When the florin was decimalized in 1857, new coins were issued in denominations of (actually written ), 1 and 4 kreutzers in copper, with silver coins of 5, 10, and 20 kreutzers, , 1 and 2 florin and 1 and 2 Vereinsthaler and gold coins of 4 and 8 florin (or 10- and 20 francs). Vereinsthaler issues ceased in 1867. Vereinsthaler = florins


Hungary

Following the florin's introduction, Hungary issued relatively few coins compared to Austria, but the Kingdom of Hungary started minting its own gold florins in 1329. The only copper coin was a ''poltura'' worth kreutzers, whilst there were silver 3-, 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30 kreutzers and and 1 Conventionsthaler. All issues ceased in 1794 and did not resume until 1830, when silver coins of 20 kreutzers and above were issued. Only in 1868, following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, did a full issue of coins for Hungary begin. Denominations were fewer than in Austria, with copper , 1 and 4 krajczár, silver 10 and 20 kreutzers and 1 florin, and gold 4- and 8 florins.


Paper money

Between 1759 and 1811, the ''Wiener Stadt Banco'' issued paper money denominated in florins. However, the banknotes were not tied to the coinage and their values floated relative to one another. Although the notes did have a slight premium over coins early on, in later years, the notes fell in value relative to the coins until their value was fixed in 1811 at one fifth of their face value in coins. That year, the ''Priviligirte Vereinigte Einlösungs und Tilgungs Deputation'' ("Privileged United Redemption and Repayment Deputation") began issuing paper money valued at par with the coinage, followed by the "Austrian National Note Bank" in 1816 and the "Privileged Austrian National Bank" between 1825 and 1863. In 1858, new notes were issued denominated in "Austrian Currency" rather than "Convention Currency". From 1866, the ''K. K. Staats Central Casse'' ("Imperial and Royal State Central Cashier") issued banknotes, followed from 1881 by the ''K. K. Reichs Central Casse'' which issued the last Gulden banknotes, dated 1888. The banknotes after Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 that were issued by the
Austro-Hungarian Bank The Austro-Hungarian Bank (german: Oesterreichisch-ungarische Bank, hu, Osztrák–Magyar Bank, cs, Rakousko-uherská banka, pl, Bank Austriacko-Węgierski, hr, Austro-Ugarska banka) was the central bank of the Habsburg Monarchy in the 19th a ...
had their value that was guaranteed with
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
as enacted in the Banking Act. State notes were issued by the treasury and had no such cover.


References


External links


Geldschein.at - Picture gallery of Austrian gulden banknotes
{{Guilder Currencies of Austria Gulden Economic history of Austria