Austrian 100 Coronas Gold

Specifications

Weight

0.9802 oz

Purity

.9

Mint

Austrian Mint

Country

Austria

First struck

1908

About the Austrian 100 Coronas Gold

The Austrian 100 Corona is one of the cheapest ways to buy roughly an ounce of gold. The Austrian Mint first struck the coin in 1908 to mark the 60th year of Emperor Franz Joseph's reign. After production ended, the mint kept restriking the 1915-dated version as bullion, and that restrike is what almost every dealer sells today.

The specs matter because they explain the price. Each coin contains 0.9802 oz of gold, with the rest of the alloy made up of copper to harden the coin against scratching. That .900 fineness is the same standard used on the old US double eagles and on the French 20 Franc. It is not .9999 fine like a Maple Leaf, but the actual gold content is what you pay for, and 0.9802 oz is very close to a full troy ounce.

Where the 100 Corona shines is premium. Because these are restrikes rather than collector issues, and because the design is over a century old, dealers price them aggressively against more famous sovereign coins. You will often see them quoted at lower premiums than American Gold Eagles or Canadian Maple Leafs of similar weight, sometimes by a meaningful margin.

The trade-off is liquidity and recognition. The Eagle and Maple Leaf are known on sight by every coin shop on the continent. The 100 Corona is well known to bullion dealers and to European buyers, but if you walk into a random pawn shop in the United States, you may get a blank look. For stackers who plan to sell back to a dealer, that is fine. For someone who wants something universally recognizable, a sovereign coin may fit better.

Durability is another quiet advantage. The copper alloy makes the coin harder than a pure-gold round, so it tolerates handling and storage in tubes without showing every fingerprint. The reeded edge and large diameter also make it satisfying to hold, which is the kind of thing you only notice once you own one.

Who should buy it? If your goal is maximum gold per dollar and you do not need .9999 purity for any specific reason, the 100 Corona is one of the best premium plays in gold bullion. If you want the most liquid, most recognized coin in any market in the world, look at the Eagle, Maple Leaf, or Krugerrand instead.