Coronation Tokens

I allow myself the luxury of writing only when I really feel like writing. I've been on hiatus for a while now. I've had some things on my mind and I haven't felt like writing.

In Denmark, there has been a change of monarch. Five days ago, Queen Margaret II abdicated in favour of her son Frederik X. I don't know whether coins were minted in Denmark on this occasion. But I looked in my collection. I found something in the 19th century.

Royal coronations, weddings, funerals. These were reasons to throw money around among the common people. (It also ensured that many people would come to see these events.) Eventually, special coins, medals and tokens were minted for the occasion.

Emperor Franciscus I of Austria had his son Ferdinand V crowned King of Hungary during his lifetime in 1830. The first token dates from that year. It still belongs to the mint of Franciscus I.

Franciscus died in 1835. His son was crowned King of Bohemia. He is depicted separately on the token.

Here you can see the Hungarian crown on the first token and the Czech crown on the second.

I don't know if these tokens were thrown out to people from a passing carriage, or if they were given out in some other way. Maybe they were bought. I'd have to look in the newspapers of the time. That would be a bit time-consuming.

They were chips. They differed from the coins of the time in weight, size and purity. They had no face value. You couldn't pay with them. And that's why they remained as relics in a bottom drawer somewhere. There are plenty of them left.

The chips were minted in many types. They were of different sizes, weights and finenesses. These types:

1. Hungarian token, 1830, diameter 20 mm, weight 3.25 g of silver
2. Czech token, 1836, diameter 18 mm, weight 3.28 g of silver

The purity is not stated anywhere and may have varied. I assume about 500/1000.

Much larger commemorative coins, tokens and medals were also minted. In silver and gold. But these were given to distinguished guests. There were few of these struck and even fewer survive.

The tokens I'm showing you can be had for a few tens of dollars. The larger coins would cost you thousands of dollars.

With this article, I have completed my three-month writing plan. I hope to write more often now.