Austrian Coin Inscriptions

[Bixley]

I'm trying to understand the inscriptions on Austrian Coronas and Ducats. On the 100 Corona, the inscription is FRANC IOS I D G IMP AUSTR REX BOH GAL ILL ETC ET AP REX HUNG. My understanding is that this means Franz Joseph the first, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, Galicia, Illyria etcetera and ???? King of Hungary.  Am I right and what does the 'AP' mean? There is a good picture of the coin on the Chards website.

Similarly, on the 4 Ducat the inscription is  HUNGAR BOHEM GAL LOD ILL REX A A 1915. Any ideas on what the 'LOD' and 'AA' mean? Again, Chards is a good reference. And why the difference in titles between coins on the same date?

Hope someone can help. Regards, Bixleyl

 

 

[Norskgeld]

AP means APOSTOLICUM which translates to "a follower of Jesus" as it refers to the apostles.

LOD is LODOMERIA an area in western Russia, Belarus and Poland.

AA means Archduke of Austria.

[Bixley]

Thank you for that explanation.      Humour alert - I wondered if AA meant Automobile Association but soon realised that if Franz Joseph was a member of a motoring organisation that due to his status as a king and emperor he would have joined the Royal Automobile Club.

[LawrenceChard]

9 hours ago, Bixley said:

I'm trying to understand the inscriptions on Austrian Coronas and Ducats. On the 100 Corona, the inscription is FRANC IOS I D G IMP AUSTR REX BOH GAL ILL ETC ET AP REX HUNG. My understanding is that this means Franz Joseph the first, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, Galicia, Illyria etcetera and ???? King of Hungary.  Am I right and what does the 'AP' mean? There is a good picture of the coin on the Chards website.

Similarly, on the 4 Ducat the inscription is  HUNGAR BOHEM GAL LOD ILL REX A A 1915. Any ideas on what the 'LOD' and 'AA' mean? Again, Chards is a good reference. And why the difference in titles between coins on the same date?

Hope someone can help. Regards, Bixleyl

 

I guess you were looking at this page:

https://www.chards.co.uk/1915-gold-20-corona-austrian/1721

If I tag @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer into this thread, someone might add a translation to the page! 

I hope it doesn't mean that Franz Joseph was HUNG, or even "well hung" 🙂

Similarly here: https://www.chards.co.uk/1915-gold-one-ducat-austrian-coin/692

It is quite common for smaller size denominations to have shorter legends then their larger counterparts.

Size does matter after all!

 

[Norskgeld]

7 hours ago, Bixley said:

Thank you for that explanation.      Humour alert - I wondered if AA meant Automobile Association but soon realised that if Franz Joseph was a member of a motoring organisation that due to his status as a king and emperor he would have joined the Royal Automobile Club.

More likely meant Alcoholics Anonymous. ☺️

[CollectForFun]

It's perhaps worth noting that researchers at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art are of an opinion that A A stands for A[postolicus] A[nno]... 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/191086

[Bixley]

Thanks for that insight from the Met. It seems plausible in that the inscription , with dots, on the 100 Corona is: 

FRANC IOS . I .  D . G . IMP . AUSTR . REX . BOH . GAL . ILL . ETC . ET AP . REX HUNG .

and on the 4 Ducat is HUNGAR . BOHEM . GAL . LOD . ILL . REX  A . A . 1915

That is, a dot between the AA but not between AP.

I did think to send an email to the Austrian mint for a definitive answer but they do not seem to have an address to contact them.

 

[silenceissilver]

4 hours ago, Bixley said:

Thanks for that insight from the Met. It seems plausible in that the inscription , with dots, on the 100 Corona is: 

FRANC IOS . I .  D . G . IMP . AUSTR . REX . BOH . GAL . ILL . ETC . ET AP . REX HUNG .

and on the 4 Ducat is HUNGAR . BOHEM . GAL . LOD . ILL . REX  A . A . 1915

That is, a dot between the AA but not between AP.

I did think to send an email to the Austrian mint for a definitive answer but they do not seem to have an address to contact them.

 

• info@muenzeoesterreich.at

https://www.muenzeoesterreich.at/

Edit: Just noticed, they have an English email address as well:

• info@austrian-mint.at

https://www.muenzeoesterreich.at/eng

[Bixley]

I have sent the following email to the Austrian mint:

I wonder if you could help with a question that has arisen on a coin collecting and trading website in the UK called the Silver Forum. The question concerns the inscriptions on the 100 Corona and 4 Ducat restrike coins. 

 

On the 100 Corona the inscription is:

 

FRANC IOS . I . D(EI) . G(RATIA) . IMP(ERATOR) . AUSTR(IA) . REX . BOH(EMIA) . GAL(ICIA) . ILL(YRIA) . ETC(ETERA) ET AP(OSTOLICUS) . REX HUNG(ARY) .

 

Our understanding is that this translates to:

 

Franz Joseph the First, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, Galicia, Illyria Etcetera and Follower of Jesus, King of Hungary

 

Could you please confirm that this translation is correct.

 

On the 4 Ducat the inscription is:

 

HUNGAR(Y) . BOHEM (IA). GAL(ICIA) . LOD(OMERIA) . ILL(YRIA) . REX  A . A . 1915

 

Does the A . A mean Archduke of Austria or does it mean Apostolicus (Follower of Jesus) Anno (Year) 1915 

 

Grateful thanks for any help you may be able to give.

[Bixley]

I have received the following reply from the Austrian mint with their comments in red:

Franz Joseph the First, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, Galicia, Illyria Etcetera and Apostolic King of Hungary that means: successor of St. Stephen, patron saint of Hungary

HUNGAR(Y) . BOHEM (IA). GAL(ICIA) . LOD(OMERIA) . ILL(YRIA) . REX  A . A . 1915

Does the A . A mean Archduke of Austria or does it mean Apostolicus (Follower of Jesus) Anno (Year) 1915 here it’s the same the first “A” in REX A means Apostolic King of Hungary REX APOSTOLICUS, then it’s divided by a point and the “A” means ANNO.

 

[Bixley]

Right, over to you Mr. Chard to get the translations up on your web site! It is the least you can do for my payback as I have just (10 minutes ago) taken delivery of a 100 Corona and a 20 Corona coin from your company. And I have a 4 Ducat on order.

[Bixley]

I have now had a closer inspection of the 100 and 20 Corona coins just delivered. I noticed an edge inscription on the 100 Corona reading 'VIRIRVS VNITIS'. Or in non Latin characters, Viribus Unitis, which after some googling I found means 'With United Forces', along side the additional information that this was the personal motto of Emperor Franz Joseph 1.  Mr. Chard, a bit more information for you to add to your website!  

There is also an edge inscription on the 20 Corona but even with a magnifying glass I cannot make it out. I think it is a different inscription to the 100 Corona.