Last night I had what might be my best CRH moment ... and it happened while searching pennies! As I was about to pour out and search one hand-rolled roll of pennies, I noticed a bulge in the roll, one of the coins in the roll was obviously not a US penny. I immediately assumed it was a British penny. That's what such bulges usually are. It took me a while to work the mystery coin out. It turned out to be something goldish with the date 1915 on it. Could it be? I compared the color of the coin to my wedding ring (which is 18K gold) and it matched. I searched online and found several (in better condition) coins that looked just like mine. They gave a weight. I snuck upstairs (my son was sleeping), got my coin scale and weighed it. All checked out! I can't believe it.
The coins is, obviously, the only gold coin I've found. It is also the most valuable and maybe the oldest foreign coin I've found (it just beats a 1920 Canadian penny I found). According to my research, it is .987 find gold and has .349 grams of gold. Some EBay auction results I've seen lead me to believe it is worth around $100. The melt value of it is currently about $100.
I found the following description of the coin online:
Austrian 1915 One Ducat
Ducats were issued by Austria in 1612, and probably earlier. The last regular issue of ducats was in 1914. All the ducats dated 1915 are restrikes, of which there were 996,721 struck between 1920 and 1936. One ducat coins dated 1915 are still being produced by the Austrian Mint as official restrikes.
Franz Joseph I was born in 1848, and died in 1916.
Obverse
The laureate head, facing right, of Emperor Franz Joseph I
FRANC IOS I D G AUSTRIAE IMPERATOR
Reverse
The arms of Austria superimposed upon a crowned double-headed Imperial eagle.
HUNGAR BOHEM GAL LOD ILL REX A A 1915
High Carat Gold
Ducats were produced in high purity gold, 233/4 carats, making them among the highest purity gold coins ever issued for circulation.
I only wish I could be certain how old it really is.
I also broke out of a 12 box silver skunk streak for one of my half dollar source banks. The 13th box produced 1 90%'er and 4 40%'ers. The 90%'er was one I need to, a fairly decent 1941S.
Good luck all!
Brian
The coins is, obviously, the only gold coin I've found. It is also the most valuable and maybe the oldest foreign coin I've found (it just beats a 1920 Canadian penny I found). According to my research, it is .987 find gold and has .349 grams of gold. Some EBay auction results I've seen lead me to believe it is worth around $100. The melt value of it is currently about $100.
I found the following description of the coin online:
Austrian 1915 One Ducat
Ducats were issued by Austria in 1612, and probably earlier. The last regular issue of ducats was in 1914. All the ducats dated 1915 are restrikes, of which there were 996,721 struck between 1920 and 1936. One ducat coins dated 1915 are still being produced by the Austrian Mint as official restrikes.
Franz Joseph I was born in 1848, and died in 1916.
Obverse
The laureate head, facing right, of Emperor Franz Joseph I
FRANC IOS I D G AUSTRIAE IMPERATOR
Reverse
The arms of Austria superimposed upon a crowned double-headed Imperial eagle.
HUNGAR BOHEM GAL LOD ILL REX A A 1915
High Carat Gold
Ducats were produced in high purity gold, 233/4 carats, making them among the highest purity gold coins ever issued for circulation.
I only wish I could be certain how old it really is.
I also broke out of a 12 box silver skunk streak for one of my half dollar source banks. The 13th box produced 1 90%'er and 4 40%'ers. The 90%'er was one I need to, a fairly decent 1941S.
Good luck all!
Brian
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