Description
The Austrian 20 Corona dated 1915 is an official re-strike made in later years by the Austrian Mint. The original 20 Coronas were made from 1892-1916. The coin has a portrait of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I on the obverse and the reverse depicts the Imperial double-headed eagle with the Austro-Hungarian coat of arms in the centre of the design.
Franz Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and ruler of the other states of the Habsburg empire from 1830-1916. There was a great deal of international tension during his reign and his nephew and heir presumptive, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. This prompted Franz Joseph to declare war on the Kingdom of Serbia and the resulting defensive alliances led to the First World War. Franz Joseph died in 1916 and was succeeded by his great-nephew, who became King Charles I of Austria.
