The Emperor's Haircut

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Hans Christian Andersen's famous fairy tale is called "The Emperor's New Clothes". While looking at my coins, it occurred to me that the emperor may not only change his clothes, but also his hairstyle.

It's strange that it didn't occur to me when I was looking at coins depicting the Empress or Queen. Change is sort of expected there. Well, anyway, it occurred to me now.

Emperor Francis II had various coins minted in several of his countries. There were different coins in the Hereditary Lands (Austrian lands and Bohemia), others in Hungary, others in the Austrian Netherlands, others in northern Italy. In northern Italy, Milan had special coins and Veneto had special coins.

30 soldi (17 Kreutzers), Milan, 1796, Weight 7.36 g, diameter 29 mm, purity of silver 689/1000

The Emperor is just 28 years old. The Emperor is adorned with long hair. Monarchs had the same hairstyle on coins throughout the Baroque, Rococo and Classical periods.

By the way, see the scratches in the middle of the coin picture? That's no coincidence. That was an authenticity test. It was during the revolutionary wars in Europe. Coins were counterfeited in large quantities.

And one more little thing. There were brass, silver-plated coins made specifically for Roma brides. A Roma bride had her dowry sewn onto her dress and hung on strings around her neck. The bigger the dowry, the more suitors she had. The groom did not learn that at least part of the dowry was made of silver-plated brass until after the wedding. He probably wasn't happy about it.

Emperor Francis lost his title of Holy Roman Emperor. In the wars with revolutionary France and later with Napoleon, he lost more and more territory. His titles on coins were changed. All of this is not obvious to those who only look at his coins superficially.

However, anyone can notice that the Emperor had his hair cut short in 1824. The Emperor was just 56 years old, as I am now. Comfort is more important than looks at a certain age. And fashion has changed. Wigs weren't even worn anymore.

But for two or three more years, for reasons of economy, coins were struck with old dies. In some places the emperor is still long-haired, in others short-haired.

1 Tolar (2 Gulden), Austria, 1827, Mint Prague, Weight 28.06 g, Diameter 40 mm, Purity of Silver 833/1000

1/2 Tolar (1 Gulden), Austria, 1826, Mint Wiena, Weight 14.03 g, Diameter 35 mm, Purity of Silver 833/1000

20 Kreutzer, Hungary, 1835, Mint Kremnitz, Weight 6.68 g, Diameter 27 mm, Purity of Silver 583/1000

I don't know how I came up with the idea to write about that. It was just an immediate thought. I wanted to write something today so I could thank everyone for accepting me into the #silvergoldstackers community.

Thank you.

hive-136819 silvergoldstackers leofinance cent pob waivio ctp oneup pgm pimp
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13 comments
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Some nice coins for sure, and an interesting story about the hair. I didn't know abut the scratching to check for fakes. That's interesting!
!DHEDGE

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What a quaint dowry tradition, but with brass or plated coins rather than silver. 😩

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Who knows how it is in India and Arab countries today. I don't. That tradition used to be there too. Perhaps it's outdated.

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What a stylish fellow 🤣 your post got me curious as most your posts do, I wonder what is the deal with these odd purities

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This is how the quality of the coin was expressed in old coin catalogues. 1000/1000 is pure metal (silver). For example, 833/1000 is 83.3% silver and 16.7% other metals.

Thank you for the praise. And I'd like to ask. Is there anything I can do to also receive upvotes from ssg-community? My work will still not be profitable then, but it would please me. It makes a difference to get a dollar per article or maybe four.
!HUG

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I mean the odd purities like 83.3% I am familiar with the 1000 part convention, well for the votes being a member you will get them once in a while it takes some delegation to guarantee a daily vote but I think it's well worth it

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You live in captivity of the metric system. But it appeared only at the end of the 18th century, after the French Revolution. Previously, the purity of gold was expressed in carats (24/24) and silver in lots (16/16).

Thank you for your information about ssg-comunity.

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