Catalog
1 Groschen - Frederick III - V Graz
| Issuer | Austrian Empire |
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| Year | 1471 |
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| Currency | Pfennig (800-1500) |
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| Obverse description | A crowned imperial double-headed eagle displayed in the central field, rendered in the late Gothic style characteristic of 15th-century Habsburg coinage. The eagle's heads face outward to either side, each surmounted by an open crown. The entire device is enclosed within a beaded inner circle. A Gothic legend in uncial lettering encircles the design in the outer margin, reading the ruler's titulature as Holy Roman Emperor. |
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| Reverse description | Five heraldic shields arranged within a central circle, representing the dynastic and territorial claims of Frederick III as Habsburg ruler. The shields include the arms of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Tyrol. A crowned shield or central device surmounts the arrangement at the top of the field. The surrounding Gothic legend in uncial lettering contains the date 1471 at its conclusion, consistent with the practice of dating Graz groschen issues in the reverse inscription. |
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| Additional information |
Frederick III ruled the Habsburg lands for over five decades — the longest reign of any Holy Roman Emperor — yet his administration was perpetually cash-strapped, plagued by conflicts with the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, who actually occupied Vienna from 1485 to 1490. The Graz mint served as one of Frederick's primary striking facilities precisely because Vienna was repeatedly threatened or out of reach. CNA Fb 13 places this issue within a tightly documented sequence of Groschen struck from the Inner Austrian mints, distinguishable by die positioning and mintmaster marks that varied considerably across short production windows in the early 1470s.