The Auersperg family held the right to strike coins — a privilege known as Münzrecht — as part of their status as imperial counts within the Holy Roman Empire, though by 1805 that institution itself had less than a year left before Napoleon forced its formal dissolution. This piece was struck just months before Francis II abdicated the imperial title, effectively ending a political structure the Auerspergs had operated within for centuries.
Davenport records only a handful of distinct varieties for this type, and surviving examples in any grade are infrequently encountered at auction.
The Auersperg family held the right to strike coins — a privilege known as Münzrecht — as part of their status as imperial counts within the Holy Roman Empire, though by 1805 that institution itself had less than a year left before Napoleon forced its formal dissolution. This piece was struck just months before Francis II abdicated the imperial title, effectively ending a political structure the Auerspergs had operated within for centuries.
Davenport records only a handful of distinct varieties for this type, and surviving examples in any grade are infrequently encountered at auction.