Currencies/Austro-Hungarian krone

Introduction

The Austro-Hungarian krone (German: Krone; Hungarian: korona) was the official currency of Austria-Hungary from 1892 to 1918. It replaced the gulden when the empire adopted the gold standard, with 1 gulden = 2 kronen. The currency was divided into 100 heller in Austria and 100 fillér in Hungary.

History

The krone was introduced in 1892 as part of the empire’s monetary reform and adoption of the gold standard. From 1900 onwards, banknotes denominated in krone became the only legal paper currency.

During World War I, the Austro-Hungarian government financed military expenditures through borrowing and excessive printing of money, leading to rapid inflation. By 1918 the krone had lost most of its value.

Following the dissolution of the empire, successor states overstamped krone notes to mark them for circulation within their territories. Austria and Hungary each continued to use the krone temporarily, but both soon replaced it due to hyperinflation.

Coins

Coins were issued in both the Austrian and Hungarian halves of the empire with identical technical standards but different designs.

Heller / Fillér coins: 1, 2 (brass or iron during wartime), 5, 10, and 20 (nickel or iron wartime).

Krone / Korona coins: 1 and 2 in silver (.835 fine), 5 in silver.

Gold coins: 10 and 20 kronen/korona (.900 fine).

Banknotes

The Austro-Hungarian Bank issued krone banknotes from 1900 onward. They were printed bilingually (German and Hungarian) and also carried denominations in several other languages of the monarchy, including Czech, Polish, Italian, and Romanian. Common denominations included 1, 2, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 200, 1,000, and 10,000 kronen. After 1918, many notes were overprinted by the successor states to distinguish them for local use.

Currency

At its introduction, 1 krone equaled 0.8505 German marks, tied to the gold standard.

1913 1 USD ≈ 4.96 kronen.

1915 1 USD ≈ 6.50 kronen.

1919 1 USD ≈ 16.1 kronen.

1922 Austrian consumer prices rose nearly 14,000 times compared to prewar levels.

Replacement

Austria replaced the krone with the schilling in 1925 at a rate of 10,000 kronen = 1 schilling.

Hungary adopted the Hungarian korona (at par), but after severe inflation it was replaced in 1927 by the pengő at 12,500 korona = 1 pengő.

Other successor states, including Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania, issued their own currencies after briefly overstamping Austro-Hungarian banknotes.