100 Hungarian Corona Franz Joseph I Gold Coin

100 Korona, Kingdom of Hungary

33.8753 g gross, 900 fine, holding 30.49 g of pure gold — 0.98 of a troy ounce — 37 mm across. It is one of the largest circulating gold coins Europe produced.

Struck at Koermoecbanya, the Kremnica mint, mintmark K.B., with the edge lettered BIZALMAM AZ OSI ERENYBEN. Demonetised on 31 December 1926.

Specifications

Almost every one you see is a restrike

The original mintages were tiny: about 1,088 pieces dated 1907 and 4,038 dated 1908. Coins of that scarcity do not circulate as bullion. What the market trades is a later restrike carrying the frozen date 1908, produced in the hundreds of thousands and often marked U.P. for utanveret, meaning restrike.

Sources disagree on who produced them — the Hungarian state mint or the Austrian Mint — and we have not found a primary source that settles it. What is not in doubt is that they are official issues from official dies, and that they are not rare.

Obverse and reverse

One side carries the crowned Hungarian shield with angel supporters and the denomination; the other shows the king standing in coronation robes. Engraved by Jozsef Reisner and Karoly Gerl.

Hungarian against Austrian 100 Corona

The two coins hold identical gold: 33.875 g gross, 900 fine, 30.49 g of pure gold, 37 mm. The differences are the design, and the frozen date — Austria restrikes with 1915, Hungary with 1908. The Austrian coin has been restruck continuously for a century and is the commoner and cheaper of the two.

Exactly 900, and why that matters

HMRC’s test for gold bullion is a fineness of not less than 900 thousandths. This coin is exactly 900. It clears the threshold, but with nothing to spare — a coin a shade below that line would attract VAT as a collectable rather than being treated as bullion gold.

VAT and UK capital gains tax

HMRC treats a coin minted after 1800 as bullion gold if it is at least 900 thousandths fine, is or has been legal tender in its country of origin, and normally sells at no more than 180 per cent of the open market value of its gold (VAT Notice 701/21A). The 100 Korona is 900 fine, was Hungarian legal tender and is sold close to the gold price, so it meets all three tests.

Capital gains tax is a separate matter. The UK exemption follows sterling legal tender, so it covers Sovereigns and Britannias but not a Hungarian coin. This is a statement of the published rule, not tax advice — your own position depends on your circumstances.

Questions buyers ask

Is it a rare coin? No. Original 1907 and 1908 strikings are rare; the restrikes that trade as bullion are not.

How much gold does it contain? 30.49 g of pure gold, just under a troy ounce.

What does U.P. mean? Utanveret, the Hungarian word for restrike. It marks some of the later strikings.

Is it the same as the Austrian 100 Corona? In gold content, yes. Different design, and a different frozen date.

Authenticity checked at GoldInvest24 before dispatch. Other sizes are on the historic gold coins page. Live quotes on the precious metals prices page.