The Ten Groschen was worth 10/100 of a schilling, and was a small circulating denomination of the Austrian Schilling currency, which was restored as the currency of the Republic of Austria when the republic itself was restored after World War II in 1945. Between 1947 and 1952, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 groschen; and 1, 2, and 5 schilling were introduced. The 1 and 5 groschen and the first type of 10 groschen were in zinc, which is not very suitable for coinage (it corrodes and wears off fast); after only three issues, in 1951 it was replaced by this type of 10 groschen made from aluminium.
Apart from the change in composition, the new type also had a new design; both the reverse and the obverse were designed by Hans Köttenstorfer.
The denomination was issued in circulation quantities until 1998, and for collectors' sets until 2001. Together with all the other Schilling coinage, it was demonetised after 28 February 2002 when the country changed to the Euro currency. |
| Obverse | |
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Within a scalloped (wavy) border, the obverse of the coin features the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Austria, which is an eagle with open wings, crowned with a mural crown (representing a state, and not a monarch), holding a hammer in its left foot (right from the point of view of the viewer) and a sickle in its right foot. Its feet are in shackles, but the chain between them is broken, symbolising a liberated Austria. On the eagle's breast, the shield of Austria divided into three horizontal stripes representing the national flag, with "heraldic hatching" (thin lines) indicating the colours: red-white-red.
Repeated on both sides of the eagle, the numeral 10 for the value.
The Coat of Arms is small and is in the upper half of the design. On two lines below (one straight, one curved around the rim), the inscription REPUBLIK · ÖSTERREICH · (Republic of Austria). |
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