102929 | AUSTRIA. Archduke Franz Ferdinand aluminum Medal.

102929  |  AUSTRIA. Archduke Franz Ferdinand aluminum Medal. Issued 1894 for the "International Exhibition for Public Nutrition, Hygiene, Military Food, and Rescue Services" in Vienna (42mm, 12.61 g, 12h). By Wilhelm Pittner.

 

ERZHERZOG FRANZ FERDINAND v ÖSTERR-ESTE PROTECTOR, draped military bust facing slightly right // INTERNATIONALE / AUSSTELLUNG / FÜR / VOLKSERNÄHRUNG HYGIENE / MILITÄR-VERPFLEGUNG / UND / RETTUNGSWESEN / WIEN / 1894 in nine lines upon garnished shield; all within wreath composed of two cornuacopiae. Edge: Plain.

 

Wurzbach 2435; Hauser 3023. Gem Mint State. Steely gray surfaces with some alluring brilliance in the fields.

 

Born in 1863, Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, the younger brother of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef. Following the deaths of Franz Josef's son in 1889 (Crown Prince Rudolf) and Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became heir presumptive to his uncle's empire. This succession would never come to be, however, as Franz Ferdinand, along with his wife Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 by Serbians who were members of the Black Hand—a military secret society seeking Serbian nationalism. See item 103030 in this upload for a medal by Karl Goetz that alludes to this pivotal assassination, which served as the final spark for the hostilities that would grow to become the first world war.

 

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Upload: 2 January 2025.