Austria 100 Euro Gold Coin 2008 Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire

Austria 100 Euro Gold Coin 2008 Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, Series: Crowns of the House of Habsburg

Displayed today in the treasury of the Hofburg in Vienna, the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire was once among the most coveted in Europe. The first in the Austrian Mint’s impressive five-coin Crowns of the House of Habsburg series, this handsome 100 euro gold coin is itself a treasure to be coveted.
From Henry VIII of England to Napoleon Bonaparte of France, over the centuries the dynastic destinies of some of the giants of European history were linked to the spectacularly bejewelled crown depicted in exquisite detail on the coin’s obverse. Its reverse shows an image of Otto I on the occasion of his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor at St Peter’s in Rome in 962, from when it is believed the crown dates, having most probably been made by goldsmiths in the Rhineland. Never actually a hereditary title, the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire did, however, remain in the continual possession of the Habsburgs for three and a half centuries as a result of clever diplomacy.

quality: proof
collection: Crowns of the Habsburgs
face value: 100 Euro
date of issue: 04.11.2008
coin design: Thomas Pesendorfer
diameter: 30.00 mm
alloy: Gold Au 986
fine weight: 16.00 g
total weight: 16.23 g

The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (German: Reichskrone) was the hoop crown (German: Bügelkrone) of the Holy Roman Emperor from the 11th century to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The crown was used in the coronation of the King of the Romans, the title assumed by the Emperor-elect immediately after his election. It was made in the late 10th or early 11th centuries. Unlike many other crowns, it has an octagonal rather than a circular shape, and is constructed from eight hinged plates. The plate in the front of the crown is surmounted by a cross, with a single arch linking it to a plate at the rear of the crown. The crown is now exhibited at the Hofburg in Vienna.
The crown was made probably somewhere in Western Germany, either under Otto I (with additions by Conrad II), by Conrad II or Conrad III during the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The first preserved mention of it is from the 12th century—assuming it is the same crown, which seems very probable.
Most of the Kings of the Romans of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned with it. Along with the Imperial Cross (German: Reichskreuz), the Imperial Sword (German: Reichsschwert), and the Holy Lance (German: Heilige Lanze), the crown was the most important part of the Imperial Regalia (German: Reichskleinodien). During the coronation, it was given to the new king along with the sceptre (German: Reichszepter) and the Imperial Orb (German: Reichsapfel). The Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire, especially the Imperial Crown, were all kept 1424–1796 in Nuremberg, Franconia—and could only leave the city for the coronation.
Currently, the crown and the rest of the Imperial Regalia are exhibited at the Hofburg in Vienna—officially "until there is again a Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation".
An identical copy is in Aachen in Germany in the Krönungssaal of Charlemagne's former palace, now the town hall. There are also copies of the crown and regalia in the historic museum of Frankfurt, as most of the later Emperors were crowned in the cathedral of the city, as well in the fortress of Trifels in the Electorate of the Palatinate, where the Imperial Crown was stored in medieval times. The newest authorised copy is kept in Czech castle Karlštejn along the a copy of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas.

Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), also known as Otto the Great, was emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, reigning as German king from 936 until his death in 973. The oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, Otto was "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy".