1696 Austria, Leopold the Hogmouth Taler 1696-IAK
Hall, KM1303.4, MS62 NGC, Exquisite detail with aged
and lovely gray and gold toning. A previously unrecorded
overdate . Undergraded by a mile. Imagine what this
coin has seen over the centuries! Then imagine what
an early US dollar is worth in this condition and
compare the two for value.
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (name in full: Leopold
Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Felician) Habsburg (June 9,
1640 – May 5, 1705), Holy Roman emperor, was
the second son of the emperor Ferdinand III and his
first wife Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents
were Philip III of Spain and Margarita of Austria.
The Latin inscription reads (obverse): LEOPOLDVS D[EI]
G[RATIA] R[OMANORVM] I[MPERATOR] S[EMPER] A[VGVSTVS]
G[ERMANIAE] H[VNGARIAE] B[OHEMIAE] REX (reverse):
ARCHID[VX] AVS[TRIAE] DVX B[VRGVNDIAE] CO[MES] TYR[OLIS]
1696. In English: "Leopold, by the Grace of God,
Emperor of the Romans, always Augustus, of Germany,
Hungary, and Bohemia, King, Archduke of Austria, Duke
of Burgundy, Count of Tyrol, 1696." The unusual
shape of the emperor's mouth on this coin earned it
the nickname, "Leopold the Hogmouth," but
most collectors do not believe the coin was an accurate
depiction.
