Austria. Holy Roman Empire, Charles V (Emperor, 1519-1556) AV Dukat Klippe. Siege of Vienna issue, dated 1529. Crowned and armoured bust of Ferdinand I (Archduke of Austria, 1521-1564) right; 15-Z9 flanking bust; TVRK • BLE/GERT • WI/: EN : ; arabesques at cardinal points / Long cross pattée; in quarters at angles, coats-of-arms of Niederösterreich, Castile, Hungary, and Bohemia; each shield surmounted by an arabesque. Brause-Mansfeld pl. XLII, 9; Markl 278; Mailliet 2²; Friedberg 22. 3.53g, 23mm, 6h.
Extremely Fine. Struck on a slightly irregular flan, scattered marks, some flatness. Underlying lustre. Extremely Rare, and in excellent condition for the issue.
The 1529 Siege of Vienna halted the seemingly inexorable march of Ottoman conquest that had spread westward across eastern Europe during the previous century or so. Following a successful military campaign in Hungary led by Sultan Suleiman I 'the Magnificent', the Ottoman army had set out to besiege the city of Vienna in September 1529. The long advance to Austria depleted Ottoman resources and the European wet season caused many of the troops to arrive in a poor state of health.
The Austrian resistance, an impromptu collaboration of the city's population and European mercenaries, fortified the ancient heart of the city around St. Stephen's Cathedral and prepared for a lengthy siege. The treasures of Vienna's churches were used to strike an emergency issue of coinage, of which the present piece is an excellently preserved example, in order to pay the mercenaries sent by the Holy Roman Emperor.
Abandoning the siege in mid-October, the Ottoman retreat was further hampered by the weather. This humiliating end to the campaign in Hungary ended Ottoman expansion into central Europe and marked the zenith of their predominance, and for more than a century afterwards the Ottoman Empire was unable to threaten central Europe.