Austrian 1 Schilling 1938

The 1938 1 Schilling was minted in Vienna mere months after the Anschluss, a period when Austria's coinage stubbornly retained its pre-annexation design despite the political upheaval.

This aluminum coin features the Austrian coat of arms on the obverse, with the federal eagle clutching a hammer and sickle-like symbols that nod to the nation's industrial heritage. The reverse simply states the denomination and year. Weighing about 1.5 grams and measuring 19 millimeters across, it was intended for everyday use in a country on the brink of erasure.

Records of exact mintage are murky, lost amid the chaos of war and postwar disarray. What we do know is that these coins circulated briefly before being phased out for Reichsmarks.

Production halted the following year as Nazi reforms took hold.