German family mint L. Ch. Lauer in Nuremberg, operating between 1729 and 1924, minted miniature Austrian and Hungarian coins of all denominations except the two-crown. This could mean that the miniatures were made before 1912, when the minting of real two-crown began.
The miniatures were minted in copper (1- and 2-heller), zinc (10- and 20-heller, 1- and 5-crown) and brass (10, 20 and 100-crown). They all had a unified diameter of 13 mm.
According to some historians, they were used by gamblers. Others claim that they were a school tool used in teaching financial literacy. Furthermore, there is an opinion that the miniatures were a talisman placed in a cradle to ensure a happy and wealthy life for a baby.
Among the miniatures, there was a 100-crown minted on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the coronation of Franz Joseph I as King of Hungary in Budapest.
On 8 June 1867, Franz Joseph I was crowned King of Hungary in the Matthias Church in Buda, thus confirming the Austro-Hungarian Compromise. In 1907, the Upper Hungarian mint of Kremnica (Körmöcbánya in Hungarian) minted a gold 100-crown to commemorate this grand event.
The authors of the coin with the K B mark were Josef Reisner (obverse) and Carl Gerl (reverse). The weight of the 37 mm diameter coin was 33.875 g. The original mintage, the smooth edge of which bore the text BIZALMAM AZ ŐSI ERÉNYBEN (meaning MY TRUST IN ANCIENT VIRTUE), was only 10 897 pieces. It was minted with a new technology, where the relief was matt, and the background of the texts was almost mirror-like.
The coin depicts the coronation itself – specifically the moment of placing the St. Stephen's Crown on the head of Franz Joseph I by Archbishop of Esztergom Ján Šimor in the presence of the Hungarian magnate.
This unique coin is the pride of every numismatic collection with the theme of the crown currency from 1892–1916.