A lot sold during Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles’ most recent auction hit the market just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The firm’s Pre-Long Beach Expo auction Feb. 2 and 3 included a gold necklace created from .900 fine gold coins from Austria. The necklace realized $3,643 including the 17.5 percent buyer’s fee, against an estimate of $2,500 to $3,000. 

In addition to the 1.5-ounce rope chain, the necklace contained the equivalent of 2.5482 ounces of gold, thanks to the 17 attached coins. Sixteen of the coins were 1912-dated restrikes of the 10-corona piece, all suspended near the central coin, which was a 100-corona restrike dated 1915.

The auction firm graded the coins as Extremely Fine. 

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The 100-corona coin was minted in Austria and Hungary between 1908 and 1914. However, 1915-dated examples were struck in 1916 to commemorate the reign of Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary from 1848 to 1916. 

Gold 10-corona coins were first issued by the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1892 following that year’s coinage reform. The last issue of the 10-corona coin for circulation was in 1911 during the last years of the reign of Franz Joseph I, just prior to World War I. After the death of Franz Joseph in 1916, official restrikes were issued as commemorative pieces, all bearing the date 1912.

The obverse of both denominations shows a right facing bust of Franz Josef I, surrounded by a legend in Latin. The reverses carry the crowned arms of the Austro-Hungarian empire, date and value.