Historical Sketch

In the late 17th and early 18th century, the Austrian family of Liechtenstein purchased lands on the Rhine. In 1719, the emperor recognized the acquisition and elevated the territory to a sovereign principality within the Holy Roman Empire. After its dissolution in 1806, Liechtenstein became member of the Confederation of the Rhine and the German Confederation, the 1815 Vienna Congress had confirmed its sovereignty. The end of the German confederacies after the Prussian-Austrian war of 1866 marked Liechtenstein’s nominal independence. The ruling family’s residence had always been in Vienna, but briefly after the German annexation of Austria in March 1938 they moved to Liechtenstein.

Monetary History Overview

Since its foundation, Liechtenstein had been part of the monetary order of Habsburg Austria. In 1852, Liechtenstein and Austria concluded a customs treaty, and Liechtenstein became a separate signatory of the 1857 Vienna Coinage Union (Münzvertrag), by which it adopted the Austrian Guilder as unit of account. No coinage was issued beside a presentation coin in 1862, not intended for circulation. The 1892 currency reform introduced the gold standard to Austria. Six years later, Liechtenstein enacted its first coinage legislation, adopting the Austro-Hungarian Crown instead of a national currency. Two gold coins were issued which circulated alongside the Austrian money, although given the low mintage, they again were presentation pieces rather than actual means of payment. After the First World War, the Habsburg Empire was dissolved, and economy and currency of the (German) Austrian state went into decline. To escape inflation, Liechtenstein unilaterally switched to the Swiss Franc as unit of account in September 1920. The negotiations between Liechtenstein and Switzerland went on for some time, and beginning of 1924, a customs treaty came into effect. In May 1924 finally, Liechtenstein passed a coinage law to retroactively adopt the Swiss Francs instead of a national currency. A set of gold and silver subsidiary coins were issued and circulated alongside the Swiss banknotes and coins. The Liechtenstein coinage was abandoned already six years later, and the coins were withdrawn until March 1931. Since then, only Swiss banknotes and coins are circulating, and Liechtenstein continues the practice of occasional presentation coins in Swiss currency.

Currency Units Timeline

Currency Institutes Timeline

Monetary History Sources