The traditional date for the founding of the Friedrich Krupp firm of Essen, Germany, is 1812. In the early years of the Essen firm, one of its outlets for steel was to produce dies and rollers for German and French mints. As I understand it the firm produced the plain steel shafts, but did not engrave the actual dies.

In the 1840s, Hermann Krupp invented a roller that could produce spoons. To take advantage of this invention, Hermann Krupp established his own firm in Berndorf in Austria in 1844, while his elder brother Alfred continued to operate the Essen firm. The Berndorf firm thereafter specialized in the production of flatware and nonferrous metal products, while the Essen firm produced iron and steel items - railroad tires, cannon, etc.

The Italian coins 1894 KB, being made of nickel, would thus be made by K[rupp] B[erndorf] (not Berlin - there has never been a Krupp factory in Berlin). The Austrian factory also struck medals as well as coins. In 1931 the Essen firm bought control of the Berndorf firm, which it retained until the Berndorf firm was taken over by the Soviets in 1945.

So if you want to know more, it depends on which part of the history you are interested in. If you are interested in the early history, such as the dies and rollers made for German and French mints in the early nineteenth century, I would recommend reading the Krupp Festschrift of 1812-1912. If the interest instead is the striking of nickel and other base metal coins, I would recommend consulting the history of the Berndorf firm, which traditionally has been treated separately from the history of the Essen firm.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:QUERY: INFORMATION ON KRUPP MINTING EQUIPMENT AND COINS SOUGHT(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n05a21.html)