Coin Collecting News » Austrian Coins

Clemens von Pirquet Gold Coin Issued

CoinNews — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:17:15 +0000

The commemorative series in gold "Celebrated Physicians of Austria" concludes with a coin for the renowned Viennese doctor, Clemens von Pirquet (1874-1929).

Clemens von Pirquet was born in 1874 just outside Vienna. His father had been a member of the imperial parliament, and had proposed Bertha von Suttner for the Nobel Peace Prize (which she received in 1905). His son would be nominated for the Nobel Prize for Medicine five times, unfortunately without the same success.

Clemens began studying theology in 1892, but soon abandoned it. In 1895 he began his study of medicine in Vienna, continuing in Konigsberg (Prussia) and in Graz where he then graduated in 1900. He then went to Berlin to attend a course in pediatrics. Returning to Vienna, he obtained a position at the St. Anna Children’s Hospital, where he also had good facilities for medical research ...

Full Article: Austrian Mint's Physician Clemens von Pirquet Gold Coin - CoinNews

Austrian Silver Grossglockner Coin

CoinNews — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:05:28 +0000

Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants, Caesar marched over them, Napoleon rode across, ladies and gentlemen were carried across in chairs, but the Grossglockner High Alpine Road enables the crossing from the province of Salzburg to Carinthia in the south by motorcar, bus, motorbike or even bicycle, and that over Austria’s highest mountain — the Grossglockner.

On 3rd August, 1935, the high alpine road over the Grossglockner mountain pass was officially opened to traffic. From 1930 till 1935 during 26 months of construction, 870,000 cubic meters of earth and rock were moved, 115,750 cubic meters of retaining wall were built and 67 bridges were erected.

A total of 3,200 men labored with the fairly simple tools of the day completing in record time this marvel of mountain engineering ...

Full Article: Austrian Coin Feature Grossglockner Alpine Road - CoinNews

Austrian mint says gold coin sales soar

The Web — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:17:19 +0000

The Austrian Mint, producer of the popular Philharmonic gold coin, sold more gold in the two weeks from April 26 than in the entire first quarter on soaring demand from Europe, it said on Wednesday.

The mint sold 243,500 ounces of gold in coins and bars in that period, compared to 205,000 ounces in the entire first three months of the year ...

Full Article: Austrian mint says gold sales soar on panic buys - Reuters

Austria Silver “Rome on the Danube” Coin

CoinNews — Fri, 07 May 2010 06:02:02 +0000

For some five centuries the River Danube formed an essential part of ancient Rome’s northern border against the barbarian tribes of Germania.

The Austrian Mint’s new silver series called "Rome on the Danube" breathes life back into the ruined remains of the towns and forts that played such prominent roles in the life of the Roman Empire in Austria.

The province of Noricum covered about two-thirds of modern day Austrian territory. It had been originally a kingdom of Celtic tribes until it was taken over by the Romans in a peaceful occupation under the Emperor Augustus in about 15 B.C.

Thirty years later the Emperor Claudius converted Noricum into a regular Roman province and established the city of VIRUNUM as its administrative capital ...

Full Article: Austria Silver "Rome on the Danube" Coin - CoinNews

Coin Depicts Legend of Erzberg Mountain

NumisMaster — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 05:03:14 +0000

The Austrian Mint issued on April 14 the third silver coin in its series, “Tales and Legends in Austria.” The new coin recounts the folktale surrounding the discovery of Erzberg, one of the most important iron ore sources in Europe still in use today.

The obverse of the coin shows ...

Full Article: Coin Depicts Legend of Erzberg Mountain - NumisMaster

Gold ‘Panic’ Buying Ends, Reducing Austrian Coin Sales by 80%

The Web — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:31:54 +0000

Muenze Oesterreich AG, the Austrian mint that makes the best-selling gold coin in Europe and Japan, said sales have fallen 80 percent this year after buyers began to regain confidence in the global economy.

“We’re getting back to business as usual rather than the hectic, panic demand we’ve seen over the last couple of years,” Vienna-based Marketing Director Kerry Tattersall said late yesterday in an interview ...

Full Article: Gold ‘Panic’ Buying Ends, Reducing Austrian Coin Sales by 80% - BusinessWeek.com

Austrian’s Renewable Energy Coin

CoinNews — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:30:35 +0000

Global warming, climate conferences, rising oil prices are constantly in the news. The earth’s resources of coal and oil are large but finite, and neither is a "clean" fuel.

The dangers of atomic reactors and the thousand years’ threat of radioactive rubbish fill many people with dread. But our industry, our living standards, our life style demand vast quantities of energy — power to run our factories, drive our transport, run our house-holds. Is the answer to be found in Nature, in "Renewable Energy."

Full Article: Austrian's Renewable Energy Bimetallic Coin - CoinNews

Austrian Silver Coins Celebrate 2010 Olympics

Silver Coins Today — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Just in time for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics, the Austrian Mint in Vienna has released new silver coins celebrating two disciplines in winter sports, the 5 Euro Silver Ski Jump Coin and the 5 Euro Silver Snowboard Coin.

Austrian Mint 2010 Winter Olympic Silver Coins - Click to Enlarge

Both coins honor sporting events known well to the Austrians, and are sure to be instant hits with the coin buying public. In fact, the Mint expects them to sell out within weeks.

The 2010 Winter Olympics feature sports, which are normally performed on snow or ice, and have been seen almost every four years since their introduction in ...

Full Article: Austrian Silver Coins for 2010 Olympics - SilverCoinsToday.com

Austrian Railways Sixth Silver Coin Launches

Silver Coins Today — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:30:05 +0000

The Austrian Mint has created another beautifully detailed piece to conclude its six coin 20-euro Austria Railways Commemorative Series. The Railway of the Future silver coin exemplifies the attention to detail that has caught the eye of many numismatists around the world.

As the name of the coin implies, this proof quality coin identifies what the mint in Vienna feels is the future of the train industry, both for Austria and for the world ...

Full Article: Austrian Railways Sixth Silver Coin - SilverCoinsToday.com

Austrian’s Crown of an Archduke Gold Coin Launch

CoinNews — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:58:40 +0000

The second 100 Euro coin in the gold series "Crowns of the House of Habsburg" will be released on Wednesday, 4th November. It is dedicated to the so-called "Archduke’s Hat", a name derived from the red velvet cap within the crown itself.

The title of archduke was invented by Rudolf IV in the spurious document of 1358/59 called the privilegium maius. t was an attempt to assert the status of the House of Habsburg as the equal of any Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. There exists a mediaeval portrait of Rudolf wearing ...

Full Article: Austrian's Crown of an Archduke Gold Coin Launch - CoinNews

Austrian 20 Oz Gold Philharmonic Coin for Anniversary

CoinNews — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:35:36 +0000

Twenty years ago in 1989 the Austrian State Mint passed from the Treasury into the ownership of the central bank. The mint was given the freedom to produce and sell products in accordance with the demands of the modern numismatic and investment markets.
One of the very first innovations introduced by the new CEO, Paul Berger, was the production of a gold bullion coin for investment purposes: the Vienna Philharmonic.

On 16th October this year a limited quantity of 6,027 Vienna Philharmonic coins, each weighing 20 ounces of fine gold, will go on sale in Europe, America and Japan ...

Full Article: Austrian 20 Oz Gold Philharmonic Coin for Anniversary - CoinNews

Richard the Lionheart Commemorative Silver Coins

Silver Coins Today — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:47:19 +0000

Available now from the Austrian Mint are 10 Euro Richard the Lionheart Silver coins, the second issue in the Tales and Legends in Austria series. Struck from sterling silver (.925 fine), each coin tells the story of royal proportions involving kings and dukes, queens and minstrels.

One would not normally think of Richard, King of England, to be part of a legend of Austria, but that is precisely the case. The tale starts out shortly before Christmas in the year 1192. Richard, known already as "Lionheart" for his great military leadership, was returning from the Crusades when he was shipwrecked. Forced to continue his journey home on foot, he ...

Full Article: Richard the Lionheart Commemorative Silver Coins - SilverCoinsToday.com

Australian Tiger Silver Coins

Coin Collecting News Staff — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:46:43 +0000

The Perth Mint has released its 2010 Australian Lunar Tiger Silver Coins, continuing the tradition of producing the lunar silver coins it started in 1999. Corresponding to the Year of the Tiger, the 2010 coin features an image of the wild cat.

The Chinese Lunar Calendar consists of twelve differentiated years with each represented by a unique animal, which then repeat. The animals are a rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep or goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig or boar.

Full Article: Australian Tiger Silver Coins - SilverCoinsToday.com

Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Coins

CoinNews — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:51:17 +0000

The Perth Mint has released the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Coin in anticipation of a sporting event that has grown to involve more competitors than the Olympics.

The World Masters Games began in Toronto in 1985. They have occurred on approximately 4 year intervals ever since. The games have been held in Aalborg, Aarhus and Herning, Denmark (1989), Brisbane, Australia (1994), Portland, Oregon, United States (1998), Melbourne, Australia (2002) and Edmonton, Canada (2005).

Almost 25,000 competitors are estimated to have participated in the Melbourne 2002 World Masters Games, which is more than double the number of athletes that were in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. This huge difference is mainly attributed to...

Full Article: Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Coins - CoinNews

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Austrian Electric Train Coin Launches

CoinNews — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:24:31 +0000

The fifth coin in the series "Austrian Railways" to be issued on 17th June, 2009, is dedicated to the electric train. What began as a fair ground attraction in 1880 in the Vienna Prater rapidly became the most revolutionary step in transportation since the harnessing of steam almost a century before.

The first electric train in Austria was a small locomotive circling in the great exhibition pavilion in the Prater on the occasion of the Emperor Franz Joseph’s 50th birthday. The same monarch issued a licence two years later in 1882 for the first public electric railway...

Full Article: Austrian Electric Train Coin Launches - CoinNews

2009 Silver Philharmonic Coin

Silver Coins Today — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:49:26 +0000

Introduced to the world for the first time in 2008 at the World Money Fair in Berlin, the Austria Silver Philharmonic Coin continues a successful run in 2009. Originally only available in gold, the Austrian Mint started producing the philharmonic in silver to meet the international demand for silver bullion coins.

This introduction marked the first time ever a silver bullion coin had a face value in Euros. And who better to be the ground-breaking producer than the world renowned Austrian Mint...

Full Article: 2009 Silver Philharmonic Coin - Silver Coins Today

Austrian Tyrolean Resistance Fighters Coin

CoinNews — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:47:40 +0000

The year 1809 was an important one for Austria in her fight against Napoleon and revolutionary France. On 21st to 22nd May the emperor’s brother, Archduke Charles, became the first general ever to defeat Napoleon in open battle, and in April a folk uprising in Tyrol against its occupation by Bavarian and French troops had begun.

Andreas Hofer (1767-1810) was the innkeeper of the inn "Am Sand" in Tyrol, but he soon became the recognised leader of the Tyrolean revolt against the French and the Bavarians, who, besides being a foreign regime, were also trying to push through their revolutionary ideas of reform and had begun to abolish religious processions and pious practices held dear by the deeply religious catholics of Tyrol....

Full Article: Austrian Tyrolean Resistance Fighters Coin

Aussie Rarities Command Top Prices at IAG Sale

NumisMaster — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:42:42 +0000

Australia's first major auction of 2009 took place on March 8 in the Sofitel Hotel on Queensland's Gold Coast: International Auction Galleries' Sale No 69. Numerous Australian coins rarities were on offer and prices did not disappoint...

Top billing went to a choice FDC example of a square kookaburra penny of 1920. And it was not any old square kooka but among the rarest, showing...

Full Article: Aussie Rarities Command Top Prices at IAG Sale - NumisMaster

Austria 2009 Basilisk Of Vienna Silver Coin Launches

CoinNews — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:17:39 +0000

Within its theme of "Austria and its People" the Vienna Mint begins a new sub-series of six silver 10 Euro coins called: Tales and Legends in Austria. The first coin is dedicated to a mediaeval legend from Vienna – the Basilisk. It will be issued on Wednesday, 15th April.

The story goes that in the year 1212 a baker’s boy in a shop in the Schönlaterngasse (Lovely Lantern Lane) No. 7 discovered a horrible monster at the bottom of a well. The stench and poisonous fumes of the creature killed all those who inhaled them.

The monster was identified as a basilisk, a mutant creature part snake, part toad, part cockerel. To look into its eyes was instant death. A counsellor learned in such matters was fetched to help and to advise. He said that the only way to destroy the monster was to confront it with its own horrid appearance. Someone must go down into the well with a mirror...

Full Article: Austria Mint Launches Basilisk Silver Coin

2009 Year of Astronomy Coin from Austrian Mint

CoinNews — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:55:45 +0000

2009 has been designated "The International Year of Astronomy." To honour this title the Austrian Mint in Vienna has chosen to dedicate its silver-niobium coin this year to this fascinating theme.

The new coin, which goes on sale on 11th March, 2009, displays a three-quarter portrait of the famous mathematician and astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and his telescope with which he observed the surface of the moon just four hundred years ago in 1609.

In the background his drawing of the moon surface is reproduced, while the silver ring spans the development of the telescope from Newton’s telescope through the observatory in Kremsmünster (Upper Austria) to radio telescopes and those launched into space – a far cry from Galileo’s first views of the moon...

Full Article: 2009 Year of Astronomy Coin from Austrian Mint

Austrian Gold Coin for Theodor Billroth

CoinNews — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:51:28 +0000

On 11th February, 2009, the Austrian Mint honours one of the greatest men in the history of medicine with its third gold coin in the series "Celebrated Physicians of Austria" - Theodor Billroth.

Born on the island of Rügen off the Baltic coast of Germany in 1829, Theodor Billroth had to choose at an early age between his love of music and a career in medicine. He studied in Göttingen and Berlin, and even spent a year studying in Vienna. He gained experience in Berlin and his reputation grew so rapidly that in 1860 he went to Zurich as a professor of surgery. In the following years he rejected posts in both Rostock and Heidelberg, but accepted a teaching appointment in Vienna in 1867...

Full Article: Austrian Gold Coin for Theodor Billroth

Austrian Haydn Commemorative Issued

CoinNews — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:50:25 +0000

On 14th January the Austrian Mint in Vienna issued a silver 5 Euro coin to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of one of Austria’s greatest sons, Joseph Haydn.

Born in 1732 in the village of Rohrau near the Hungarian border, Joseph Haydn began his musical career as a choirboy in the cathedral of Vienna. After his voice broke, he studied composition while keeping body and soul together by taking on pupils.

His big break came in 1761 when Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, head of one of Hungary’s oldest and greatest noble families, employed him as musical director in his court. Haydn conducted and played, but most importantly he composed pieces for the prince and his guests...

Full Article: Austrian Haydn Commemorative Issued - Coin News

Austria Empress Elisabeth Railway Silver Commemorative

The Web — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:25:55 +0000

The Austrian Mint’s fourth coin in its Austria Railways commemorative 20-euro silver series is another gorgeous addition. While the photo speaks to something special, it does not do full justice to the proof coin itself, which is amazingly crafted and richly detailed.

The silver coin commemorates the Empress Elisabeth West Railway, which ran from Vienna to Salzburg in the 19th Century.

Read article: Austria Empress Elisabeth Railway Silver Commemorative

Austrian Mint Launches “Holy Roman Empire” Crown Gold Coin

The Web — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:19:12 +0000

On 5th November, 2008, the Austrian Mint in Vienna launched its new gold commemorative series “Crowns of the House of Habsburg.” The five coin series begins this year with the 1,000 year old crown of the Holy Roman Empire.

When the empire of the Caesars in the west sunk beneath the waves of barbarian invasions, it left a ghostly memory of unity and peace among the peoples of Europe and even among the rulers who had replaced it. On Christmas Day in the year 800 Pope Leo III, seeking a powerful protector from his enemies, crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne in St. Peter’s in Rome, thus reviving the imperial title that had vanished three centuries before.

Read article: Austrian Mint Launches "Holy Roman Empire" Crown Gold Coin

Austria Abbey of Seckau Commemorative Silver Coin Issued – Coin News

The Web — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:16:49 +0000

The Austrian Mint in Vienna has issued the last silver 10 euro commemorative in the six-coin series Great Abbeys of Austria. It is dedicated to the Benedictine Abbey of Seckau — a jewel of Romanesque architecture — in the province of northern Styria.

Seckau did not begin its existence as a Benedictine foundation. It was founded in 1140 as an abbey of Augustinian canons regular at St. Marein-Feistritz by a nobleman called Adalram von Waldeck – apparently as a penitential act for the death of his cousin. The place proved unsuitable, and in 1142 the abbey was moved to near-by Seckau.

A year later Pope Innocent II placed the new foundation directly under papal protection. It was to be a double monastery with nuns (canonesses) from Salzburg forming a separate but adjoining convent. In 1150 they began to build the splendid Romanesque church which we still see today. In 1259 a fire destroyed much of the wooden ceiling and it was replaced with Gothic stone vaulting instead.

Read article: Austria Abbey of Seckau Commemorative Silver Coin Issued - Coin News

Austrian Railways Fourth Silver Commemorative, “Empress Elisabeth West Railway”

The Web — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:16:07 +0000

In the Austrian Empire the railway lines north to the coalfields and factories of Bohemia or south to the harbour of Trieste and the Adriatic shipping lanes were by far the most important. A railway line from Vienna westwards parallel to the Danube River was of less consequence.

However, the Kingdom of Bavaria was very anxious to see such a line between Salzburg and Vienna, which would enable trains from Munich to travel eastwards through Hungary and down to Constantinople. Plans by the government to build such a line were subsequently abandoned in 1856 to a private consortium, the Empress Elisabeth Railway Company.

Read article: Austrian Railways Fourth Silver Commemorative, "Empress Elisabeth West Railway"

World’s Largest Silver Coin, the Europe Taler 2008 – CoinNews

The Web — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:30:04 +0000

Weighing in at an arm-wrenching 44.2 pounds (20.08 kg) and a gigantic arm-circling 44.6 inches (116.3 cm), the word’s largest silver coin, named the Europe Taler 2008, was unveiled at this year’s European Championship of Football in Austria and Switzerland.

Using the current silver spot price of $16.62 per troy ounce, that makes the coin worth about $23,600 in bullion value alone.

Entire article: World’s Largest Silver Coin, the Europe Taler 2008 - CoinNews

Austrian Railways Third Silver Commemorative, the “Belle Epoque” – CoinNews

The Web — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:09:18 +0000

The Austrian Mint announces the June 11 release of the third 20 Euro silver commemorative coin within the "Austrian Railways" six silver coin series. The maximum mintage 50,000 proof coin highlights the “Belle Époque” period, featuring locomotive "kkStb 310" and an elegant lady walking the platform of the North Railway Station with its glass roofing and cast-iron pillars.

The “Belle Époque” covers the period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a time when trains dominated land travel and reached new heights of comfort and luxury for those classes of society which had the money and time to travel.

Entire press release: Austrian Railways Third Silver Commemorative, the “Belle Epoque” - CoinNews