The Musical Coinage of the Austrian Mint: Part II

In this posting, I continue to present the Austrian’s Mint coinage celebrating its rich history in music and arts. For details regarding the Austrian Mint’s history, please refer to Part I.

Coin Series:

Wolfgang – Amadeus – Mozart

Mozart is Austria’s most famous composer, so naturally the Austrian Mint produced coins celebrating him.  In this series, the mint produced a three silver coin series entitled “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, A Life in Three Acts.” The obverse of each coin depicts a portrait of Mozart. The reverse of each coin features a different opera by Mozart.

The first coin of the series, Wolfgang: The Wunderkind (2015), celebrates Mozart’s boyhood as a musical prodigy. The reverse features the opera, “Bastien und Bastienne”.

The second coin, Amadeus: The Genius (2016), celebrates Mozart as an adult. Mozart made a lot of money when he moved to Vienna, but a lavish extravagant lifestyle ultimately left him in debt when he died at a young age of 35. The reverse features “Don Giovanni.”

The last coin, Mozart: The Legend (2016), celebrates Mozart’s legacy. The portrait was painted by his brother-in-law Joseph Lange. The reverse features what is probably his greatest opera, “The Magic Flute.”

Klimt and his Women

Arguably one of Austria’s most revered painters, Gustav Klimt was a symbolist painter. Klimt’s primary subject was the female body. In 2012, the Austrian Mint commemorated the 150th Anniversary of Klimt’s birth with this five gold coin series. This five-year series, featured some of Klimt’s most famous works: Adele Bloch-Bauer (2012), The Expectation (2013), Judith II (2014), Medicine (2015), and his most famous work, The Kiss (2016).

The Austrian Mint truly appreciates its fine Austrian culture by producing such beautiful coins showcasing its culture. I look forward to enjoying the music and art of these renowned Austrians (as well as the coins them).

- OLP