Austria’s popular New Year’s Coin launched : For the fourth year running, The Mint of Austria released their popular New Year Coin.
The New Year coin is significant to many people across the globe as it celebrates one of the world’s biggest music celebrations- the famous New Year Concert by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Many people have been anticipating the release of the new coin which makes a fantastic gift for coin collectors and music lovers alike.
This year’s coin is a celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth year anniversary of Johann Strauss’s famous waltz, “The Blue Danube.” This waltz is traditionally played as the opening piece at the famous New Year Concert. The concert is televised and broadcast to a worldwide audience of over 90 million people.
“The Blue Danube” waltz is very significant to the people of Austria. A lot of people even consider it to be the country’s unofficial national anthem.
When Austria gained independence in the year 1945, “The Blue Danube” played to the nation as a celebration of their feat. Since no formal national anthem had been chosen, “The Blue Danube” was the most fitting choice for the occasion. In later years “Land der Berge, Land am Storme” by Mozart was chosen to be the official national anthem.
Due to it is cultural and political significance, “The Blue Danube” still holds a lot of sentimental value for many Austrians. It is only fitting that the momentous anniversary of Johann Strauss’s classic tune is to be remembered by thousands of people worldwide in this coin.
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Year Concert is one of the most lavish musical events in continental Europe. Tickets for the concert, which takes place at Wiener Musikveiren, are always in high demand, selling for up to one thousand one hundred Euros.
2017’s New Year coin depicts Johann Strauss playing “The Blue Danube” waltz on his violin while a young couple waltzes to the music in the background. Music lovers will appreciate the detailing which shows the notes of the opening melody portrayed at the bottom of the coin, too.
There is also a reference to the year of issue, 2017 and the words “150 Jahre Donauwalzer”, which translate to “150 years of Blue Danube.” are written in the top right corner.
The reverse side of the coin shows crests of the nine federal states in Austria; Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Carinthia, Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Burgenland. The coin denomination information can be also be found here, as well as the words “REPUBLIK STERREICH” which translate to “The Republic of Austria.
Much like previous year’s, the denomination of this year’s coin is 5 euros. It weighs 10g and is 28.5mm in diameter.
The timeless coin has been produced in 2 different metals- silver and copper. The quality of the copper is “uncirculated” while the quality of the silver is “brilliant uncirculated.”
The silver option comes in a special, colorful blister package, making it the perfect New Year’s gift for the coin lover in your life. The limited edition packaging has been a hit among coin collectors in previous years.
Coin collectors hoping to get their hands on this year’s beautiful limited edition coin should act fast as production is limited to just two hundred thousand copper coins and fifty thousand silver coins.
The popular New Year’s coin of Austria was released on the 7th of December 2016.
On this date, the coin will be available to people outside of Austria on the APMEX website. There is no indication of pricing as yet, however, going by last year’s release, it is expected to be priced around $30. It is also possible to purchase last year’s coin, as well as various other limited edition coins produced by the Mint Of Austria, on the APMEX website.
Previous year’s coin have all seen The Vienna Philharmonic New Year Concert immortalised in silver and copper.
2016’s coin showed a passionate conductor and his obedient orchestra with the word’s Neujahr’s Konzert, which translates in English to “New Year’s Concert”, written down the right-hand side.
The Austrian Mint are over eight hundred year’s old and are renowned worldwide for their fantastic craftsmanship. They have many special coins with musical significance in their repertoire including a 2016 celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
This year’s New Year coin is set to be popular among coin collectors and music lovers alike. Celebrating 2 of Austria’s most wonderful assets, this coin is a fantastic representation of the country’s rich, cultural history.
