Austrian euro coins

Austrian euro coins have a unique design for each denomination, with a common theme for each of the three series of coins. The minor coins feature Austrian flowers, the middle coins examples of architecture from Austria's capital, Vienna, and the two major coins famous Austrians. All designs are by the hand of Josef Kaiser and also include the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.

Austrian euro design

For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see euro coins.

Depiction of Austrian euro coinage | Obverse side

€ 0.01	€ 0.02	€ 0.05
An Alpine gentian as a symbol of Austria's part in developing EU environmental policy.	An Alpine edelweiss as a symbol of Austria's part in developing EU environmental policy.	An Alpine primrose as a symbol of Austria's part in developing EU environmental policy.
€ 0.10	€ 0.20	€ 0.50
St. Stephen's Cathedral, the epitome of Viennese Gothic architecture dating to 1160.	Belvedere Palace, an example of baroque architecture, symbolising national freedom and sovereignty.	Secession hall within a circle, symbolising the birth of art nouveau and a new age in the country.
€ 1.00	€ 2.00	€ 2 Coin Edge
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (with his signature), a famous Austrian composer, in reference to the idea of Austria as a "land of music".	Bertha von Suttner, a radical Austrian pacifist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, as a symbol of Austria's efforts to support peace.

Future changes to the national side of circulation coins

The European Commission issued a recommendation on 19 December 2008, a common guideline for the national sides and the issuance of euro coins intended for circulation. Two sections of this recommendation stipulates that:

Article 2. Identification of the issuing Member State:

"The national sides of all denominations of the euro coins intended for circulation should bear an indication of the issuing Member State by means of the Member State’s name or an abbreviation of it."

Article 3. Absence of the currency name and denomination:

Section 1. "The national side of the euro coins intended for circulation should not repeat any indication of the denomination, or any parts thereof, of the coin, neither should it repeat the name of the single currency or of its subdivision, unless such indication stems from the use of a different alphabet."

A new design on the Austrian euro coins is expected in the near future to comply with these new guidelines, although nothing has officially been announced.^[1]

Circulating Mintage quantities

The following table shows the mintage quantity for all Austrian euro coins, per denomination, per year (the numbers are represented in millions).^[2]

Austrian proof set

Each year the Austrian Mint issues a limited edition of its Euro coins in proof quality.

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  How the set looks. (2005)

€2 commemorative coins

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  50th anniversary of the signing of the Austrian State Treaty (2005)

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  50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome (2007)

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  Ten years of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the birth of the euro (2009)

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  10th anniversary of the issuance of Euro coins and banknotes (2012)

Other commemorative coins (Collector's coins)

Austria has a large collection of euro commemorative coins, mainly in Silver and Gold, but they also use other materials (like Niobium for example). Their face value range from 5 euro to 100 euro. This is mainly done as a legacy of old national practice of minting Gold and Silver coins. These coins are not really intended to be used as means of payment, so generally they do not circulate. Here are some samples:

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  Gold, 50 euro, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (2006)

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  Silver and Niobium, 25 euro, European Satellite Navigation (2006)

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  Silver, 20 euro, The Austrian Merchant Navy (2006)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austrian euro coins.

• euroHOBBY Austria
• Oesterreichische National Bank (Austrian Central Bank)
• The Euro Information Website – Austria
• The Austrian Mint