World Coins

Composer Mozart returns on 2016 Austrian coin

The second of three Proof €20 coins in a series from the Austrian Mint honoring composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is scheduled for release May 11.

Coin images courtesy of the Austrian Mint.

The second coin in a series of three celebrating the life of musician and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is scheduled for release on May 11.

The Proof silver €20 coin is part of the “A Life in Three Acts” program from the Austrian Mint in Vienna. 

The second coin, titled “Amadé,” as he liked to be called, focuses on his adult life.

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The obverse of the coin depicts a three-quarters portrait of Mozart wearing an elaborately embroidered jacket over one of his signature ruffled shirts. The second name of Mozart’s three-part signature, “Amadé,” is depicted overlaid on his right shoulder. 

This side of the coin was based on a portrait painted by Barbara Krafft in 1819, 28 years after his untimely death at the age of 35. 

The obverse of the coin was designed and engraved by Austrian Mint engraver Herbert Waehner. It also bears the face value 20 EURO and the country of issue, REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH (meaning the Republic of Austria), as well as the year of issue, 2016.

The reverse of the coin depicts a scene from the opera Don Giovanni. This opera is about a young man, a murderer, who had little respect for the social mores of the time. Don Giovanni (or Don Juan) refused to admit to his sins and so ends up in hell. The opera premiered in Prague in 1787. 

Austrian Mint engraver Helmut Andexlinger designed and engraved the reverse.

The first issue in the program, titled “Wolfgang: The Wunderkind,” was released Sept. 9, 2015, and the final issue, titled “Mozart: The Legend,” is due for release Sept. 7, 2016. 

Each .900 fine silver coin weighs 20 grams and has a mintage limit of 50,000 pieces. 

The coins are individually housed in a capsule, accompanied by an individual box and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Collectors in the United States and Canada may buy the coin from the Austrian Mint website.

Visit American Precious Metals Exchange’s website.

Downies in Australia may be reached online


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