Music: Composers on Coins

[Miguel.mateo]

Well, there are another two €5 euro coins depicting Mozart and Beethoven separately.  There are also two other €100 depicting them as well.  I think that the whole theme "Great composers" have been properly represented in the Austrian coins.

Thanks,
Miguel

[Figleaf]

Here's a quick list of Austrian issues with individuals on the theme music. No choirs, orchestras, concert halls, anonymous dancers and players. You'd be well advised to stay away from including musical instruments if you want to collect on this theme.

Beethoven	KM 3118, 3120
Eisler	KM 2969
Haydn	KM 2848, 2955, 3110
Karajan	KM 3000
Lehar	KM 2907
Mahler	KM 3010
Mozart	KM 2847, 2881, 2996, 2997, 2998, 2999, 3088, 3130, 3131
Nestroy	KM 2932
Nicolai	KM 3005
Schubert	KM 2843, 2937, 3040
Strauss Sr. and Jr.	KM 2902, 2923, 3008, 3021, 3055, 3061
Vogelweide	KM 2845
Ziehrer	KM 2912

And the winner is ... Mozart, though Strauss is helped by being two persons. I think Schubert is underrepresented.

Peter

[Miguel.mateo]

Beethoven is in the 100 euro 2005 and in one of the 5 euro 2005 euro commemorative coins.

Thanks,
Miguel

[chrisild]

I think Schubert is underrepresented.

We need to do something about that.
Abracadabra, turn two into three!

Actually the first commemorative of the first Austrian republic (2 Schilling 1928) features Franz Schubert. The other two - 50 S 1978, 500 S 1997 - are the ones you mentioned. But of course Mozart is miles ahead, money wise. He also was on the 5000 S note, and is on the €1 circulation coin ...

Christian

[Figleaf]

Thanks, Miguel and Christian. List is amended, except that I couldn't find a picture of that Beethoven 100 euros 2005.

Peter

[Miguel.mateo]

Apologies, is a 50 euro coin.  You can see the coin here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_gold_and_silver_commemorative_coins_%28Austria%29#2005_coinage

I am sure you did not look enough 

Thanks,
Miguel

[Alan Glasser]

Hello, Figleaf, and others.

Here is an update to the excellent list posted by Peter (Figleaf) of Austrian music coins. In this list I have only included composers but there are many additional music related coins from Austria

*Austrian Composer Coins in addition to the excellent list provided by Figleaf:

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1712-1773)
* Austria (Grinzing District) 200 Schillings  X# Tn3  1985  Proof  2,000            
  Austria  50 Euro  Gold 2005  KM- 3118  Proof  50,000               
  Austria  5 Euro  2005  KM-3120  BU  100,000   

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
 *Austria  25 Schillings  KM-2892  1962  AU  2,399,000                                                         
 *Austria  20 Schillings  KM-3033  1996  Unc. __   

Josef Haydn (1732-1809)
*Austria 25 ECU  KM-__  1998  Proof  __            Unlisted      
Austria  2 Schillings  KM-2848  1932  MS 65 PCGS  300,000   
Austria  20 Schillings  KM-2955.1  1982  Proof  50,000            
*Austria  5 Euro  KM-__ 2009  Unc.  __            Unlisted         
Austria  50 Euro Gold  KM-3110  2004  Proof  50,000   

Franz Lehar (1870-1948)

 Austria  25 Schillings  KM-2907  1970  Proof 139,000               

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

 Austria  500 Schillings  KM-3010  1992  Proof 64,000                             

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
 Austria  5 ECUS  X#-27  1996  Proof                                       
 Austria  25 ECUS  X#-28  1996 Proof __                                   
Austria  2 Schillings  KM-2847  1931  BU  500,000 (including proofs)                                       
Austria 25 Schillings  KM-2881  1956  BU  4,990,000                 
Austria  100 Schillings KM-2996  1991  Proof  100,000                
Austria  500 Schillings gold  KM-2997  1991  Proof  50,000                             
Austria  100 Schillings  KM-2998 1991  Proof  100,000                
Austria  1 Euro  KM-3088  2002  BU  223,600,000                                
Austria  5 Euros  KM-3131  2006  BU  125,000                   
*Austria  50 Euro Gold  KM-3130  2006  Proof  50,000               

Otto Nicolai (1810-1849)
 *Austria  100 Schillings  KM-3005  1992  Proof  75,000               


Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
*Austria  5 ECU  X-__  1995  Proof               Unlisted      
*Austria  25 ECU  X-30  1997  Proof                     
*Austria (Grinzing District) 200 Schillings  X#__  1997  BU  _       Unlisted      
Austria  2 Schillings  KM-2843  1928  Unc.                    
Austria  50 Schillings  KM-2937 1978  Proof  132,000                  
Austria  500 Schillings  Gold  KM-3040  1997  Proof  50,000 est.              


Johann Strauss (1825-1899)
*Austria  5 ECU  X-#22  1995  Proof  __                  
*Austria  25 ECU  X-#23  1995  Proof  __                     
Austria  50 Schillings  KM-2902  1967  Proof  26,100               
Austria  100 Schillings  KM-2923  1975  Proof  209,000                
Austria  500 Schillings  Gold  KM-3055  1999 Proof  50,000 Est.             .
Austria  50 Schilling  KM-3061  1999  Special Unc.  100,000          

Walther von der Vogelweide (1170-1230)
Austria  2 Schillings  KM-2845  1930  XF  500,000                  

Carl Michael Ziehrer (1843-1922)
Austria  25 Schillings  KM-2912  1972  Proof  145,000               

           

There are other Austrian composer coins that I do not have in my collection as yet. Among these are:

Mozart, Grinzing District of Austria 200 Guilden 1991 X3 Tn9
Mozart 1000 Schillings Mozart Gold, Magic Flute KM-2999
Strauss, 1000 Schillings Schubert Gold KM 3008   
Richard Strauss, 500 Schillings KM-3021
2003 Mint Set with Mozart on the folder cover…and I’m sure there are others that I have missed completely.


Thank you, Peter,  for pointing out the Fanny Elssler Coin (KM-2969) as I will hunt to add this piece to my collection at some point.

If anyone is interested, Austria has other “music related” coins of which I have a few. For example, the Vienna Boys Choir KM-3047, and if you like, I will look through my lists for other Austrian MUSIC/Musician coins. I know they made pieces on famous conductors, theaters and opera houses, national heroes that are musically affiliated and so on. I’d be glad to check my lists and post the information here if there is any interest. Also, I have my collection of worldwide composer coins if there is any interest. I’d be glad to share and especially to have the opportunity to “talk” with other music coin collectors. I believe we are a rather rare breed.   

Thank you again, Figleaf!

Alan    Massachusetts, U.S.A.   

[chrisild]

And if you include collector coins (silver/gold), there is also the 1997 Iberoamericana series. It was dedicated to dances, and the Spanish 2000 ptas coin featured a dancer/ballerina. Also, while the "Cantar de mio Cid" is primarily literature rather than music, the 50 euro beast shows two medieval trombone or shawm players.

Germany has issued more music related coins than Spain but fewer than Austria. Here is a list; in theory more could be added. The Prussian king Friedrich ("Frederick the Great") for example composed and played music too. First, the pieces from the Federal Republic of Germany:

5 DM Ludwig van Beethoven 1970
5 DM Walther von der Vogelweide 1980
5 DM Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy 1984
5 DM European Year of Music 1985
10 DM Johann Sebastian Bach 2000
10 DM Albertz G. Lortzing 2001
€10 Gottfried Semper 2003 *
€10 Wolfgang A. Mozart 2006
€10 Robert Schumann 2010
€10 Franz Liszt 2011

Then we have the collector coins from the German Democratic Republic (East G., 1949-1990):

GDR 10 M Ludwig van Beethoven 1970
GDR 5 M Johannes Brahms 1972 (with a wrong note ...)
GDR 20 M Johann S. Bach 1975
GDR 10 M Gewandhaus 1982 (concert hall in Leipzig)
GDR 10 M Richard Wagner 1983
GDR 20 M Georg F. Händel 1984
GDR 10 M Semper Opera House 1985
GDR 5 M Ernst Barlach 1988 **

* Semper was an architect; the coin also shows his opera house in Dresden.
** Barlach was a sculptor; the coin depicts his "Flute Player".

Christian

[chrisild]

Well, if we show such instruments, we might as well have a look at these pieces. (See attachment; images: muenzen-am-zoo.de, worldmintcoins.com)  Take the Cantigas de Santa María: Seems that Alfonso X of Castile (Alfonso el Sabio) not only collected them but also composed some of the cantigas himself. Similarly, while Henry VIII did probably not compose Greensleeves, he was indeed the author of Pastime with good Company ...

Christian

[Alan Glasser]

Hello, Izatz.

Yes, I'm checking toe 2001-Date edition. 10 Euro  coins go from 2007 to 2009...nothing listed for 2008.

Alan

[Alan Glasser]

Russian Music Related Coins (incomplete as there are several I can't find nor afford)
COMPOSERS:
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833-1887) 1 Rouble  KM-347  1993  BU  500,000            
Aleksandr Griboyedov (1795-1829) 2 Roubles  Y-377  1995  Proof  200,000            
Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) 1 Rouble  Y-220  1989  Proof  300,000                              
Pytor llyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) 100 Rouble Gold  Y-454  1993  Proof  5,700   
     1 Rouble  Y-236  1990  Proof  400,000                  
     3 Roubles  Y-__  2008  Proof  __            Unlisted   
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) 50 Rouble gold  Y-453  1993  Proof  7,500 
THEATERS/OPERA HOUSES
3 Roubles Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater Y-__2005   Proof                                                                           3 Roubles  225 years of Bolshoi Theater  Y-677  2001  Proof  7,500          
3 Roubles  Kazan Theater Building  Y-910  2005  Proof  10,000
FAMOUS PERFORMERS
Oistrakh, David  Violinist  2 Roubles   Y-__  2008  Proof __      Unlisted    
CONTINUED in next post                          

[Alan Glasser]

One of my favorite new acquisitions:




ALan

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[Alan Glasser]

Hello, everyone.

Here I am again posting the Benin Mozart Coin which for whatever reason was deleted from my previous attempt. I know of 2 other composer coins from Benin, another Mozart, 1000 francs, and I believe a 1000 francs of Beethoven. As we discussed recently, non are listed in the "Standard Catalog 2001-Present" as Benin has been omitted. Be well, everyone. Alan



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[chrisild]

The story about these Romanian pieces (Porumbescu, Enescu) sounds interesting. My catalog says that the former was issued as a silver coin only, and the latter comes as a gold piece only. That matches what the central bank says:

(List of collector coins) http://www.bnr.ro/Numismatica-726.aspx?arch=1
George Enescu: Gold Au999, mintage 250
http://www.bnr.ro/page.aspx?prid=3185
http://www.bnr.ro/EmisiuniDetails.aspx?idd=107&WebPageId=726

Ciprian Porumbescu: Silver Ag999, mintage 500
http://www.bnr.ro/page.aspx?prid=450
http://www.bnr.ro/EmisiuniDetails.aspx?idd=92&WebPageId=726

No idea who had the tombac pieces made. Some collector coins are actually issued in base metal versions, but apparently not these ...

Christian

[Alan Glasser]

Hi, Peter.

That is a beautiful "bell coin" from China. It's not the one I was looking for, (and now can't find in SCWC) but I found a bunch more in China that are now on the hunt list. The coin I was looking for was also a tuned bell piece, with a huge bell, in silver. Somewhere I have a picture. I have the Mozart , Tchaikovsky and Beethoven coins of China, and an opera piece or 2, but because you motivated me to hunt through SCWC, I found KM657. Guiseppi Verdi, 10 yuan 1994...most definitely on the priority want list. and several beautifully designed instrument coins as well. 

Thanks for the push!

Alan