Austria: 2020 Collector Coins

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For the Austrian Mint the New Year always starts a little early. After all, coins can be great Christmas presents. So once again the €5 collector coin that "introduces" the new year will be issued ahead of time: As from 4 December (2019) the "150 Years Musikverein" piece, dated 2020, can be had - either at face value (copper) or surcharged (silver).

The word "Musikverein" may make you think of a club or society (that is what a Verein is). However, here it refers to the building: This concert hall was opened in 1870, thus 150 years ago.

This building is also the "seat" of the Musikverein (Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Wien) which is a little older. In fact, in 2012 Austria issued a €5 collector coin dedicated to the 200th anniversary of that society. That piece featured a woman (a caryatid from the organ), this time a guy - Apollo - is in the foreground ...

Christian

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Here is another €5 coin that Austria will issue in 2020 - it honors the 100th anniversary of the Lipizzanergestüt Piber. For many years, these horses were bred in Lipica, but in WW1 they were evacuated, and about 100 were brought to Laxenburg (near Vienna) and Kladrub (Kladruby nad Labem, CZ). The ones in Austria then moved to Piber in 1920, thus 100 years ago. This is where the Lipizzaner horses for the Vienna Horse Riding School are bred.

The coin, dubbed "Friends for Life", will be available as from 11 March, in a copper version and a surcharged silver version. It features a foal and a mother horse (about 40 foals are born in Piber every year). More photos of the coin presentation can be viewed here.

Christian

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The Glow-in-the-dark €3 series has been covered on WoC before; currently the pieces feature dinos. The first coin in the image below has already been issued (dated 2019), the next four will come in 2020 ...

Christian

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This is the common side for the Dinosaurs series ...