The Austrian Mint has been producing the Philharmonic bullion coin since 1989, and since then it has become one of the biggest selling bullion coins in the world in both silver and gold form. In fact, in 2013, the 1 ounce Philharmonic silver coin was the third best selling silver bullion coin in the world.

This is a design that coin collectors have taken to, which is why the Austrian Mint announced the release of a platinum version at the 2016 World Money Fair. The 2016 Platinum Philharmonic is therefore the first edition of this coin, and if the success of the silver version and gold version is anything to go by, then it has a bright future ahead of it.

Product Details

The Austrian Mint is one of the oldest refineries in Europe, founded back in the 12th century. They are responsible for the Ducat, a popular gold coin that was first struck in the 16th century, as well as the Philharmonic, which was first released in 1989 as a gold bullion coin and then in 2008 as a silver bullion coin.

This platinum version contains .9995 pure platinum and in the first year of production it will only be available in 1 ounce denominations. The Vienna Philharmonic orchestra inspires the imagery on the reverse and the obverse, both of which were designed back in 1989.

The Platinum Philharmonic has a face value of 100 Euros and is the only regularly issued bullion coin with a face value in Euros. When the gold version of this coin was first released, its face value was displayed in Austrian Shillings, but that changed in 2002 and now all of the Philharmonic coins have face values in Euros.

Features

The reverse of the Platinum Philharmonic features several instruments, including a Vienna horn, a  bassoon, a harp and four violins, all of which are used by the Philharmonic orchestra. The words “Vienna Philharmonic”, written in German, are also displayed on this side of the coin.

The obverse of the coin shows a pipe organ from the Musikverein Concert Hall, which is also known as the Golden Concert Hall. The obverse also displays the year, the purity and the face value. Both of these designs were created by Thomas Pesendorfer, a chief engraver whose work has appeared on a number of circulated and uncirculated coins.