Vienna Philharmonic Coin

The Vienna Philharmonic coin was first introduced in 1989, and is struck in pure gold, 999.9 fine (24 carats). It is issued every year, in four different face values, sizes and weights. It is used as an investment product (bullion coin), although it inevitably ends up in private collections. According to the World Gold Council, it was the best-selling gold coin worldwide in 1992, 1995 and 1996.

A design of musical instruments representing the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the text Wiener Philharmoniker ("Vienna Philharmonic"), can be seen on the reverse of the coin.

The subject of the obverse is the great organ in the Golden Hall in Vienna's  Musikverein, the concert hall of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The face value in euros, the weight, alloy purity and year of issue are also inscribed on this side of the coin.

Since 1 February 2008, the coin has also been minted in silver. The design of the silver coin is identical to that of the gold coin, except for its face value of 1.50 euro.

Background
Euro gold and silver commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone. They are minted mainly in gold and  silver, although other  precious metals are also used on rare occasions. Austria was one of the first twelve countries in the Eurozone to introduce the euro (€), on 1 January 2002. Since then, the Austrian Mint has been minting both normal issues of Austrian euro coins (which are intended for circulation) and commemorative euro coins in gold and silver.

These commemorative coins are legal tender only in Austria, unlike the normal issues of the Austrian euro coins, which are legal tender in every country of the Eurozone. This means that the commemorative coins made of gold and silver cannot be used as money in other countries. Furthermore, as their bullion value generally vastly exceeds their face value, these coins are not intended to be used as means of payment at all—although this remains possible where they are also legal tender. For this reason, they are usually named collectors' coins.

Such coins usually commemorate the anniversaries of historical events. They can also draw attention to current events of special importance. Austria mints more than ten of these coins on average per year, in gold, silver and niobium, with face values ranging from €1.50 to €100 (though, as an exceptional case, 15 coins with face value €100,000 were minted in 2004).