2008 Austria Gold 50 Euro Philip Semmelweis

The 2008 Austria Gold 50 Euro Philip Semmelweis celebrates Hungarian physician, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, described as the "savior of mothers", who discovered by 1847 that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection (by means of hand washing with chlorinated lime solution) in obstetrical clinics.

Specifications

 * Designer: H. Andexlinger/H. Wähner
 * Obverse Design: Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis
 * Reverse Design: General Hospital in Vienna
 * Edge:
 * Weight: 10.14 grams
 * Diameter: 22.00 millimeters
 * Composition: 986 Au

Background
This new 50 Euro gold coin is minted in proof quality only to a maximum of 50,000 pieces.

The obverse shows a portrait of the eminent doctor, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, together with the rod of Asclepius, which is the logo for the entire series.

The reverse has a wide view of the old General Hospital in Vienna, where Semmelweis was stationed in the childbirth clinic. To the right there is a view of two doctors cleaning their hands, apparently before examining a patient. The text Allgemeines Krankenhaus Wien ("Vienna General Hospital") is also depicted in this side of the coin.

History
Ignaz Semmelweis was born on July 1, 1818 in the Tabán, an area of Budapest, Hungary (then part of the Habsburg Empire). He was the fifth child out of ten of a prosperous grocer family of Josef and Teresia Müller Semmelweis.

Series
This 2008 coin is the second gold coin in the Celebrated Physicians of Austria Series.

Mints

 * Austrian Mint

Grading
This is a relatively new coin. No grading information exists.