Austrian Mint

Logo of the Austrian Mint

Gold bars of the Austrian Mint

The coin Austria AG , based in Vienna is responsible for the issue and the coinage of the Austrian responsible coins. It was created in 1989 through the conversion of the Vienna Central Mint into a stock corporation and the subsequent sale to the Oesterreichische Nationalbank .

The legal situation therefore differs from the legal situation in many other states, where the right to mint coins lies directly with the state. This was the case in Austria until December 31, 1988: Here the right to mint was held by the Austrian Main Mint, which was subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the predecessor institution of the Austrian Mint.

tasks

Münze Österreich AG not only carries out the minting, but also the engraving of the coins produced. Until 2002 she was solely responsible for the issue and production of the Schilling coins . Since then it has had the right to issue the Austrian portion of the euro coins. Investment coins such as the Vienna Philharmonic are also produced by the Austrian Mint (in gold since 1989 (in one ounce denominations ), in silver since 2008 and in platinum since 2016).

Furthermore, the Austrian Mint produces commemorative, gift and collector coins made of gold, silver and niobium such as the Maria Theresa thaler .

In addition, the mint has its own coin club , whose members can take advantage of offers and discounts on various coins.

Bars of the Austrian Mint in sizes from 1 g to 1 kg are manufactured by Argor-Heraeus in Switzerland. The Austrian Mint is involved in this important gold melt. Smaller bars up to 20 g also exist with a security hologram ( Kinebar ), which represents a Lipizzaner. These bars are bought by all banks and have " Good Delivery " status from the London Bullion Market Association (LMBA).

The Austrian Mint works in its function as a mint for clients worldwide.

Historical

In 1397 the Vienna Mint was first mentioned in a document with its seat in Vienna on the Wollzeile . The thaler was first minted as a guldiner in Tyrol . The foundation is said to go back to the ransom that was paid around 1194 for Richard the Lionheart to Leopold V from Babenberg . In 1554 the first tests with roller embossing were carried out in Hall in Tirol . In 1624, the minting business in the Imperial Mint in Vienna was transferred to the liberated Jew Israel Wolf Auerbach and his consortium.

It was not until 1650, under mint master Johann Konrad Richthauser Freiherr von Chaos, that cylinder minting by pocket works was also introduced in Vienna. Around 1700 the screw press was used to make coins. In 1752 the mint moved to Himmelpfortgasse. Since 1715 the term main mint was also used for the coin. In 1780 the Maria Theresa thaler, which is still known today, was minted for the first time. In 1830 ring coinage was introduced. In 1834, the Austrian Mint moved to the Am Heumarkt building , where the kk montanistische museum founded in 1835 , the predecessor organization of the kk geologische Reichsanstalt (today: geological federal institute , see history there), was housed. In contrast to this, the Austrian Mint is still based there today.

Since the First World War , the company was the only mint for the emerging Republic of Austria. In 2005 she took over the Schoeller Münzhandel as a subsidiary .