Vienna Philharmonic (coin)

Wiener Philharmoniker
Metal:	99.99% Au 99.9% Ag 99.95% Pt
Edge:	fluted (Au) smooth (Ag) fluted (Pt)
Embossing years:	1989 until today (Au) 2008 until today (Ag) 2016 until today (Pt)
front

Motive:	Instruments
Designer:	Thomas Pesendorfer
Draft date:	1989
back

Motive:	organ
Designer:	Thomas Pesendorfer
Draft date:	1989

The Vienna Philharmonic , often referred to as the Philharmonic for short , is an Austrian coin made of gold . A silver version has also been issued since February 2008 and a platinum version since February 2016 .

It is the official currency with the corresponding face value . With the introduction of the euro in 2002, the face value changed from schilling to euro . As a bullion coin , however, it is not traded at face value, but at precious metal value and is therefore only used as an investment coin : The Gold Philharmonic has a purity of ^999.9 ⁄ ₁₀₀₀ (pure gold ), its selling price is based on the current gold price plus a low one Surcharge, analogous to the Silver Philharmonic for the silver price . In most countries, the Gold Philharmonic is exempt from sales tax, while the Silver Philharmonic is partially subject to a reduced sales tax rate. It is minted exclusively in Vienna in the Austrian Mint as required. The motif remains the same every year, only the year of issue changes. From the first mint on, the coin shows instruments of the famous Vienna orchestra on one side , namely horn , bassoon , harp , two violins , two violas and a cello in the middle . On the other side, the organ - known from the New Year's Concert , for example - can be seen in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein . The Vienna Philharmonic owes its appearance to the chief engraver of the Austrian Mint, Thomas Pesendorfer .

history

Silver Philharmonic

The coin was first offered in stores on October 10, 1989. Initially, the Vienna Philharmonic was only available in two sizes: an ounce (approx. 31.1 g) and a quarter ounce. In the meantime, issues of half an ounce and a tenth of an ounce were added, in 2014, in line with the 25th anniversary, supplemented by a twenty-fifth ounce with a face value of 4 euros. In 1990 the coin was the best-selling in Europe and second on the world market. In addition, in 1992, 1995, 1996 and 2000 the Vienna Mint was declared the “best-selling coin in the world” by the World Gold Council . Since the start of the coinage in October 1989, more than 8.2 million Vienna Philharmonic were sold until 2004. All of these coins together have a fine weight of 5.6 million ounces (around 174 tons) of gold.

Since February 1, 2008, a silver version of the coin with a face value of 1.50 euros has also been issued. The coin is given to resellers or investors in larger containers; 500 coins are housed in 25 plastic tubes of 20 coins each in a Philharmonic master box.

A platinum version of the coin with a face value of 100.00 euros has also been issued since March 9, 2016 . From June 1, 2017, there will be platinum coins with a twenty-fifth ounce and a face value of 4 euros.

The Vienna Philharmonic is the only European investment coin with a euro face value. In 2004, the Vienna Philharmonic held 35 to 40% of sales in Europe . The Vienna Philharmonic is of particular importance in North America and Japan .

Available coins

Platinum Philharmonic value side

Tubes with 1 oz Vienna Philharmonic gold coins

The following coins are available.

Gold Philharmonic:

size	diameter	thickness	Weight	Face value		Embossing years
¹ ⁄ ₂₅ ounce	13.0 mm	0.8 mm	1.2441 g	4 €		since 2014
¹ ⁄ ₁₀ ounce	16.0 mm	1.1 mm	3.121 0g	10 €	200 ATS	from 1991
¹ ⁄ ₄ ounce	22.0 mm	1.2 mm	7.776 0g	25 €	500 ATS	from 1989
¹ ⁄ ₂ ounce	28.0 mm	1.6 mm	15.552 0g	50 €	1000 ATS	from 1994
1 ounce	37.0 mm	2.0 mm	31.103 0g	100 €	2000 ATS	from 1989

Silver Philharmonic:

size	diameter	thickness	Weight	Face value	Embossing years
1 ounce	37.0 mm	3.2 mm	31.103 g	1.50 €	since 2008

Platinum Philharmonic:

size	diameter	thickness	Weight	Face value	Embossing years
¹ ⁄ ₂₅ ounce	13.0 mm		1.24 0g	4 €	from 2017
1 ounce	37.0 mm	2.0 mm	31.103 g	100 €	from 2016

Edition number

In the following, the requirements of the standard designs are listed by year. The requirements for the special designs are specified in the relevant sections.

Schilling issues

Year of issue	¹ ⁄ ₁₀ ounce	¹ ⁄ ₄ ounce	¹ ⁄ ₂ ounce	1 ounce
1989	-	272,000	-	351,000
1990	-	162,000	-	484,500
1991	82,500	146,000	-	233,500
1992	99,000	176,000	-	537,000
1993	99,500	126,000	-	234,000
1994	112,000	121,200	94,700	218,600
1995	151.100	156,000	57,400	645,500
1996	128,300	139,200	88,000	377,600
1997	115,300	100,700	68,200	408,300
1998	102,800	90,800	47,300	330,300
1999	145,000	81,600	44,200	230,700
2000	32,600	25,900	20,500	245,700
2001	26,400	25,800	26,800	54,700

Euro expenses

Year of issue	¹ ⁄ ₂₅ ounce	¹ ⁄ ₁₀ ounce	¹ ⁄ ₄ ounce	¹ ⁄ ₂ ounce	1 ounce
2002	-	75,789	40,807	40,922	164.105
2003	-	59,654	34,019	26,848	179,881
2004	-	67.994	32,449	24,269	176.319
2005	-	62,071	32,817	21,049	158,564
2006	-	39,892	29,609	20,085	82.174
2007	-	76,325	34,631	25.091	108,675
2008	-	176,682	97.090	73,778	715.842
2009	-	437.706	171.992	92,249	903.047
2010	-	226,685	84,968	56,607	501,951
2011	-	272.227	102.026	73,488	586,686
2012	-	176.262	64,314	49,483	341.411
2013	-	193.115	77,219	69,573	579.223
2014	78,551	147,461	68,440	57,816	418.919
2015	88,157	263,439	112,228	101,500	647.100
2016	67,915	181,536	91,809	78,460	451.007
2017	40.186	131,815	65,068	52.281	355,436
2018	44,637	116,932	46,089	44,750	318,334
2019	44,023	100,697	56.199	40,890	164.312
2020

Silver issues

Year of issue	1 ounce
2008	7,773,018
2009	9,014,839
2010	11,358,168
2011	17,873,721
2012	8,769,227
2013	14,536,408
2014	4,643,508
2015	7,298,593
2016	3,448,390
2017	2,064,804
2018	2,101,592
2019	2,904,983
2020

Platinum editions

Year of issue	¹ ⁄ ₂₅ ounce	1 ounce
2016	-	35,257
2017	4,100	15,354
2018	2,814	13,753
2019	2,034	17,798
2020

Big Phil

To mark the 15th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic investment mint , the Austrian Mint issued a 1,000-ounce version with a face value of 100,000 euros in 2004. The coin called "Big Phil" consists of 31.103 kg of pure gold. It has a diameter of 37 cm and is 2 cm thick. According to the 15 years of the Philharmonic, there are only 15 of the record coin in the world. Their material value is around 1,660,000 euros. The presentation of the coin took place in front of the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel as part of a gala event, for which the Giant Ferris wheel was transformed into an oversized gold coin. One of the coins is on display in the foyer of the Munich headquarters of pro aurum .

20 ounce gold coin

In 2009, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic, another special issue was issued. It has a face value of 2000 euros and a fine weight of 20 ounces or 622 g. The diameter is 74 mm with a thickness of 8.3 mm. At the time of issue in October 2009, the material value was around 14,000 euros. Due to the limited minting, the coin is offered at a premium of around 10% above the gold price. The total mintage is 6027 coins worldwide (three times in 2009), each of which is sold in a wooden case and with a certificate.

25 years of the Vienna Philharmonic

In 2014, the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic was celebrated with a special edition of the golden Vienna Philharmonic in the highest mint quality "Proof". The set consisting of 1 ounce and ¹ ⁄ ₄ ounce of the Vienna Philharmonic made of pure gold was only published in an edition of 5,000 pieces.