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Friday 1 November 2019

1128) "Reaching For The Skies," Austria : First Coin in the Series of four Silver Coins brought out by the Mint of Austria (Muenze Osterreich) features Icarus, the Montgolfier Balloon and Otto Lilienthal's bird-like glider : Coin issue Date: 23.01.2019:

1128) "Reaching For The Skies," Austria : First Coin in the Series of four  Silver Coins brought out by the Mint of Austria ("Muenze Osterreich") features Icarus, the Montgolfier Balloon and Otto Lilienthal's bird-like glider : Coin issue Date: 23.01.2019:

Humans have envied the god's ability to fly through the air since the dawn of civilisation, but it was not until the advent of powered flight that this ambition was finally realised.

This fascinating four-coin series celebrates the story of manned flight, from the first fearless pioneers to the crowded skies of today.

This coin series makes a "stopover" at the most important stages in the history of air travel by looking at legendary aircraft such as the Junkers 52 or the Concorde. The "Dream of Flight" may have come in many different shapes and sizes, but it eventually became a reality.

Since time immemorial, humans have dreamed of flying like birds. 

In Greek Mythology, Icarus famously used wings made of feathers and wax, but flew too close to the sun.

In the late 18th Century France, the Montgolfier brothers invented the balloon. Although, they originally believed that it was smoke and not hot air that made the contraption rise, by 1783, they had managed to carry out the first flight carrying live beings - a sheep, a duck and a rooster - in the presence of King Louis XVI.

From Enlightenment France, moving onto late 19th Century Prussia and Otto Lilienthal's bird-like gliders man's quest for taking to flight was exploring new and innovative concepts. Known as the "flying man", Lilienthal  was the first person to make successful flights using gliders. In 1893, he flew for a distance of 250 metres, a record that remained unbeaten at the time of his death in a glider accident in 08/1896. A true pioneer, Lilienthal positively influenced opinion about the practicality of flying machines.

 The Commemorative Coin:


On the Obverse of the 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin, is depicted a collage of Icarus wearing one of Leonardo da Vinci's winged contraptions and the Montgolfier Brothers' famous hot-air balloon. In the far distance is seen stars and planets. Markings indicate a map of the Earth above which the flight has taken place.  

 The inscriptions read - "REPUBLIK OSTERREICH"(on the upper periphery - meaning "Republic of Austria"). In the lower half is mentioned the denomination of the coin - "20 EURO". 

The Reverse of the 20 Euro Silver Coin shows one of Otto Lilienthal's famous bird-like gliders making a landing. The inscription on this face reads "STURMFLUGEL MODELL" (meaning "a scaled down model of the original craft").

 The specifications of this coin are:

 Date of issue: 23.01.2019; Coin Series Theme: "Towards the Sky"; Denomination of Coin: 20 Euro; Diameter/Size: 34.0 mm; Metal Composition: .925 Silver (Ag); Fine Weight: 20.74 grams or 0.66 Oz; Total Weight: 22.0 grams; Coin Designers:Max Helmut Andexlinger, Herbert Wahner, Kathrin Kuntner; Packaging: comes in a case complete with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity (COA); Minted by : Mint of Austria; Mintage: 30,000 pieces.
The packing in which the Coin is individually housed.

The elegant specially designed "Reaching for the Sky" Collector leather-look miniature suit-case in which all the coins can be housed by collectors. The suitcase recreates a retro-classic, leather-look.

 Apart from the four coins issued in the set, this case will also have a separate space to include the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing Coin.








Links to posts on Austrian Mint Coin issues on this blog:











14) Alfred Adler: The Vienna schools of Psychotherapy: A 3 coin 50 Euro Gold Coin Series:

15) The 100th Anniversary of the General Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein: Gold and Silver Coins issued by the Royal Mint of Belgium in denominations of 50 Euro (Gold) and 10 Euro (Silver)

16) 825 Years of the Vienna Mint (1194-2018): A Silver Bullion Coin issued by the Austrian Mint, Vienna celebrating the milestone (issuedate: 12/12 - with year of issue engraved as 2019

17) Austria: "Chivalry- Knights Tales": The first Coin in a 5 Coin Series to be issued by the Austrian Mint, features Maximilian I (1459-1519): 500th Anniversary of the passing away of the Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria: Issue Date: 10.04.2019

18) "The Magic of Gold Coin Series" from the Mint of Austria: The Gold Coin Series of 100 Euro Gold Coins traces the mysterious nature of gold in ancient cultures: First Coin in the Series depicts King Nebuchadnezzar II (640 B.C. - 562 B.C.): Coin issue date: 16.10.2019

 19) "Reaching For The Skies" Austria: First Coin in the series of four Silver Coins brought out by the Mint of Austria (Osterreich Mint): Coin Issue Date: 23.01.2019

For posts on COTY (Coin of the Year) winners since 2015 in a competition held by Krause Publications of Germany, please visit the following links:

Links to posts on Federal Republic of Germany issues and other posts on this blog:




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