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Saturday 2 November 2019

1129) Reaching For The Skies", Austria: "The Advent of Powered Flight": Second Coin in the Series of four Silver Coins brought out by the Mint of Austria ("Muenze Osterreich") features Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St, Louis", Igo Etrich's "Dove" aircraft, Junkers 52 Passenger Transport plane: Coin Issue Date: 06.11.2019:

1129) Reaching For The Skies", Austria: "The Advent of Powered Flight": Second Coin in the Series of four Silver Coins brought out by the Mint of Austria ("Muenze Osterreich") features Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St, Louis", Igo Etrich's "Dove" aircraft, Junkers 52 Passenger Transport plane: Coin Issue Date: 06.11.2019:

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

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.

The "Advent of Powered Flight" is the second Coin in this Series and celebrates the pioneers of powered aviation, including Igo Etrich (1879-1967), who broke records in 1910 by flying for 140.0 kilometres (or 87.0 miles) across Northern Austria and Charles Lindbergh, who became the first flier to go solo across the Atlantic in 1927.

Humans have envied the bird's ability to fly through the air since the dawn of civilisation, which is no doubt why our feathered friends were the inspiration for much of the early aircraft designs.

That was only until Bohemian aviation pioneer Igo Etrich began basing his designs on the aerodynamics of the seed of a tropical plant called "Zanonia macrocarpa" found on the island of Java. On falling to the ground, the seeds generate life, which slows their descent and helps them to remain aloft. By adding a 60-horse power engine to an aircraft with zanonia-shaped wings, Etrich managed to fly the "Dove" from Vienna to the Northern town of Horn and back.

Even more impressive was the 33-hour non-stop solo flight from New York to Paris by Charles Lindbergh, in the "spirit of St. Louis", a fabric covered, single-engine seater, monoplane. 

The Commemorative Coin:

The Obverse and Reverse of the 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin Lindbergh's solo flight on the Obverse and a Junkers 52 on the Reverse

On the Obverse of the 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin, is depicted Lindbergh's 1927 flight and includes the form of a globe on which a dotted arch links the two cities of New York and Paris, along with Igo Etrich's "Dove" aircraft, which can be seen in the foreground.

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".


On the Reverse of the 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin is seen a "Junkers 52", which despite initial scepticism about its air-worthiness (due to its ungainly appearance) became an early stalwart of air passenger transport. The inscription reads "JUNKERS 52" towards the lower half of the coin.

The specifications of this coin are:

Date of issue: 06.11.2019; 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 0.666 Oz; Total Weight: 22.42 grams; Coin Designers: Mag. 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; Guarantee: The Coin is guaranteed by the Austrian government.


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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