World gold and silver · 7 min read

The Austrian Philharmonic: a complete history

Most bullion coins lean on national emblems, monarchs or wildlife. Austria chose music. The Vienna Philharmonic coin, named for one of the world's greatest orchestras, puts a concert organ and a cluster of instruments where other coins put a head of state, and that distinctive, peaceful design has helped make it one of the best-selling bullion coins in Europe.

A coin from one of the oldest mints

The Philharmonic is struck by the Austrian Mint, Münze Österreich, an institution whose roots run back to 1194, when silver from the ransom paid for King Richard the Lionheart was used to strike Austrian coins. Today it operates as part of the Austrian National Bank. Austria authorised a gold bullion coin in November 1988, and the gold Vienna Philharmonic was first offered on 10 October 1989, initially in one-ounce and quarter-ounce sizes, with the tenth-ounce following in 1991 and the half-ounce in 1994.

Music in metal

The design, by the Austrian Mint's chief engraver Thomas Pesendorfer, is a tribute to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra and has barely changed since 1989. The obverse shows the great pipe organ of the Golden Hall in Vienna's Musikverein, the concert hall the orchestra calls home. The reverse gathers the instruments of the orchestra: a cello at the centre, flanked by four violins, with a Vienna horn, a bassoon and a harp, under the inscription Wiener Philharmoniker. Unusually, it carries no portrait at all, only objects, which gives it a calm, cultural character all its own.

Pure gold, and a swift success

The gold Philharmonic is struck in .9999 fine gold, the four-nines purity that became the European standard. It was an immediate hit: by 1990, the year after launch, it was the best-selling gold coin in Europe and the second best-selling in the world. The coin was originally denominated in Austrian schillings and switched to euro face values when Austria adopted the euro in 2002, though like all bullion coins its real worth is its metal content, not its face value. In much of Europe the gold coin trades free of VAT, which adds to its appeal there.

The silver and platinum coins

The silver Philharmonic launched on 1 February 2008, using the same Pesendorfer design, and the Austrian Mint struck around 7.77 million of them in that first year, a sign of how much pent-up demand there was. The silver coin is issued only in a one-ounce size, in .999 fine silver, measuring 37 mm across, slightly smaller than an American Silver Eagle or a silver Britannia. A platinum Philharmonic joined the family in 2016, completing a three-metal lineup. The Mint has also produced spectacular showpieces, including the 1,000-ounce Big Phil gold coin in 2004 for the series' fifteenth anniversary.

Collecting and storing Philharmonics

The Philharmonic's appeal is its consistency and its beauty: collectors value the unchanging, instantly recognisable design and the occasional special issues such as gilded and colourised silver coins, while investors value the purity and the deep European market. Because both the gold and silver coins are very high purity and therefore soft, and because the fine detail of the organ and instruments shows handling marks, a capsule is well worth using. Note the silver coin's 37 mm diameter when choosing a holder, as it differs from the 38.61 mm Britannia and the 40.6 mm Eagle.