Austria 2016 Piece by Piece: Upper Austria 10 Euro Commemorative Coin

Description:

The Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) 10-euro copper and silver coins are commemorative issues released in 2016 by the Austrian Mint recognizing one of the nation’s largest provinces. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic and is Austria’s leading industrial region, producing roughly one-quarter of the nation’s exports. Additionally, the province of Upper Austria is home to famous natural landmarks like the 9,826-foot-tall peak of the Dachstein Mountains, the Bohemian Forest, and the famous Danube river. Upper Austria also offers the picturesque town of Hallstatt, the latter of which is designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Upper Austria silver and copper 10-euro coins are the ninth issue in the Austrian By Its Children / Piece by Piece coin series, which kicked off in 2012. Austrian schoolchildren created reverse designs for the series, which were then selected via competition. The reverse of the Upper Austria coin was designed by Klara Baumgartner, a grade-school student at Dachseberg School. Klara’s design was then engraved by Austria Mint Master Engraver Thomas Pesendorfer; the coin’s obverse design was completed by Mint engraver Herbert Wähner.

The Upper Austria coin is the last issue in the series to feature an individual Austrian province, but it is not the final installment of the popular series. Austria Piece by Piece concludes with a 10th coin, to be issued later in 2016, that pays tribute to Austria as a whole.

The silver coins are legal tender and produced in Proof and Special Uncirculated finishes, with maximum mintages set at 30,000 and 40,000, respectively. A legal tender 0.999-copper coin bearing the same design as the silver issues is available in an Uncirculated finish.

Obverse:

The obverse of the 10-euro Upper Austria coin features the mountainside village of Hallstatt. The UNESCO site, which sits near a lake called the Hallstätter See, is home to about 1,000 residents and boasts the world’s first known salt mine. The municipality, which can be traversed by foot in about 10 minutes, is portrayed on the coin from the perspective of a popular photography vantage point.

The scene on the obverse, designed by Wähner, overlooks the shoreline of the Hallstätter See. The lake pours forth on the lower third of the design as buildings in the foreground cluster near the body of water on which a traditional flat-bottomed boat is seen floating. The homes and shops in the village, easily one of Europe’s oldest and most photographed hamlets, occupy the mid-ground of the coin. Only the spires of the Evangelical Church of Hallstatt (left side of the obverse) and Catholic Church of Hallstatt (center right) compete with the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains, which dominate the background of the coin.

REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH (“AUSTRIA” in English) is inscribed across the top of the coin along the rim from the 10 o’clock position to the one o’clock position. Toward the bottom of the coin, over areas of Hallstätter See unoccupied by the boat are the inscriptions 10 EURO and HALLSTATT in two horizontal lines above the rustic vessel and below it the coin’s date, 2016.

Reverse:

The reverse of coin showcases young Klara’s design, which is anchored by an elevation view of the Pöstlingberg Church in Linz. To the right of the church is seen the Upper Austria coat of arms capped by the crown of the former duke of Upper Austria. On the lower right side of the coin are three individuals, celebrating the annual Gloeckler Parade, wearing traditional Gloeckler-themed costumes and decorative hats. The annual event originated in the 1860s and takes place every January 6 in conjunction with the Christian Epiphany holiday celebration.

On the right-side mid-ground of the reverse is a lake known as Traunsee, whose glistening waters shimmer before the iconic Traunstein mountain standing tall in the background on the right half of the reverse. Three bubble-shaped cumulus clouds crest over the tops of the mountain, crown, and spires of the church, while the name of the province, “Oberösterreich,” is inscribed in youthful cursive script along the bottom-left rim.

Designer(s): Thomas Pesendorfer is the Chief Engraver of the Austrian Mint. His award-winning design for the Vienna Philharmonic bullion coin is known all over the world (View Designer’s Profile). Herbert Wähner is a designer and engraver at the Austrian Mint. Both men studied at the Fachschule für Metalldesign in Steyr, Austria.

Coin Specifications:

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