Austria 2017 Sigmund Freud 50 Euro Proof Gold Coin

The Austrian Mint started their three-coin series on the Vienna schools of psychotherapy with the pioneer: the inventor of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. He was the first to freely associate his patients and interpret their dreams. His findings meant a spiritual revolution to the teaching of man.

On the Couch

Born Schlomo Sigismund Freud on 6 May 1856 in Freiberg in Moravia, the son of Jewish parents, he became the founder of psychoanalysis in Vienna. For 47 years Freud lived and worked in his house at Berggasse 19 in the city’s ninth district. A sole piece of furniture was enough for him as a treatment instrument: a couch. His enlightening insights are manifold: for example, he referred to the unconscious and to what great influence it has on our behaviors. He dared to disabuse sexuality and view it as an integral part of human existence.

Freud is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century.

The Coin

One side shows a portrait of Sigmund Freud, inspired by a photograph taken by Ferdinand Schmutzer in 1926.

The other side focuses on a central theme in Freud’s work: Lust. This is visualized by a loving couple. They appear to be removed from reality and immersed in a shared dream, an enigmatic dream from which the ornaments around them give no more than an idea.

Designer(s):

Austrian Mint designer Helmut Andexlinger is one of the world’s leading coin designers. He has created a number of prize-winning coin designs (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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