«Philharmoniker» (silver series) – one of the most popular and demanded investment coins at the moment. A stunning success of the «Philharmoniker» gold series on the world market has become a prerequisite for the issue of another coin of « Vienna Philharmonic », but from silver .
The first emission went on sale on February 1, 2008 and was sold out by the end of the year. The nominal value of the coin is 1.5 euros, and it can be used as an official form of currency in Austria. However, the market cost of the silver “Philharmonic” is much higher, so it is purchased as an investment or for private collections.
Specifications of the coin
- Denomination: 1.5 Euros.
- Composition: Ag 999 (silver).
- Weight: 31.103 g (1 Troy ounce).
- Diameter: 37 mm.
- Thickness: 3.2 mm.
- Mintage quality: UNC (Uncirculated –as a rule, it is a multi-circulation automatic mintage, in which the coin has an even matte metallic gloss without a mirror surface)
- Edge: plain
- Reverse: In the center of the coin there’s an engraving of a big pipe organ from the Golden Hall of the Vienna Philharmonic. Above it there’s an inscription «REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH» which in translation from German means «Republic of Austria». The weight in ounces, fineness, the year of issue and its face value appear under the organ.
- Obveers: Main musical orchestra instruments are depicted in the center: four violins, a Vienna horn, a bassoon, a cello and a harp. Above the main engraving there’s an inscription: «WIENER PHILHAMONIKER», which means “Vienna Philharmonic” in German and «SILBER»which indicates that the coin is made of silver.
The circulation of the “Vienna Philharmonic” silver coins from 2008 to 2016
The size of the circulation each year was dictated by the demand of the market. In 2011, when 17,873,700 coins were sold, the circulation reached its maximum, and the Philharmoniker became one of the world’s bestselling silver investment coins.
| Year of issue | Quantity (copies) |
| 2008 | 7 773 000 |
| 2009 | 9 014 800 |
| 2010 | 11 358 200 |
| 2011 | 17 873 700 |
| 2012 | 8 769 200 |
| 2013 | 14 536 400 |
| 2014 | 464 358 |
| 2015 | 7 298 593 |
| 2016 | 3 448 390 |
Historical reference: It was noted that in the first five years of the issue of the silver “Vienna Philharmonic” (2008 and 2012) 54,788,900 coins were sold, which is 1,704 tons of silver.
Design of the coin
The most revered cultural landmark of Austria is the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been performing with great success since 1842. It has been considered one of the best orchestras in the worldfor so long, that these elegant gold and silver coins have become a symbol of the huge contribution of the orchestra to Austrian culture and history.
The design of all coins of the “Philharmoniker” gold series was made by the main engraver and designer of the Austrian mint Thomas Pessendorfer in 1989.The silver coin was issued almost unchanged. The only difference is that its edge is not reeded, but plain. As for the specifications, this silver coin, as well as the gold one of 100 euros denomination, weights of 31.103 g, is 37 mm in diameter and is 1 troy ounce, but from silver. However, the silver “Philharmoniker” is 1.2 mm thicker than the gold coin of 100 euros.
All silver coins are produced in Austrian mint cases with 500 coins each. They contain 25 plastic tubes, each containing 20 coins.
History of the mint
The Austrian mint appeared by chance in 1194, when the King of England Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart, was captured by the Archduke of Austria Leopold V. He had to pay twelve tons of silver as a ransom for his freedom.
Leopold V ordered to mint coins from this silver, which became the main prerequisite for the creation of the famous Austrian mint. The central production of coins was located in Vienna and in five other cities of Austria-Hungary until 1918.
After the collapse of the great empire there was a single mint located in the center of Vienna left. The Austrian mint was one of the first in Europe to begin the mintage of euro coins from precious metals in 2002
The cost of silver “Philharmoniker” on the market
The Austrian mint sells silver “Philharmonikers” with a minimum percentage markup, and this price varies around 18-20 euros per coin, depending on silver price fluctuations on the world market. The price on the numismatists market can significantly differ from this. First of all it depends on the state of the coin on the day of sale in accordance with international standards for valuation and the cost of silver, which is approximately 16.5 US dollars on the precious metals market.
Interesting fact:
You can track the price of silver by the cost of the silver “Philharmoniker”. The price of this coin is mainly determined by the amount of pure silver in it, which is connected with the leading price of silver in the world.
The cost of silver “Philharmoniker” will grow with inflation. Silver throughout history has established itself as a good investment in periods of high inflation, rising in price faster and higher (in percent) than the other types of investment.