Munze Osterreich – Austrian Mint
With over 800 years of experience, the Munze Osterreich (The Austrian Mint), is renowned as a key player in the field of precious metal processing and coin production. Historically, there were a number of mints operating throughout Austria in towns and cities such as Graz, Krems, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Villach. However, with the formation of the Republic of Austria in 1918, the Vienna Principal Mint became the country’s only mint and remains so today. In 1989 its name was officially changed to the Austrian Mint and it became a subsidiary of the Austrian National Bank.
Situated in the heart of Vienna, the current building housing the Austrian Mint was constructed in 1834. Regarded as being amongst the world’s elite coin mints, they produce an estimated annual average of 450 million coins.
Throughout its history, the Austrian Mint has used a wide range of minting methods including the hammer, roller press, rocker press, screw press and ring striking. Today, their facilities have a productive capacity of up to 700 coins per minute.
The Munze Osterreich is world renowned for its expertise in coin production and it’s overall contribution to the gold market. The Austrian Mint holds an impressive network of coin shop dealers in 27 countries which are the world’s largest bullion wholesalers.
The Austrian Mint is responsible for the production of all national circulation coins, including the Austrian share of Euro coins and special national design series. They also produce gold bullion coins, blanks and commemorative coins. Two of their most important investment coins are the Vienna Philharmonic and the Maria Theresien Taler, gold and silver coins respectively, that were designed under the rule of Emperor Franz Joseph I (the latest series in 1915) and Empress Maria Theresia (in 1780). Due to their success in Europe, the Vienna Philharmonic series have remained the bestselling coin for over 20 years.
