The Austrian Mint has recently started accepting orders for the first release of a new series entitled “Prehistoric Life: Back from the Dead”. The overall series will include five different coins issued from 2013 to 2015 with designs inspired by the typical lifeforms during different geological periods.
The first coin of the series features a design depicting “Life in the Water” during the Triassic period, which spanned from 250 to 200 million years BC.
The obverse of the coin depicts an extinct sea-dwelling cephalopod in both living and fossilized form. The inscriptions include “2013”, “Republik Österreich”, and “20 Euro”. At the base of the design is a timeline showing the date range from 250 million to 200 million BC with “Trias” beneath. A timeline indicating the years represented by the design will appear for each coin of the series.
On the reverse of the coin is an ichthyosaurus with an ammonite in its jaws and a nothosauras swimming below. The scene is completed with aquatic flora from the period.
Each coin is struck in 90% silver with a diameter of 34 mm and weight of 20 grams. Struck to proof quality, the coins have a maximum mintage of 50,000 pieces.
A release date of April 17, 2013 is indicated, although the Austrian Mint already has an order page on their website here. Many world coin dealers also typically carry new issues from the Austrian Mint.
The next coin in the Prehistoric Life series will be “Jura – Life in the Air” which is scheduled for release on September 11, 2013.
Samuel says
anyone successfully ordered a coin directly from the mint?
Michael Zielinski says
Someone living in the US reported successfully ordering from the Austrian Mint here: http://news.coinupdate.com/new-austrian-gold-coin-series-klimt-and-his-women-1167/
CW says
Man, if only we could get some Perth guys to ruin these by coloring them.
Hidalgo says
These coins are absolutely fantastic! If only the Austrian mint issued these as bullion coins. They would be on my “gotta have” list!
Ibex says
Nice coins but in the no mans land between Numi and bullion with that pricing and that mintage. As a collector I will score one but as an investment not so great.
Louis says
This kind oif coin should never be seen as an investment though some issues have done very well like the first niobium coins. As for buying, Austrian coins are readily available from US and European dealers usually for around $70 each.
Merlin says
@ Samuel, yes I have successfully ordered from the Austrian mint. Setup an account, order your coins, pay by credit card, explain to the credit card company that the internet order in Austria is yours, coins arrive a few weeks later. I’ve ordered and received the first Klimt coin last year and currently have the second coin on order now.
Your order will placed in euros, the credit card company then converts the euros to dollars plus a small transaction fee. E510 coin + E15 ship = $682 + $7 for currency exchange. These numbers are approximate, yours will be slightly different as the exchange rate changes daily.
When I placed my first order, I inadvertently placed a duplicate order. So I called their customer service, spoke to Gilbert Steiner, and he was extremely helpful, he immediately corrected my error. I cannot say positive about their Mint, I was very pleased as I am sure you will be too.
Merlin says
I cannot say *enough* positive about their Mint, I was very pleased as I am sure you will be too.
Sam says
I managed to get an order into the Austrian Mint as well, let’s see how their service is …
Samuel says
Merlin,
Thanks for the info.