Calendar Medals became fashionable sometime around the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries. At that time, they were used as pocket calendars, as Sundays and public holidays are traditionally shown on the back of the medals. The year’s astrological ruler features on the other side, which usually refers to one of the Roman gods. The cycle lasts seven years and begins with Saturn, followed by Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. In addition to every Sunday and public holiday in the respective year, a zodiac sign forms the centre piece of the back of Münze Österreich’s Calendar Medals. Sundays are listed month by month next to the zodiac sign while the year’s public holidays form a circle around them.
Calendar Medals also make great gifts, not only for New Year but also for christenings and baby showers, as they show under which star the baby was born. Münze Österreich has been issuing Calendar Medals since 1932 (except between 1938 and 1945).
