Knights’ Tales is a fascinating five-coin series in which we travel back in time to a bygone age that was notorious for being bloody and brutal. But the Middle Ages was also the age of chivalry, when high-born warriors known as knights rode into battle on horseback dressed in full armour. The code of chivalry was a combination of the warrior ethos, piety, nobility and gallantry. To his loyal subjects, Maximilian I, to whom the first coin in the series is dedicated, embodied these values. The year 2019 is the 500th anniversary of the death of the Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria.

Celebrating the story of manned flight, from the first fearless pioneers to the crowded skies of today, Reaching for the Sky makes four stopovers at the most important stages in the history of air travel. The series takes off in the shape of The Dream of Flight, which illustrates how the fantasy of flight eventually became reality.

With its retractable neck and shield-like shell, the turtle is one of the most peculiar and distinctive animals on the planet. The docile and leisurely nature of the subject of the tenth glow-in-the-dark coin in our bestselling Colourful Creatures series has also made the turtle a popular pet, usually in the form of the land-dwelling tortoise or the semi-aquatic terrapin. There are, however, 356 different species of turtle alive today, although some are highly endangered.

The second of our three silver Anniversary coins is sold out and no longer available from the Austrian Mint. Having said that, so that we can offer all three Anniversary coins in a set along with the specially designed Collector Album, we have set aside a small quantity of the coins. This set will be made available from 16 October 2019 to coincide with the issue of Robin Hood, the third and last Anniversary coin. The Album also has space for the five copper coins in the 10 euro Knights’ Tales series.

The three coins celebrating the 825th Anniversary of the Vienna Mint are all linked to the ransom paid to Duke Leopold of Austria for the release of King Richard the Lionheart of England in 1194. They also all contain one ounce of fine silver, the precious metal used to pay the huge ransom, which was partly used to build the stronghold of Wiener Neustadt – the theme of the second coin in this very special series.