General Frequently Asked Questions

Icon GeneralQuestions

The primary difference is that coins are or were always official legal tender of a country and are always stamped with a nominal value (e.g. € 10).

Medals are not official legal tender. That means you cannot make purchases with them. Every private person and every institution can manufacture or commission "commemorative coins" and determine the mintage, material, motif, etc., themselves. Whether the medals are produced in official mints or privately plays no role.

Uncirculated quality:

Uncirculated coins correspond to the quality of the copper coins at nominal value and, likewise manufactured by Münze Österreich, the euro and cent coins intended for circulation. All of these coins have successfully passed all quality controls.
All of our investment coins correspond to uncirculated quality and are not traded at nominal value, but at the current price of the precious metal.

Special uncirculated quality:

Coins of special uncirculated quality meet the highest standards. Precision craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology turn a simple blank into an exquisite masterpiece and show the design of the coin to its best advantage. Immediately after it has been struck, every coin is closely examined and carefully packaged. With a coin of special uncirculated quality you are sure to have a first-rate piece.

Proof quality:

Coins of proof quality are the highest standard of minting quality. They are the result of precious experience and state-of-the-art technology. The die alone undergoes 22 high-precision steps before the first coin is struck. The interplay which the artists carefully consider between a proof-quality coin’s polished, gleaming and matte surfaces ensures an extraordinary numismatic experience. Before each coin leaves Münze Österreich, it is examined in meticulous detail, ensuring that artistic design, precision craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology have successfully transformed a piece of metal into a work of art.

Please ascertain what coin it is first.

Gold and silver investment coins such as the Vienna Philharmonics or gold restrikes as well as bars of 250 grams or more are delivered without a certificate.

Collector's coins of "proof quality" as well as silver niobium coins always include a certificate. Please understand that we are unable to send "loose" certificates without coins.

All Münze Österreich bars meet the "Good Delivery" standard of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). This internationally recognised certification guarantees maximum security and quality. Bars with Good Delivery status are accepted and traded worldwide.

Thank you for your interest. Unfortunately, we don't offer tours due to security reasons.

If you take a photograph of coins yourself or have it taken on your behalf, the rights to the image are yours. For the photographs provided by Münze Österreich AG, written permission must always be obtained for publication. Please contact info@muenzeoesterreich.at.

  • Photographs you have taken yourself only of coins (obverse and reverse):
    • -> no approval necessary
  • Photographs of coins (obverse and reverse) from Münze Österreich (e.g. via the website's download area):
    • -> if available in the download area, no approval necessary
  • Photographs of folders, certificates, coin magazines from Münze Österreich  showing no photographs:
    • -> no approval necessary
  • Photographs of folders, certificates, coin magazines from Münze Österreich  showing photographs:
    • -> may not be used
  • Münze Österreich video and sound material:
    • -> generally may not be used without approval of Münze Österreich

Sale and purchase

With the exception of shipping costs, there are no additional fees with us.

For EU countries the respective tax rate of the respective country of delivery applies. Outside the EU, your order is tax-free, but customs fees may apply.

A register of coin dealers can be found under www.voem.org, the list of members of the Association of German Coin Dealers under www.muenzenverband.de.

Münze Österreich is pleased to exchange coins at the nominal value.

 

We recommend contacting a specialised coin dealer (www.voem.org) or Dorotheum (www.dorotheum.at).

As we only offer the latest euro coins, we recommend purchasing older issues from coin dealers. The coin dealers in your region can be found under www.voem.org or muenzenverband.de.

All coins issued by us are official legal tender in Austria. You can therefore use them for payment all over Austria.

If you want to sell the coins, we will gladly exchange them at nominal value. In order to obtain the current collector's value, which may be above the nominal value, we recommend contacting a coin dealer (www.voem.org or www.muenzenverband.de).

Schillings can be exchanged for the nominal value at any time in our shop or at the Austrian National Bank and its branches www.oenb.at. Please note that we do not compensate for any higher collector's value. Please contact a coin dealer in this case (www.voem.org).

Unfortunately not. We produce and sell coins and bars, but we are not allowed to buy these products back. To sell your coins, please contact a trusted coin dealer (www.voem.org or www.muenzenverband.de), where you will also find out the current price.

If you would like to know the current value of your investment coins or bars, contact a commercial or savings bank or a precious metal dealer near you, or check the daily quotes online or in the newspapers.

Since we don't purchase coins, we don't identify them either. Please contact the Coin Cabinet at the Kunsthistorisches Museum (www.khm.at) or the Austrian Numismatic Society (www.oeng.at).

It is possible to obtain circulation-quality one-cent to € 2 coins in all Austrian commercial and savings banks. The coins intended for circulation are produced by us on behalf of the Austrian National Bank as needed and distributed by the latter to Austrian commercial and savings banks. We don't sell them ourselves.

Every year, however, we offer the complete set of euro coins in the quality "special uncirculated". You can also get the € 2 coins (depending on availability), € 5 and € 10 copper coins through us.