Silver Coin
Amadeus: The Genius

The sublime second coin in the Austrian Mint’s three-coin Mozart series, Amadeus puts the spotlight on Mozart during his adult years. The Vienna music world made him rich, yet he died in debt. But this little gem shows that the music of the greatest composer of all time is priceless. 

After a period of intensive travel, which raised his profile and earned him numerous commissions, Mozart left his job as the court organist in Salzburg and went to Vienna in 1781. Although he was at his creative peak in the capital, his extravagant lifestyle meant that he saved little, even refusing to curb his spending during periods of financial difficulty. One of his many triumphs, Don Giovanni was premiered in Prague on 29 October 1787. A scene from the opera features of the coin’s reverse, while a portrait of Mozart, painted by Barbara Krafft in 1819, 28 years after his untimely death at the age of 35, features on the coin’s obverse.