New Year Coin 2016
Message with a Melody

Few events capture the spirit of the New Year like the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Year's Concert. For decades the world-famous orchestra has begun the year with a message of hope, friendship and peace to the world by performing the evocative and timeless repertoire of the legendary Johann Strauss family. In 2016, the Austrian Mint immortalises the New Year’s Concert in the shape of its ever-popular New Year coin.

Televised in over 90 countries, the concert enjoys great international popularity and touches the hearts of far more people than those lucky enough to find themselves among the audience in the Golden Hall of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna on the morning of the 1st of January. The concert is shown on the reverse of the 5 euro coin in the incomparable detail for which the Austrian Mint is famous. A trio of cellists is depicted in the foreground, with a trio of double bassists just behind them. The impressive organ and the elaborate decoration of the Golden Hall can also be seen in the background. To the left, the conductor of the orchestra is pictured in relief, his baton and hands aloft, while New Year's Concert is written vertically up the side of the coin. The nine-sided coin's obverse shows the coats of arms of the nine federal provinces of Austria.