New Year Coin 2017
Waltzing in the New Year

One of the most recognisable pieces of classical music of all time, the Blue Danube is so evocative of Austria that it is effectively the country’s unofficial national anthem. Composed by Johann Strauss II in 1866 and originally performed in 1867, the waltz celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2017. As the first tune of the year to be played on Austrian radio, the Blue Danube is synonymous with the New Year and is thus the perfect theme for the Austrian Mint’s New Year coin.

Not just a time for resolutions, the New Year is also a time for the people of Austria to put the harshness of winter on hold and to ensure the year to come will bring good luck. One way of doing this is by giving lucky New Year gifts such as our New Year coin, which features a detail from the Johann Strauss II monument in Vienna’s Stadtpark in the foreground of its reverse, while a couple waltz in the background. Once the Pummerin bell of Vienna’s St Stephen’s Cathedral has struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, it is time for An der schönen blauen Donau (literally, by the beautiful blue Danube). Austrians waltz in the New Year as the most famous waltz by Johann Strauss II is played on national radio.