The Austrian Mint (german: Münze Österreich) is located in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and is responsible for minting Austrian coins. Since 1989 it has been a public limited company (''Aktiengesellschaft'') and a subsidiary of Austria's central bank

Oesterreichische Nationalbank The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) is the central bank of Austria and, as such, an integral part of both the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurozone. It started operations on , replacing the Austro-Hungarian Bank of whic ...

, which also has its headquarters in Vienna. The Austrian Mint carries out both the design and stamping of the coins it produces. Until 2002 it was only responsible for minting the coins of the

Austrian schilling The schilling (German: ''Schilling'') was the currency of Austria from 1925 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1999, and the circulating currency until 2002. The euro was introduced at a fixed parity of €1 = 13.7603 schilling to replace it. The schil ...

; since then it has been responsible for producing the

Austrian euro coins Austrian euro coins have a unique design for each denomination, with a common theme for each of the three series of coins. The minor coins feature Austrian flowers, the middle coins examples of architecture from Austria's capital, Vienna, and the t ...

. The mint also produces other coins, such as gold bullion coins, as well as commemorative issues: the Vienna Philharmonic coins and the

Maria Theresa thaler The Maria Theresa thaler (MTT) is a silver bullion coin and a type of Conventionsthaler that has been used in world trade continuously since it was first minted in 1741. It is named after Maria Theresa who ruled Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia ...

are produced by the Austrian mint, for example. The mint also supplies circulation coins and blanks to many other countries across the world.

History

In 1194, Duke Leopold V of Austria was paid 15 tonnes of silver by

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

. On his way back from the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

Richard had been captured and imprisoned by the Duke in retaliation for a previous insult; he paid the bounty to secure his release from prison. Leopold decided to strike coins from the silver, marking the beginning of the history of minting in Vienna (though the Vienna Mint was not actually mentioned in historical documents for another 200 years). The mint was originally located near the Hoher Markt, then relocated to the Wollzeile. Subsequently, it was housed in Prince Eugene’s winter palace in Himmelpfortgasse, before finally moving to its present home at Heumarkt, central Vienna, in the 19th century. Though other mints were established across Austria in the past, the Vienna Principal Mint became the sole mint when the

Republic of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine States of Austria, states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, th ...

was formed in 1919. The mint changed its name to ''Münze Österreich'' ("Austrian Mint") as it became a subsidiary of Oesterreichische Nationalbank in 1989.

References

External links

* (English language) {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Landstraße Manufacturing companies based in Vienna Mints (currency) Mints of Europe Bullion dealers

History

See also

References

External links