2022-03-31 Thu

Austria mint introduced a new commemorative coin series of three coins celebrating the life of musician and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The second coin of the series was issued in the year 2016. The Proof silver €20 coin is part of the “A Life in Three Acts” program from the Austrian Mint in Vienna. The second coin, titled “Amade,” focuses on Mozart’s adult life.

The obverse of the coin depicts a three-quarter portrait of Mozart wearing an elaborately embroidered jacket over one of his signature ruffled shirts. The second name of Mozart’s three-part signature, “Amade,” is depicted overlaid on his right shoulder. It was designed by Austrian Mint engraver Herbert Waehner.

The reverse of the coin depicts a scene from the opera Don Giovanni. This opera is about a young man, a murderer, who had little respect for the social mores of the time. Don Giovanni (or Don Juan) refused to admit to his sins and so ends up in hell. The opera premiered in Prague in 1787. Austrian Mint engraver Helmut Andexlinger designed and engraved the reverse.

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