Austria

The gentian. Alpine flower representing Austria’s obligations and commitment to the environment

The edelweiss. Alpine flower representing Austria’s obligations and commitment to the environment

The primrose. Alpine flower representing Austria’s obligations and commitment to the environment.

The spires of St Stephen’s Cathedral, a masterpiece of Viennese Gothic architecture.

The Belvedere Palace, a jewel of Austrian baroque style.

The Sezession’ building in Vienna, a symbol of Austrian modernism and the birth of a new era.

Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the famous Austrian composer, and his signature

Portrait of the radical pacifist Bertha von Suttner, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905. The edge lettering on the €2 coin is ‘2 EURO ***’, repeated four times, alternately upright and inverted

Observations: Not minted in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2016 and 2018.

The design depicts the statue of Pallas Athena in front of the Greek-style building of the Austrian Parliament in Vienna. The goddess of wisdom serves as a symbol of the Austrian parliamentarism and stands for knowledge, reason and strategic talent. At the left side is the year "2018" and underneath the text "100 JAHRE" (100 YEARS). The text "REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH" (AUSTRIAN REPUBLIC) is inscribed at the bottom right in semi-circle. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

The design depicts two gods of Roman mythology featured in the carved relief above the entrance to the main building of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB): to the left, Mercury, the messenger of the gods and the god of merchants and commerce; to the right, Fortuna, the goddess of fate and prosperity, who is portrayed with a horn of plenty. The background picture, running from the left to the right edges of the core, shows the OeNB's main premises. An ornamental band hugging the bottom of the coin centre evokes the red-white-red pattern of the Austrian national flag, with hatched vertical lines symbolizing the colour red, as laid down in the rules of heraldic design.

Common issue

Twelve stars that morph into human figures are embracing the birth of a new Europe. The design shows the EU flag as a symbol that unites people and cultures with shared visions and ideals for a better common future.

Common issue

The Euro-sign in the centre of the coin shows that the Euro has become an element of particular importance in Europe as well all over the world as the Euro evolved to a global player in the international monetary system in the last 10 years. The design elements around the Euro-symbol on the coin express the importance of the Euro to the people, to the financial world (ECB tower), to trading (ships), to industry (factories), to the energy sector and research and development (wind power stations). The initials AH of the artist appear under the image of the ECB tower. The name(s) of the issuing country in the national language(s) appear(s) at the top, while the indication 2002-2012 appears at the bottom.

Common issue

The centre of the coin shows a stylised human figure whose left arm is prolonged by the euro symbol. The initials ΓΣ of the artist appear below the euro symbol. The name(s) of the issuing country in the national language(s) appear(s) at the top, while the indication 1999-2009 and the acronym EMU translated into the national language(s) appear at the bottom.

Common issue

The coin shows the treaty with the signatures of the six founding countries on a background evoking the paving – designed by Michelangelo – of the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, where the Treaty was signed on 25 March 1957, giving birth to the modern-day European Union.

The centre of the coin reproduces the signatures and seals of the Austrian State Treaty signed in 1955 by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Austria, thereby re-establishing Austrian sovereignty.