2017 9g Austria Silver / Niobium 2017 9g Austria Silver / Niobium Microcosm PN PN

The latest edition in the Austrian Mint’s spectaculartwo-tone silver niobium series uses the microscope to show the world in microcosm. It does this by means of the butterfly, an example of which is found in the raspberry-red and grass-green niobium centre of the coin’s obverse. But the journey of discovery really begins on the coin’s reverse where a microscopicview of a butterfly wing is shown at the top of thecentre. Moving clockwise we go even deeper with thehelp of an electron microscope. But that is not theend of the expedition: the bottom half of the coin shows a cell, its structure and even its core. Microcosm truly glistens with knowledge.

Through the combination of silver and niobium theAustrian Mint has achieved an internationally recognized innovation of a quality that no other coin manufacturer has so far managed to equal. The niobium tones arise without the application of colour, purelythrough light refraction on an extremely thin, transparent oxide layer. The combination of the coins’ two-tone niobium core with the circular design of thesilver outer ring provides the ideal environment inwhich to explore fittingly fascinating themes.

Special uncirculated coins are designed to meet the most exacting standards. As a ‘first strike’– an early strike in a series struck from a new die – each one combinesstate-of-the-art technology and precision craftsmanship to turn a simple metal blank into a coin finished in such a way as to accentuate the beauty of its design. Immediately after minting each coin is quality checked and packed with care to ensure that everysingle special uncirculated coin is an unblemished masterpiece.

The Austrian Mint guarantees both the authenticity of this Special Uncirculated quality coin and that its mintage is strictly limited. This coin is legal tender in the Republic of Austria.