The exhibition explores the euro from a variety of angles, from the design and the production of the single currency to its role in the economy.
The launch of euro banknotes and coins ten years ago, on January 1, 2002, was the largest currency changeover in history.
Visit the exhibition and see what a whale’s fin and ladybirds have to do with banknotes. Learn what LL on the reverse of every euro coin stands for, find out about the advantages of the common currency, and discover interesting facts about banknote production, security features and coin minting.
Some 2,500 years ago, the kingdom of Lydia (Asia Minor) brought about the first coins, which were created out of standardized lumps of precious metals and formed the basis of a monetary system.
In the area of what is today Austria, coins came into existence in the middle of the 2nd century B.C. Starting from these early Celtic coins, money in Austria evolved from the medieval pfennigs via the magnificent thaler coins of the Habsburg dynasty and the schilling to international currencies, such as the Maria Theresia thaler and the euro.
Once Empress Maria Theresia introduced paper money some 250 years ago, banknotes became an integral part of money transactions in Austria.
Banknote designs, both implemented and unimplemented, and various printing plates provide insight into the development of banknote production since the establishment of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank in 1816. Exhibits of historical records and stocks round out the exhibition.
100.000 Euro
„Wr. Philharmoniker“
The EUR 100,000 Vienna Philharmonic, the largest gold coin in Europe and second largest in the world today, produced by Austria’s mint, Münze Österreich AG, to mark the 15th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic gold bullion coin is now on display at the OeNB’s Money Museum.
Only 15 such coins with a diameter of 37 cm and weighing 31 kg each have been struck.
