The Year Set consists of: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent coins and 1, 2 euros commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.
Austria chose to produce a series of coins illustrating flowers, architecture and famous people from its history. The designs were chosen by a national panel and public opinion poll. All designs are by the hand of Josef Kaiser and they include the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint. The coins have a unique design for each denomination, with a common theme for each of the three series of coins.
The coins feature the gentian, the edelweiss, the primrose (flowers of the Austrian Alps), St Stephen's Cathedral, the Belvedere Palace, the Secession Building and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The 2 euro coin shows the Treaty document signed by the six founding countries on a background evocating the paving (designed by Michelangelo) of the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, where the signing took place on 25 March 1957. Its design was selected following a competition organized by the European mints. |