Austrian Railways Third Silver Commemorative, the “Belle Epoque” - Golden Age of Train Travel
The Austrian Mint announces the June 11 release of the third 20 Euro silver commemorative coin within the "Austrian Railways" six silver coin series. The maximum mintage 50,000 proof coin highlights the “Belle Époque” period, featuring locomotive "kkStb 310" and an elegant lady walking the platform of the North Railway Station with its glass roofing and cast-iron pillars.
The “Belle Époque” covers the period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a time when trains dominated land travel and reached new heights of comfort and luxury for those classes of society which had the money and time to travel.
It was a time of famous trains like the Orient Express that ran from Paris through Vienna and Budapest down to Constantinople, or the St.Petersburg-Nizza-Cannes-Express, the so-called “Train de Grands-Ducs” that carried the Romanov grand dukes and aristocracy fleeing the Russian winter to warmer southern climates.
