The Austrian Mint introduced its Colourful Creatures series with this month’s release of a coin depicting the fledermaus (bat). The Mint’s first ever €3 collection includes 12 coins that glow in the dark.
Coins of the series will be issued every three months until they are all released. Limited to 50,000 pieces per issue, the scheduled coins and their themed reverse designs include:
- 2017: Tiger, Crocodile, Kingfisher and Wolf
- 2018: Parrot, Shark, Owl and Frog
- 2019: Turtle, Otter and Crayfish
Reverses include the year of issue and the name of the creature honored. The featured motifs are in color and become active at night by glowing in the dark.
Obverses are common to all 12 coins. They depict miniature versions of the 12 creatures along with surrounding inscriptions of REPUBLIC, ÖSTERREICH, and 3 EURO.
Austrian Mint-provided coin specifications include:
| Quality | Special Uncirculated |
| Denomination (EURO) | 3 Euro |
| Weight (g) | 16.00 |
| Diameter (mm) | 34.00 |
| Alloy | Cupro Nickel (CuNi 25) |
Coins of the series are €9.90 each. The Austrian Mint also offers a collector album for €15.40. The cover of the album features a changing image that shows a tiger, owl or shark depending on how it is viewed. Inside are descriptions of the creatures and an area to place the 12 coins.
Visit the Austrian Mint for more information.
The venerable Austrian Mint, after more than 800 years of minting coins finally gave in to the colorized coin craze just earlier this year with their Vienna Opera Ball colorized coin & now these hideous glow-in-the-dark coins! I used to order coins from them by mail & at the local savings bank when I lived in Germany (1976-1979) & bought their nice silver commemorative coins. It is sad to see one of the oldest continuously operating world Mints giving in to the colorized kitsch coin movement. But, they have to keep up with the Jones’s I guess!
-NumisDudeTX
It’s a flop if they all just turn green but maybe not if they use different colors of phosphorus. This coin obviously fits in with all hallows eve and Die Fledermaus is a famous opera by Strauss so not a bad first step into commercialism – a bit late to compete with Perth and Ottawa though.
But I understand your dismay.
The problem is that I really like the design on both sides of this coin, just not the colorization. If the RCM & Perth & other world Mints would offer a version without color, I would buy many of the coins that have great designs but are colorized.
The Fledermaus (the German word for “bat” & the official language of Austria & my second language) is the only mammal capable of true flight. I live in Austin, Texas near the largest population of bats in the world & we even have a street named Bat Caves Road!
-NumisDudeTX