The golden age for bullion coin choice continues with an unexpected new release commissioned by large and respected Austrian/German bullion dealer Philoro Edelmetalle. Available in a one-ounce silver and in 1 / ½ / ¼ ounce gold formats, this new coin has a theme very rarely found in bullion – the arts. Depicting one of the world’s greatest composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this would be a fine companion piece to the Austrian Mints Philharmonic.

The first thing that strikes you about this coin is the high level of detail for bullion. The reverse face depicts a portrait of Mozart surrounded by a quill to the left and a flurry of musical notation around the rest. The inscription ‘WOLFAGANG AMADEUS MOZART 1756-1791’ is well placed and sympathetic to the artwork. The notes, Mozart’s hair, and the feather all retain a huge level of detail, actually giving up little to a proof coin in that regard. It helps that the artwork is of a very high standard, designed by the artist Tom Pohnert.

The obverse, often an afterthought on a bullion coin, is also covered in custom artwork much like Euro coins in general. Depicting a view of Salzburg, Mozart’s birthplace, it’s also full of detail. The shield emblem of Palau, the issuing country, sits centre-bottom with the denomination below it. Palau actually uses the US dollar for currency, so it has value in that regard as well and may have enhanced appeal in the United States as a result.

The silver is struck in four-nines silver (99.99%), which while it seems to be appearing on more and more bullion coins lately, still remains a relative rarity. The gold is even rarer, coming in at five-nines in purity (99.999%). All things considered, this is a very interesting coin with lots of appeal. If it’s successful we understand that it might develop into a series, but there’s no further information yet. It’s available to buy now, we have a silver one here that we’ll photograph and video shortly. Prices look pretty reasonable, especially for the quality, no doubt aided by the unlimited mintage. The Philoro link is in our usual blue-button at the end of the article where you can buy the coin.