Austria’s “Smart Mobility” Coin Wins 2021 Dated Best Bi-Metallic Coin
The Austrian Mint’s 25 Euro, “Smart Mobility” niobium center coin won the Best Bi-Metal Coin in the Coin of the Year Awards (COTY) for coins dated 2021. The winning coin is part of the Mint’s famed Silver Niobium series, which features a two-tone niobium core and silver outer ring.
As the name of the coin suggests, the design of the “Smart Mobility” coin centers on urban transportation of the future, which will hopefully be both innovative and ecologically friendly. The coin was designed by Anna Schlindner.
“Getting from A to B promises to be both smart and exciting in the future. The plans and concepts illustrated on Smart Mobility, the 2021 edition of the Silver Niobium coin, suggest that mobility will also become healthier,” the Austrian Mint’s description states. “This is because of the health benefits of cycling and using public transport, as well as the subsequent reduction in air and noise pollution in urban areas and the deceleration of global warming.”
The obverse features a blueprint of an air taxi. The design covers the two-tone niobium core and extends into the silver outer ring, adding to its futuristic elements. The bottom of the coin includes the following lettering: 25 EURO and REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH.
On the reverse, the silver outer ring showcases the importance of public transport in the future, while the niobium core features a bike and scooter, the most sustainable individual means of mobility. The niobium core also highlights the superblock concept, depicting it as viewed through a lens. “The coin’s reverse underlines the ecologically sustainable, decelerated aspect of smart mobility,” according to the Austrian Mint. The reverse also includes the following lettering: MOBILITÄT DER ZUKUNFT.
The non-circulating coin weighs 16.5 grams and measures 34 mm in diameter. Even with a mintage of 65,000 coins, the series of niobium center coins has been extremely popular with many winning COTY categories since the series began.