The second in Austria’s “Great Composers” series, this gold coin honors Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with his portrait on its obverse. Beethoven was one of the most admired composers in history. His music spanned the transition from the classical period to the romantic era in classical music.
The reverse depicts the façade of the Palais Lobkowitz and the title page of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, “Eroica”. In 1804, the Third Symphony was preformed for the first time in Vienna in this hall, which is why the festival room of the palace was named the “Eroica Hall”.
Beethoven started to lose his hearing between 1798 and 1802. His hearing loss didn’t prevent him from composing music however, as he could continue to write on his knowledge of music theory alone. However, it made performing difficult, which contributed to his social withdrawal. He passed away on March 26, 1827 at the age of 56. An autopsy revealed significant liver damage (possibly due to his heavy alcohol consumption).
This coin, while graded “Mint State” by PCGS, is described as “Proof” by the issuing Mint, and could more accurately be described as Reverse Proof. The devices are reflective, while the fields are frosted. This leads to dramatic highlights and shadows on the obverse portrait and intricate reverse.
Other coins in this series honor Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each of the three coins are just about 1/3oz gold, so that the series together totals roughly 1oz of gold.
