Austria - 25 Euro Silver Niob BU, Satellite Navigation, 2006

Commemorating the use of Satellite Navigation in Europe, the 2006 edition of the Austrian Mint’s popular 25 euro Silver Niobium series makes ingenious use of our unique format. The coin’s golden brown niobium core cleverly depicts a compass on the coin’s obverse, with the geographic coordinates showing the Austrian Mint’s exact location in Vienna etched over the eight cardinal points and year of issue. The outer silver ring contains both the country of issue (Republik Osterreich, Republic of Austria) and face value, while on the reverse it depicts the different means of transport that make use of satellite navigation – plane, train, ship and motor vehicles – and bears the inscription “European Satellite Navigation” in German. The niobium core on this side shows numerous satellites orbiting the globe, their tracks spilling over into the silver ring.