Austria: Second Silver Proof Coin In The White Gold Of Hallstatt Focuses On Export

Far into a mountain tunnel and mining its primary product is what shaped the region of Hallstatt and townspeople long before the era of spas and sightseeing, and that product was salt. The name Salzkammergut translates to ‘salt domain’ in territories held by princes of the Holy Roman Empire, in early modern Austria they were specifically territories of the Habsburg monarchy. Early communities living near the Hallstatt mountain discovered it contained something that both made food tasty and preserved it. There is still no other region in the world where the purest salt has been successfully mined from the Stone Age to the present day.

The second coin design in The White Gold of Hallstatt series focuses on the second step in the lucrative business that made the picturesque lakeside town a vibrant trading hub and cultural capital during the Bronze Age. The discovery of a prehistoric burial ground in Hallstatt in the nineteenth century showed that as well as being inventive and enterprising, the people of Hallstatt were clearly open to new things, including goods from other regions. Foods, tools and all kinds of exotic treasures found their way to the Salzkammergut region, including honey-coloured amber from the Baltic, greenish glass vessels from northern Italy or western Slovenia and sword pommels made of ivory. These exotic treasures came to Hallstatt through the networks developed to export the town’s ‘white gold’ in all directions, including far beyond the Alpine region. Hallstatt is thought to have supplied salt to half of Central Europe as well as to distant places on the North Sea, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean. Transporting the salt was often a precarious business as human obstacles in the form of brigands and even pirates had to be braved in addition to the rugged mountain terrain of the the Salzkammergut region around Hallstatt. However, the salt trade also brought innovations such as a man-made system of roads that connected Hallstatt with the neighbouring areas to the north, south and beyond.

The coins are designed by Kathrin Kuntner and Rebecca Wilding, their collective depictions feature a collage focusing on a trade scene in which goods are transported in sacks on a horse-drawn cart and in decorated vessels. The figures are inspired by artistic depictions found on bronze vessels from the Iron Age, known as a situlae. The reverse side details a mythical creature from the Mediterranean region of salt trading and was found on a vessel discovered in the prehistoric burial ground of Hallstatt. The text REPUBLIK OSTERREICH is placed above the primary design along the rim with the denomination 20 EURO and year of release 2024 placed just to the lower left.

Available from the 6^th November, each proof-quality silver coin is encapsulated and presented in a heavy-gauge card case complete with a numbered certificate of authenticity and protective slipcase.  

The series when complete will focus on salt mining (1^st coin), trade (2^nd coin) and historic rites (3^rd coin) developed with the commerce of the salt trade throughout the ages providing a vivid picture of the prehistoric beginnings of a unique cultural and industrial landscape.

A custom-designed collector case in the shape of a natural crystal of salt emphasises the historical importance of salt in the development of civilisation and is available as a separate purchase. Divisible into four parts that are held together by magnets, the crystal not only provides space for all three coins in the series but also their certificates and the companion book to the series which is also available separately. For additional information, please visit the webshop of the Austrian Mint.