2011 Austria €5 Silver Coin "Pummerin Bell"

• Mint: Austrian Mint
• Denomination: €5
• Quality: BU/UNC
• Limit: 50,000/Canceled
• Alloy: 80% Silver
• Diameter: 28.5 mm
• Weight: 8 grams
• Artist: Helmut Andexlinger
• BU version comes in a printed, colorful blister pack
• UNC version has been canceled by the mint

Additional Information

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This issue marks the 300th anniversary of the consecration of the original Pummerin Bell.

Please note that the uncirculated version of this coin - sold at face value from Austrian commercial banks - with a planned mintage of 350,000 has been canceled by the Austrian Mint as its €5 denomination is approximately 20% lower than the silver content of the coin.

The original Pummerin Bell was first cast in 1705 using 208 of the 300 cannons captured from the Muslim invaders in the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna. The bell was consecrated on December 15, 1711 in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna by Bishop Franz Ferdinand, Freiherr von Rummel. The original Pummerin bell last sounded on Easter 1937, after which it was destroyed by a fire which caused the bell to crash onto the cathedral's stone floor on April 12, 1945.

The new Pummerin Bell was a gift from the province of Upper Austria and was cast on September 5, 1951 using the metal from the original Pummerin Bell. Today, the bell rings on only a few special occasions such as high Catholic holidays, state funerals, and at the beginning of the New Year, when it is broadcast on national television.