How much is a Philharmonic worth?
Specification
| Gross weight | 31.103 g |
|---|---|
| Fineness | 999.9 (99.99%) |
| Fine gold content | 31.1 g |
| Fine gold, troy oz | 1 |
| Diameter | 37 mm |
| Mint | Austrian Mint |
| Country | Austria |
| Face value | EUR 100 |
| First issued | 1989 |
About this coin
Europe's best-selling gold coin, and noticeably the widest and thinnest of the one-ounce coins at 37mm. That larger diameter is the quickest way to tell one from a Maple Leaf across a counter. It is the only major bullion coin denominated in euros.
An orchestra on a coin
Vienna's mint went looking for a national symbol in 1989 and chose neither monarch nor eagle but the Vienna Philharmonic: the Musikverein's great organ on one side, a spread of cello, violins, harp and horn on the other. It became, for several years running in the 1990s and again in the 2000s, the best-selling gold coin in the world - dominant across Europe in a way American buyers often underestimate.
The euro on its face
The Philharmonic is the only major bullion coin denominated in euros - 100 of them on the one-ounce coin since 2002, after starting life at 2,000 Austrian schillings. In a US shop this matters less than in Frankfurt, where the coin is as liquid as cash. Here it typically trades a touch cheaper than an Eagle of identical purity, which makes it a quiet bargain for anyone who cares about grams rather than flags. It is four nines and soft accordingly: same capsule rules as a Maple Leaf.
How this size compares
| Fine gold | 31.103 g |
|---|---|
| In troy ounces | 1 ozt |
| In pennyweights | 20 dwt |
| Equal to | 4.25 gold sovereigns |
| Bars per kilo | 32.15 of these make one kilo of gold |
Questions people ask
- How much is a Philharmonic worth today?
- Its gold content is worth $4,125.39 at the current spot price of $4,125.39 per troy ounce. That is the melt value - it contains 1 troy ounces of fine gold. A dealer will pay under this figure when buying and charge over it when selling. Philharmonics price like every other four-nines ounce; the face value is where they differ.
- How much does a Philharmonic weigh?
- 31.103 grams gross at 999.9 fineness, which is 31.1 grams of actual gold. The gross weight is what your scale reads; the fine weight is what it is worth.
- Who makes the Philharmonic and is it legal tender?
- It is struck by the Austrian Mint in Austria, first issued in 1989. It carries a face value of EUR 100, which is symbolic - the gold in it is worth many times that.
- Why does my Philharmonic say 100 euro - and older ones 2000 schilling?
- Austria adopted the euro in 2002 and re-denominated the coin. Schilling-dated Philharmonics (1989-2001) and euro ones hold identical gold; the face value is symbolic either way. Neither commands a premium over the other in bullion trade.
- Are Philharmonics harder to sell in the United States?
- Marginally, at small shops that mostly see Eagles - expect a question, not a refusal. Larger dealers quote them exactly like any four-nines ounce. In Europe the position reverses and the Philharmonic is often the easiest coin in the room.
- How current is this valuation?
- It is calculated live from the spot price, currently $4,125.39 per troy ounce from swissquote, read at 18:45 UTC. Nothing on this page is a cached daily figure.