Medals and coins

The Carrino Collection of medals is one of the world’s largest dedicated to Beethoven, with over 500 pieces relating to the composer, his life, works, homes and the places he frequented, not to mention his contemporaries, musicians, artists and patrons who had various contacts with him.

A MEDAL is a permanent monument to celebrate a person, commemorate an event, an anniversary or a special occasion, but it can also be a purely artistic object, in which case it is called a “plaque”. Described by F. Ceccarelli (Milan, 1988) as “an autonomous expression of art like a painting or a sculpture”, medals are celebratory, a historical document and a work of art all at the same time, and this is often conveyed through symbols, allegories and allusions. The world’s first portrait medal was produced in 1438 by the great Italian artist Antonio di Puccio, known as Pisanello, for the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Paleologus. Medals can be minted or cast. The main metals used are bronze for cast medals and copper, silver and gold for minted ones. 

A COIN is a means of payment issued and guaranteed solely by the State. Numismatics is the study of currency from all over the world and from throughout history, including the artistic design of coins.  

zoom_in zoom_in JOSEF NIKOLAUS LANG, Austrian medallist and engraver, *1776 – †1835. 

The first very rare silver medal on Beethoven, minted, Ø 43 mm, produced in 1827 shortly after the composer’s death. zoom_in zoom_in HUGUES BOVY, Swiss medallist, engraver and sculptor, *1841 – †1903.
Bronze medal, minted, Ø 60.7 mm, 1868, based on a 1818 design by Karl Friedrich August von Klöber. zoom_in zoom_in ANTON SCHARFF, *Vienna, 1845 – †Brunn am Gebirge, 1903.
Honorary medal produced for the inauguration in Vienna of the Beethoven Monument by sculptor Kaspar von Zumbusch (*1830 – †1915), minted silver proof, Ø 64 mm, Vienna, 1 May 1880. zoom_in zoom_in RUDOLPH MAYER, renowned Austrian medallist, *1846 – †1916.
Art Nouveau style silver medal, minted, Ø 60 mm, Pforzheim, Germany, 1903. zoom_in STEFAN SCHWARTZ, *Neutra, Kingdom of Hungary, 20 August 1851 – †Raabs an der Thaya, Austria, 31 July 1924.
J. Haydn W.A. Mozart L.V. Beethoven, cast bronze plaque with brown patina, solid walnut base and brass plate, 348x257 mm, unique model, signed, Vienna, 1907. zoom_in ALFRED ROTHBERGER, *Vienna, 24 October 1873 - †Vienna, 23 May 1932.
Large cast bronze plaque, 297x210 mm, solid walnut base with bronze plate, 1908. zoom_in zoom_in JOZSEF REMENYI, Hungarian sculptor and medallist, *1887 – †1977. He took medal art to the highest level.
One of the finest Beethoven medals of the 20th century, produced in Vienna in 1927 for the centenary of the composer’s death. Limited to 300 copies, Ø 60 mm. zoom_in HENRY DROPSY, French medallist, *1885 – †1968.
French Art Deco bronze plaque, minted, 50x50 mm, on bronze display base, produced in 1927 for the centenary of Beethoven’s death. zoom_in KOJI WATABE, Chibaken, Japan.
Silver-plated cast bronze medal, Ø 97x9 mm, 425 g, Japan, 1970. zoom_in zoom_in TOMMASO GISMONDI, *Anagni 28 August 1906 - †Agnani 26 April 2003, one of the greatest Italian sculptors of the 20th century.
Contemporary style cast bronze medal with brown patina, uneven edge, Ø 92x10 mm, 1980s. zoom_in zoom_in H. WÄHNER and H. ANDEXLINGER (curators)
Minted gold proof coin 986, face value 50 Euro, Ø 22 mm, 10.14 g, issued by the Republic of Austria in 2005, Grosse Komponisten series.