20 euro – S.M.S. Viribus Unitis

This silver coin concludes the popular six-coin series "Austria on the High Seas". The obverse side shows the flagship Viribus Unitis under full steam as seen from the deck of an accompanying ship in the fleet. Two ships of an older class may be glimpsed in the background. The reverse side is a tribute to the old Imperial Navy, showing a battleship (the Viribus Unitis itself) bearing down on us, while a naval bi-plane circles overhead and a submarine surfaces in the foreground. Two officers stand upon the tower and the old Imperial Ensign flutters from its mast. Thus the coin commemorates not only the ship Viribus Unitis, but also the three main arms of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the First World War.