Austria's niobium commemorative series, running since 2003, was the first bimetallic coinage to pair silver with niobium anywhere in the world — a material choice driven as much by the element's capacity to be anodized into distinct colors as by any practical minting tradition. The 2016 issue on the theme of time is the fourteenth in the series, with each year's niobium center anodized to a different hue specific to that subject. Annual mintage is capped at 65,000 pieces, and the coins are struck exclusively for collectors — none entered circulation.
Austria's niobium commemorative series, running since 2003, was the first bimetallic coinage to pair silver with niobium anywhere in the world — a material choice driven as much by the element's capacity to be anodized into distinct colors as by any practical minting tradition. The 2016 issue on the theme of time is the fourteenth in the series, with each year's niobium center anodized to a different hue specific to that subject. Annual mintage is capped at 65,000 pieces, and the coins are struck exclusively for collectors — none entered circulation.