5 Euros New Year: Operetta Bat and the Ball

Part of the Austrian Mint's ongoing silver niobium and themed commemorative program, this piece honors Johann Strauss II's *Die Fledermaus* (1874), one of the defining works of Viennese operetta. The premiere at the Theater an der Wien was poorly received — it opened just weeks after the stock market crash of May 1873 had devastated Viennese society, and audiences were in no mood for comic frivolity. The work's reputation recovered quickly once the initial gloom lifted, and it has since become one of the most performed operatic works in the repertoire.

The KM#3237a designation distinguishes the standard .800 silver strike from the niobium-core bimetallic variant issued alongside it.