5 Euros Universal Male Suffrage

Austria introduced universal male suffrage in 1907 following years of political agitation, with the reform finally pushed through by Minister-President Max Vladimir von Beck after the emperor grew alarmed by the revolutionary turbulence spreading across Europe. The centenary issue commemorates that specific legislative moment — the electoral reform act that replaced the old curial system, which had weighted votes by property class so heavily that a wealthy voter could carry dozens of times the electoral influence of a working man.

The .800 fineness places this squarely in Austria's lower-tier commemorative silver program, distinct from the finer .925 issues reserved for the collector-grade series.