Austria 500 Schilling Silver Coin 1981 Verdun Altar
Commemorative issue: 800th Anniversary - Verdun Altar in Klosterneuburg
Obverse: Face value within a circle of the nine shields of the federal provinces of Austria, Coat of arms of Austria above the face value.
Obverse Design: Edwin Grienauer.
Lettering: · 500 SCHILLING · REPUBLIK · ÖSTERREICH.
Reverse: Samson fighting the lion - Detail of the Verduner altarpiece in Klosterneuburg, Austria by Nicholas of Verdun.
Reverse Design: Kurt Bodlak.
Composition: Silver (.640).
Weight: 24 g.
Diameter: 38 mm.
Shape: Round.
Verdun Altar
The Verdun Altar is located at the Klosterneuburg Monastery in Austria.
The chapel of St Leopold (Klosterneuburg Monastery) contains the Verdun Altar made in 1181 by Nicholas of Verdun. Its three parts comprise 45 gilded copper plates modeled on Byzantine paragons, similar to the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral. Originally manufactured as panels, they were assembled as an altar in secondary utilization circa 1330.
The tripartite concept is reflected in the arrangement of the plates. According to the biblical exegesis, the depictions are split into three rows of the eras of Adam and Noah, of Abraham, David and the Babylonian captivity and finally of Jesus' life, placed in the central part. The columns of adjacent plates of different ages symbolise their connection according to the ideas of the typology theory. The arrangement may refer to the mystic doctrines of the medieval theologian Hugh of Saint Victor. American scholar Elfie Raymond, professor of philosophy and hermeneutics at Sarah Lawrence College of New York produced an online catalog of the typology of virtues found in the theological program.