Austrian: Gold Coin € 50 Alfred Adler 2018 – The Vienna Schools of Psychotherapy gold series

The Mint of Austria have launched (19th December) their second coin in the enlightening the Vienna Schools of Psychotherapy gold coin series which is dedicated to the third Viennese school of psychotherapy. The second coin is dedicated to Alfred Adler (1870-1937). Originally a member of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic movement, Adler broke with Freud and founded the Society for Individual Psychology in 1912. Individual psychology became a viable alternative to psychoanalysis, and, like the other two pioneers celebrated in the series, Adler had a major impact on the development of psychotherapy — the scientific discipline established in Vienna in the early 20th century.

Born in Vienna in 1870, Adler was the second of seven children born to Jewish-Hungarian parents. After his studies at the University of Vienna, Adler became an ophthalmologist before moving into general practice. His clinical experience led him to conclude that each patient should be viewed as a unique entity, that they are free beings who are not determined by their instincts and that they have to solve the cultural responsibilities that life imposes on them. This idea made individual psychology a therapeutic alternative to psychoanalysis, a development that was temporarily hindered by the First World War, during which Adler served as a doctor with the Austrian Army. After the war, Adler’s influence grew considerably and from 1927, he was a regular visitor to the United States where his optimistic view of humanity achieved great popularity. In the early 1930s, Adler’s Jewish heritage led to the closure of his Austrian clinics and he left the country of his birth for a professorship at the Long Island College of Medicine. One of the world’s best-known psychologists at the time, Adler died in 1937 while on a lecture tour in Scotland.

The obverse side includes a three-quarter left-facing portrait of Alfred Adler along with the vertical text REPUBLIK OSTERREICH, the name ALFRED ADLER, the year of issue 2018, and the denomination of 50 EURO. The reverse of the coin illustrates the stylized image of a family unit of three — a little community — the key concept in Adler’s individual psychology.

The coin will be available to order from early January, before the official issue date of the 24th January 2018. Pre-paid coin orders will be shipped from the 16th January. The Proof quality coin is presented in a capsule and housed in a branded Austrian Mint custom case. A purpose-designed presentation case, which houses all three coins in the series, is also available complete with a decorative slipcase featuring a period picture of a patient lying on a psychoanalyst’s couch. This optional black wooden case is the perfect place to protect and store the superb three gold 50-euro coins in the Vienna Schools of Psychotherapy series, along with their certificates of authenticity. The next coin in the series will be dedicated to Viktor Emil Frankl (1905-1997) who was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. Frankl was the founder of logotherapy, the theory which is founded on the belief that human nature is motivated by the search for a life purpose. For more information on these and other coins offered by the Mint of Austria.

Please visit their website.

Sources:Muenze Oesterreich, Numismag®