“Anodic Oxidation” gives the light gray shining niobium a thin oxide coating before it is combined with the silver ring. The refraction of light produces interference colors, which lend the metal its violet shade. Once the two metals have been joined, coining is carried out by the Austrian Mint.

In its inner part, the coin’s obverse shows the first black-and-white test pattern, which was used to focus and calibrate the television image in the mid fifties. This test pattern, which had been created by a group of artists called “Institute for Radio Engineering”, was shown before the beginning of the daily program as well as in the evening after the end of transmission. In recent years it has become a cult object and even for today’s artists has not  lost any of its significance.

On the coin’s reverse, the inner niobium part is dominated by the globe. In front of this motif, an indoor antenna is shown as a symbol for analog television. The silver outer part displays cornerstones of TV history: A television set from the nineteenfifties, a TV camera from the nineteenseventies and a family already using a remote control equipment. Next to it, a modern “cutting room” is shown, followed by three satellite dishes on the coin’s upper edge. This is meant to symbolize the era of digitalization, which will change television completely in the next few years. In addition, the outer ring bears the round inscription “50 Jahre Fernsehen” (50 years of television).

The coin is legal means of payment in the Republic of Austria.