RAILWAYS - ORIENT EXPRESSID92910061
As the current year of 2021 is the European Year of Rail and also marks the 80th anniversary of Renfe, we wish to dedicate the collection to the history of the railway so as to draw our customers closer to the evolution of one of mankind’s most important modes of transport.
The collection consists of 20 coins: 15 issued in 2021 and the other five, in 2022.
On the obverse, an image in colour of the legendary train, the Orient Express. On top of the central image, the legend ORIENT EXPRESS. Outside the image, devices reminiscent of different rails.
On the reverse of all the coins, inside a central circle, the legend HISTORIA DEL FERROCARRIL (HISTORY OF THE RAILWAY). Underneath, the value of the coin: €1.5 EURO. Outside the central circle, an image of a railway track.
| Series | History of Railways |
| Year | 2021 |
| Colour | Yes |
| Diameter (mm) | 33 |
| Face Value (Euro) | 1.5 |
| Metal | Cupronickel |
| Weight (g) | 15 |
| Maximum Mintage (units) | 7,000 |
Orient Express
The Orient Express is one of the most iconic trains ever to have existed. Its arrival was perfectly timed in that, with the establishment of a railway network in Europe in the last 30 years or so of the nineteenth century, tourism had become a social phenomenon.
It was Belgian engineer Nagelmackers who set up the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits with a view to providing a select service which would enhance the idea of rail travel for tourism even further. And so the Orient Express came into being as a great express train, whose main distinguishing feature was that it was a luxury train made up of sleeping cars and a restaurant car.
The Orient Express set off from Paris on its maiden journey on June 5 1883 with 33 passengers, mostly British. At 19.30, it pulled out of Strasbourg Station (now Paris-Est) bound for Istanbul, calling at the cities of Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. Initially, from Giurgiu Station (Romania) to Constantinople, passengers had to continue the journey aboard other trains but, from June 1 1889, the whole route could be travelled without the need to change. The complete return journey between the two cities took 13 days.
Once things had returned to normal after the Great War, the Orient Express witnessed its two golden decades. In this, a decisive role was played by the new, southern route, the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, as the opening of the Simplon Tunnel meant that iconic Venice could be included in the journey.
It is no coincidence that Agatha Christie should have published her novel, Murder on the Orient Express, in 1934, thereby turning the train into a universal myth. Reality, however, told a different story as first, the train was erased in the Second World War and second, the complications of the Cold War rendered its recovery impossible. On May 20 1977, it made its last direct journey from Paris to Istanbul. Nevertheless, like Phoenix rising from the ashes, it was born again thanks to the Belmond Company, whose representatives zealously claim that “the train epitomises the glamour and elegance of the golden age of travel”.