50 years - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1970 - 2 Shilling

Already during the First World War the question of the future of Carinthia had been raised. On the day before the proclamation of the new state of German-Austria on 12 November 1918 as a republic, the provisional regional assembly of Carinthia had invoked the right of self-determination and joined the state of German-Austria as a "separate, independent province". This voluntary recognition of the democratic right of self-determination gave the country the strong moral superiority it needed until the referendum of October 10, 1929. The conflict over the new borders arose from the claim of Slovenia to the whole of Carinthia, which was unrealistic, or to an area with a predominantly German-speaking population, which included Villach and Klagenfurt. Since no agreement could be reached by negotiation, Yugoslavs marched into Carinthia, occupied large parts and was forced to retreat only by the armed resistance of both the German- and the Slovenian-speaking population. This energetic intervention convinced the Americans to hold a referendum in which 59 percent of the population decided to stay in Austria. The decisive factor was the vote of about 10,000 Slovene speakers. The brand image shows a coat of arms of the province of Carinthia.