20 Schilling 1945, Austria
| in Krause book | Number: 116 |
| Years of issue: | 29.05.1945 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Dr. Josef Joham, Eugen Kaniak, Dr. Franz Bartsch |
| Serie: | 1945 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 02.01.1928 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 138 х 74 |
| Printer: | Oesterreichische Banknoten und Sicherheitsdruck, Wien |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Geometric patterns.
Avers:
All over the field of banknote are abbreviations of Austrian National Bank and the denominations in numbers 20.
On the left side is a young peasant girl.
Left of the girl are alpine daisies.
Also, on top, there are two allegorical figures of infant babies, that holds a wreath of daisies.
Right of girl is an abundance of fruits and vegetables. Namely viewed: corn, squash, pumpkin, apples and grapes. As infants and vegetables with fruits, apparently, have to symbolize fertility.
On the right side is an image of Peasant, with a sickle and ears of wheat in his hands. Behind him are two sunflowers.
On top is the Austrian coat of arms.
The current coat of arms of Austria, albeit without the broken chains, has been in use by the Republic of Austria since 1919. Between 1934 and the German annexation in 1938 Austria used a different coat of arms, which consisted of a double-headed eagle. The establishment of the Second Republic in 1945 saw the return of the original (First Republic) arms, with broken chains added to symbolise Austria's liberation.
The blazon of the Federal Arms of the Republic of Austria reads:
Gules a fess Argent, escutcheon on the breast of an eagle displayed Sable, langued Gules, beaked Or, crowned with a mural crown of three visible merlons Or, armed Or, dexter talon holding sickle, sinister talon holding hammer, both talons shackled with chain broken Argent.
The symbols and emblems used in the Austrian arms are as follows:
The Eagle: Austria's sovereignty (introduced 1919)
The escutcheon Emblem of Austria (late Middle Ages, reintroduced 1915)
The mural crown: The middle class (introduced 1919)
The sickle: Agriculture (introduced 1919)
The Hammer: Industry (introduced 1919)
The broken chains: Liberation from National Socialist dictatorship (added 1945).
Denominations in numerals are bottom left and top right. In words centered.
Revers:
Alpine foothills with sowing farmer and the mountains of the Salzkammergut.
The Salzkammergut is a resort area located in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun, a right tributary of the Danube.
The name Salzkammergut translates to "salt demesne", Kammergut being a German word for territories held by princes of the Holy Roman Empire, in early modern Austria specifically territories of the Habsburg Monarchy. The salt mines of Salzkammergut were administered by the imperial Salzoberamt in Gmunden from 1745 to 1850.
Parts of the region were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
The lands on the shore of the Traun River comprise numerous glacial lakes and raised bogs, and the Salzkammergut Mountains and the adjacent Dachstein Mountains, the Totes Gebirge and the Upper Austrian Prealps with prominent Mt. Traunstein in the east. The towering mountain slopes are characterized by bright limestone (karst) and flysch rocks. 
Above the picture frame are peasants tools: Left - hoe and rake, right - сhopper and Scythe.
On the left and right sides are bundles of hay.
Bottom left are alpine bells (flowers).
Lower, on the right side, is a vine with grapes, again as a symbol of fertility.
Denominations in numerals repeated four times, in words lower, centered.
Comments:
Designer: Wilhelm Dachauer.
Wilhelm Dachauer in 1935
Wilhelm Dachauer (April 5, 1881 - February 26, 1951) was an Austrian painter. He studied at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna from 1899 to 1907 and was professor from 1928 to 1944 at the same academy.
Wilhelm Dachauer was born on April 5, 1881 into a family of clockmakers. He was intended to continue his fathers business but after some struggle he was allowed to move to Vienna, where he had a time full of privations. He started an apprenticeship as decoration painter and in the nighttime he prepared for the Academy of Applied Arts. In 1899 the seventeen-year-old Wilhelm began his studies under the supervision of professor Griepenkerl.
In 1913 he had his first arguably successful exhibition at the Secession. He was appointed to an honored professorship of the Akademie der bildenden Künste (Academy of Applied Arts) in Vienna in 1928, a position that he occupied until 1944. Temporarily he was even rector of the institution. Among his students were Hildegard Joos, Maria Lassnig, Adalbert Pilch, and Peppino Wieternik (1919-1979).
Wilhelm Dachauer was initially influenced by the art of the Secession and later developed a form of realism that was strongly dedicated to rural and regional arts. This style fitted well to the "official" taste of the Ständestaat and the NS regime, so his opus became somewhat disreputable after 1945.
He was rather unconsciously known to the public by the design of some stamp series than for his other paintings. Among his stamp designs are the well-known set of the Nibelungen motifs and the inventor set; other motifs are: Stille Nacht and Johann Strauß.
In 1926 he was awarded the Thomson medal for the most beautiful stamp in the world for the second stamp of the before mentioned Nibelungen set. The design of this stamp has the title "Gunters Drachenschiff auf dem Weg nach Island" (Gunter's Dragon Boat on the Way to Island). This stamp has a nominal value of 8+2 g (Groschen).
After the annexation of Austria to the German Reich and the occupation of Poland he designed several other stamps of the so-called Generalgouvernement and a few of the German Reich.
He also made the designs for several Austrian stamps after World War II, among them the so-called Homecomer series.
Ten glass windows and one altarpiece of the Franziskaner hospital chapel in Ried 1928 are designs of Dachauer. More conserved works are the portraits of Julius Wagner-Jauregg and Viktor Kaplan.
Nowadays a street - the Wilhelm-Dachauer Straße in Essling, the 22nd borough of Vienna - is named after this more or less famous painter.
Obverse engraver: Roman Zenzinger.
Roman Zenzinger(16 July 1903 - 5 November 1990) was an Austrian artist and commercial designer best known for his intense portraits and sketches of soldiers during world war II.
Reverse engraver: Ferdinand Lorber.
Ferdinand Lorber (November 16, 1883 - 14 May 1957). Lived at Kundratstraße 3 (Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Spital), painter, copper and steel engraver. 1901-1907 studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Painting (by J. Berger) and history painting (by Delug) and attended the High School of Graphic Arts (by Unger). In 1909 Lorber became self-employed, from 1933 to 1949 he taught as a teacher at the Graphic Arts Education and Research Institute. He created portraits, etchings, ex libris, graphics and watercolors; Stecher numerous stamps for Austria and Liechtenstein. Member of the Artists House (from 1921).
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