![Thaler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Thaler.jpg)
A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large
silver coin
Silver coins are considered the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 ...
s minted in the states and territories of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
and the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
during the
Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of about and a weight of about 25 to 30 grams (roughly
1 ounce). The word is shortened from ''Joachimsthaler'', the original ''thaler'' coin minted in
Joachimstal,
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, from 1520.
While the first standard coin of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
was the ''
Guldengroschen
The ''Guldengroschen'' or ''Guldiner'' was a large silver coin originally minted in Tirol in 1486, but which was introduced into the Duchy of Saxony in 1500.
The name "''Guldengroschen''" came from the fact that it has an equivalent denominati ...
'' of 1524, its longest-lived coin was the ''
Reichsthaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
(Reichstaler)'', which contained
Cologne Mark of fine silver (or 25.984 g), and which was issued in various versions from 1566 to 1875. From the 17th century a lesser-valued ''
North German thaler
The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire, then by the German Confederation. Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until t ...
'' currency unit emerged, which by the 19th century became par with the ''
Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler (, ''union thaler'') was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification.
The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the various versions of the North Ger ...
''.
The ''thaler'' silver coin type continued to be minted until the 20th century in the form of the
Mexican peso until 1914, the five
Swiss franc
The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...
coin until 1928, the US
silver dollar until 1935, and the Austrian
Maria Theresa thaler. These days thaler-sized silver coins are not in active circulation anymore, but are minted by various government mints as bullion or
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
items for collectors. The English derivative of the name, ''
dollar
Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...
'', also survives as the name of several modern currencies.
Etymology
German ''taler'' is recorded from the 1530s, as an abbreviation of ''Joachimstaler''. The silver mines at
Joachimstal had opened in 1516, and the first such coins were minted there in 1518.
The original spelling was ''taler'' (so
Alberus 1540).
German ''-taler'' means "of the valley" (cf. ''
Neanderthaler'').
By the late 16th century, the word was variously spelled as German ''taler'', ''toler'', ''thaler'', ''thaller''; Low German ''daler'', ''dahler''.
In 18th to 19th-century German orthography, ''Thaler'' became standard, changed to ''Taler'' in the
1902 spelling reform.
The name ''taler'', ''thaler'' was soon used in compounds denoting various types of silver coins of thaler size, thus ''
Reichstaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...
'' (1566), ''Silbertaler'', ''Albertustaler'' (1612), ''Laubthaler'' (1726), ''Kronenthaler'' (1755), ''Ortsthaler'', ''
Schützentaler
A shooting thaler ( ; german: Schützentaler; french: Écu de tir) is a silver coin in thaler size minted to commemorate a Schützenfest (French: ''Fête de tir'') or free shooting (German: ''Freischiessen'', French: ''Tir libre'') in Switzerland ...
'', ''Bankthaler'', ''Speciethaler'', etc.
Units used in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
include the , the ''rijksdaalder'' and the . From 1754, many German states used the ''
Conventionsthaler
The ''Conventionstaler'' or ''Konventionstaler'' ("Convention ''thaler''"), was a standard silver coin in the Austrian Empire and the southern German states of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous exam ...
'' as well as a lower-valued ''
North German thaler
The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire, then by the German Confederation. Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until t ...
'' or ''Reichsthaler'' worth the Conventionsthaler. From 1840 the various North German thalers converged to the value of the
Prussian thaler and afterwards the ''
Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler (, ''union thaler'') was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification.
The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the various versions of the North Ger ...
''.
The corresponding English silver coin of the period was the ''
crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
''. The Low German word was adopted in English as ''daler'' by 1550, modified to ''dollar'' by about 1600.
English ''thaler'' was introduced in the first half of the 19th century to refer to the coins of the German states, as the word ''dollar'' was increasingly understood to refer to the
United States dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
.
Predecessors
![Münze Erzherzog Sigismund](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/M%C3%BCnze_Erzherzog_Sigismund.jpg)
The development of large silver coins is an innovation of the beginning
Early Modern period.
The largest medieval silver coins were known as
groat (German ''Groschen''), from ''denarius grossus'' or "thick penny". These rarely exceeded a weight of 6 grams.
Even these coins were increasingly debased due to the
Great Bullion Famine
The Great Bullion Famine was a shortage of precious metals that struck Europe in the 15th century, with the worst years of the famine lasting from 1457 to 1464. During the Middle Ages, gold and silver coins saw widespread use as currency in Eur ...
of the 15th century which occurred for several reasons including continued warfare and the centuries-long loss of silver and gold in indirect one-sided trades importing
spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
s,
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
,
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
and other fine cloths and exotic goods from India, Indonesia and the Far East. This continual debasement had reached a point that silver content in ''Groschen''-type coins had dropped, in some cases, to less than five percent, making the coins of much less individual value than they had in the beginning.
This trend was inverted with the discovery of new and substantial silver deposits in Europe beginning in about the 1470s. Italy began the first tentative steps toward a large silver coinage with the introduction in 1472 of the
Venetian lira
The lira (plural ''lire'') was the distinct currency of Venice until 1848, when it was replaced by the Italian lira. It originated from the Carolingian monetary system used in much of Western Europe since the 8th century CE, with the ''lira'' subd ...
tron
''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer a ...
in excess of 6 grams, a substantial increase over the 4-gram
gros tournois of France. However it was only in 1484 that
Archduke Sigismund of
Tirol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
issued the first truly revolutionary silver coin, the ''half Guldengroschen'' of roughly 15 g. This was a very rare coin, almost a trial piece, but it did circulate so successfully that demand could not be met.
Finally, with the silver deposits—being mined at
Schwaz
Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley.
Location
Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch a ...
—to work with and his mint at
Hall, Sigismund issued, in 1486, large numbers of the first true thaler-sized coin, the ''
Guldengroschen
The ''Guldengroschen'' or ''Guldiner'' was a large silver coin originally minted in Tirol in 1486, but which was introduced into the Duchy of Saxony in 1500.
The name "''Guldengroschen''" came from the fact that it has an equivalent denominati ...
'' ("gold-groat", being of silver but equal in value to a Goldgulden). It was an instant and unqualified success. Soon it was being copied widely by many states who had the necessary silver. The engravers, no less affected by the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
than were other artists, began creating intricate and elaborate designs featuring the heraldic arms and standards of the minting state as well as brutally realistic, sometimes unflattering, depictions of the ruler (monarch).
Joachimsthaler
By 1518, ''guldiners'' of similar weight to ''guldengroschen'' were popping up everywhere in central Europe. In the
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...
, then ruled together with Hungary by
Louis II of the
Jagiellonian dynasty
The Jagiellonian dynasty (, pl, dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty ( pl, dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon ( pl, Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons ( pl, Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cad ...
, a guldiner was
minted
Minted is an online marketplace of premium design goods created by independent artists and designers. The company sources art and design from a community of more than 16,000 independent artists from around the world. Minted offers artists two bus ...
— of similar physical size but slightly less
fineness
The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardne ...
—that was named in German the ''Joachimsthaler'', from the silver mined by the
Counts of Schlick at a rich source near Joachimsthal (today
Jáchymov
Jáchymov (); german: Sankt Joachimsthal or ''Joachimsthal'') is a spa town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants.
The historical core of the town from the 16th century is we ...
in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
) where ''Thal'' (Tal) means "valley" in German. Saint
Joachim, the father of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, was portrayed on the coin along with the
Bohemian lion
The coat of arms of the Czech Republic () is divided into two principal variants. Greater coat of arms displays the three historical regions—the Czech lands—which make up the nation. Lesser coat of arms displays lone silver double-tailed lion ...
.
Similar coins began to be minted in neighbouring valleys rich in silver deposits, each named after the particular 'thal' or valley from which the silver was extracted. There were soon so many of them that these silver coins began to be known more widely as 'thaler' in German and 'tolar' in Czech.
In the 17th century, some Joachimsthalers were in circulation in the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...
, where they were called ''yefimok'' () – a distortion of the name Joachim.
Holy Roman Empire
The new large silver coins that became ubiquitous as the 16th century went on were named ''Thaler'' in German, while in England and France, they were named ''crown'' and ''écu'', respectively, both names taken from what had originally been
gold coin
A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buf ...
s. The thaler size silver coins minted in
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...
was the
eight real coin
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
, later also known as
peso
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...
and in English as the "
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
".
The first large silver coin standardized by the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
was the ''Guldengroschen'' in 1524. Under the new
Imperial Minting Standard
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
(''
Reichsmünzfuß
The ''Reichsmünzfuß'' ("Imperial Minting Standard") was a coinage standard or '' Münzfuß'' officially adopted for general use in the Holy Roman Empire. Different imperial coin standards were defined for different types of coins.
History
Af ...
'') it weighed th a
Cologne Mark of silver or 29.232 g, and had a fineness 0.9375. However, its longest-lasting standard coin was the ''
Reichsthaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
'' ("imperial thaler") defined in 1566 as containing th a Cologne ''Mark'' of fine silver, or 25.984 g. It was widely adopted and produced for the next 300 years at rates varying from 9 to 9 ''Reichsthalers'' to the ''Mark''.
See the ''
chronology of thaler development'' for the development of the Reichsthaler and related currency units from 1566 to 1875. Confusingly, there also was defined a
North German ''thaler'' currency (also called ''Reichsthalers'') of less value to the standard ''Reichsthaler'' specie coin; this thaler was worth 12 to a ''Mark'' after 1690, 13 to a ''Mark'' after 1754, and 14 to a ''Mark'' (the
Prussian thaler) by the 1840s. Furthermore, in 1754 a ''
Conventionsthaler
The ''Conventionstaler'' or ''Konventionstaler'' ("Convention ''thaler''"), was a standard silver coin in the Austrian Empire and the southern German states of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous exam ...
'' was developed by the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
minted at 10 to a ''Mark'' of fine silver. While it was adopted by most German states, Scandinavia and a few North German states retained the original ''
Reichsthaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
'' specie of 9 to a ''Mark'' as their standard coin until 1875.
File:1 thaler Leopold V of Austria - 1621.png, thaler of the County of Tyrol
The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...
, Leopold V - 1621.
File:Hungary-thaler-leopold-1692.png, ''Reichsthaler'' of Leopold I, minted in Kremnitz in 1692.
File:Wildermann thaler.jpg, 17th-century ''thaler'' coin from Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel with the traditional woodwose design on coins from the mints in the Harz
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
mountains.
File:Lithuanian Thaler of Žygimantas Augustas with his monogram, Polish Eagle, Lithuanian Vytis (Waykimas) and other coats of arms, 1564.jpg, Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n ''Thaler'' of Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...
, minted in Vilnius Mint
The Vilnius Mint ( lt, Vilniaus monetų kalykla) was the main Mint (facility), mint of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which produced coins in Vilnius from 1387 to 1666 (with breaks). Many of the coins minted in the Vilnius Mint had privy marks of t ...
City view thalers and lösers
![Germany-Hamburg-1679-Half Bankportugalöser-5 ducats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Germany-Hamburg-1679-Half_Bankportugal%C3%B6ser-5_ducats.jpg)
The "city view" thalers of the 17th and 18th century have predecessors in stylised representations of cities (as three towers, or a city gate) on the obverse of thaler coins in the late 16th century, such as the
Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
thaler of
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...
made in 1584. More elaborate city views become current in the first half of the 17th century (e.g.
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
1627,
Nürnberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...
1631).
The type continues to be popular throughout the 18th century, culminating in detailed city panoramas rendered in
one-point perspective
Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...
.
In the late 16th and 17th centuries, there was a fashion of oversized thaler coins, the so-called "multiple thalers", often called ''
Löser'' in Germany. The first were minted in the
Duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between ...
, and indeed the majority were struck there. Some of these coins reached colossal size, as much as sixteen normal thalers, exceeding a full pound (over 450 g) of silver and being over in diameter. The name ''Löser'' most likely was derived from a large gold coin minted in Hamburg called the ''portugalöser'', worth 10 ducats, which were based on Portuguese 10-ducat coins. Eventually the term was applied to numerous similar coins worth more than a single thaler. These coins are very rare and highly sought after by collectors. As few of them were circulated in any real sense, they are often well-preserved.
Dutch Republic
File:Loewentaler.jpg, ''leeuwendaalder'' or lion thaler, 1660
File:Rijksdaalder-1622-obverse.gif, Dutch ''rijksdaalder'', 1622
File:1770 Burgundian Cross scan4036.jpg, Maria Theresa Kronenthaler, 1770, showing the Burgundian Cross with 4 crowns
The
Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...
and the independent
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
has had a history of minting large silver coins separately from the rest of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. It issued the ''kruisdaalder'' (depicting the Cross of Burgundy) in 1567, and then the ''leeuwendaalder'' (the "lion thaler", depicting the Belgic Lion) in 1575, the latter of weight 27.68 g (427.2 grains) and 0.743 fineness. With the growing popularity of the German
reichsthaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
, however, the
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
had to follow up with their own
Dutch rijksdaalder
The ''rijksdaalder'' (Dutch, "Imperial dollar") was a Dutch coin first issued by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in the late 16th century during the Dutch Revolt which featured an armored half bust of William the Silent. It was the ...
in 1583, of weight 29.03 g (448 grains) and 0.885 fineness, and featuring an armored half bust of
William the Silent
William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...
.
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
,
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
,
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
,
Kampen,
Overijssel
Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...
,
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
,
West Friesland,
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
, and
Zwolle
Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...
minted armored half bust rijksdaalders until the end of the 17th century.
The pace of depreciation of the small-denomination ''
stuiver
The stuiver was a coin used in the Netherlands, worth Dutch Guilders ( 16 ''penning'' or 8 ''duit'', later 5 cents). It was also minted on the Lower Rhine region and the Dutch colonies. The word can still refer to the 5 euro cent coin, which ...
'' quickened from the 1570s, with the leeuwendaalder rising from 32 to 40 stuivers by 1619, and the rijksdaalder from 42 to 50 stuivers. The ''
Amsterdam Wisselbank
The Bank of Amsterdam ( nl, Amsterdamsche Wisselbank, lit=Exchange Bank of Amsterdam) was an early bank, vouched for by the city of Amsterdam, and established in 1609. It was the first public bank to offer accounts not directly convertible to c ...
'' was then founded in 1608 to establish a stable
bank currency with the rijksdaalder of 29.03 g, 0.875 fine (or 25.4 g fine silver) fixed at 50 stuivers or 2
gulden.
The bank's success helped the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
become Europe's financial center in the 17th century and maintain the reichsthaler as its banking currency unit despite Germany's descent into the chaos of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
. As a bullion entrepôt of the period, the Netherlands produced reichsthalers for Germany and Scandinavia, and exported leeuwendaalders to the Levant and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The latter survives to this day in the form of the
Bulgarian lev
The lev ( bg, лев, plural: / , ; ISO 4217 code: BGN; numeric code: 975) is the currency of Bulgaria. In old Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion", the word 'lion' in the modern language is ''lаv'' (; in Bulgarian: ). The lev is divided in 10 ...
,
Romanian leu
The Romanian leu (, plural lei ; ISO code: RON; numeric code: 946) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 (, singular: ), a word that means "money" in Romanian.
Etymology
The name of the currency means "lion", and is derive ...
, and
Moldovan leu
The leu (sign: L; ISO 4217 code: MDL) is the currency of Moldova. Like the Romanian leu, the Moldovan leu ( lei) is subdivided into 100 bani ( ban). The name of the currency originates from a Romanian word which means "lion".
Etymology
The name ...
.
By the 18th century the Spanish-controlled Dutch territories eventually became the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
. In 1754 it issued the
Kronenthaler
The Kronenthaler was a silver coin first issued in 1755 in the Austrian Netherlands (see Austrian Netherlands Kronenthaler) and which became a popular trade coin in early 19th century Europe. Most examples show the bust of the Austrian ruler on th ...
of weight 29.45 g and 0.873 fineness, or 25.71 g fine silver. This coin was adopted by many South German states by the early 19th century.
The term ''daalder'' continued to refer to 1 ''gulden'' in currency even after the discontinuation of the 1 gulden or 30 '' stuiver'' piece in the 19th century.
Spain and France
![1 ecu Louis XVI 1- 1784 M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/1_ecu_Louis_XVI_1-_1784_M.png)
The discovery of massive silver supplies in
Spanish America
Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th century, 15th ...
in the 1530s enabled the massive minting of Spain's
eight-real coin well into the 20th century, weighing 27.47 g, 0.9306 fine. Being of nearly identical weight to the German reichsthaler, British colonists in North America eventually called the Spanish coin the dollar, which became the model for the
U.S. dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
and the
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar ( symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style ...
.
The rise of German and Spanish dollars in 16th century European trade lessened the demand for French silver ''francs'' and ''testoons''. In 1641 King
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
therefore introduced a new ''Louis d'Argent'' equal to the
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
and worth three ''livres tournois'', weighing 27.19 g and 0.917 fine. In 1726 France issued its own thaler coin, the silver ''
écu
The term ''écu'' () or crown may refer to one of several French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. ''Écu'' (from Latin ''scutum'') means shield, and the coin ...
'' of 6 livres with about 26.7 g fine silver; it would also find currency in Southern Germany and Switzerland as the ''laubthaler''. Finally, in 1795 the
French franc
The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
was established, with the 5-franc coin of 25.0 g, 90% fine silver being closest in size to the thalers used elsewhere. The French franc system would be expanded to other countries in the advent of the
Latin Monetary Union
The Latin Monetary Union (LMU) was a 19th-century system that unified several European currencies into a single currency that could be used in all member states when most national currencies were still made out of gold and silver. It was establ ...
of 1865.
Switzerland
![40 batzen Zurich - 1813](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/40_batzen_Zurich_-_1813.png)
The
Thirteen Cantons
The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy (''Eidgenossenschaft'', also known as the "Swiss Republic" or ''Republica Helvetiorum'') and its constituent Thirteen Cantons encompasses the time of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) ...
of the
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...
and their Associates each minted their own coins, with most larger silver coins conforming to established German or French standards. Thaler and half thaler coins were minted by the cities of
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
(1512),
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
, Lucerne, Zug, Basel, Fribourg,
Solothurn
Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...
, Schaffhausen,
St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
and
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
.
The
Reformed cities began to represent "city views" on the obverse of their thalers, as they did not have the option to represent either patron saint or ruling princes. The first city view thaler of Zürich was minted in 1651 (the so-called ''Vögelitaler'').
[Künker Auktion 316, Numismatischer Verlag Künker (2019)]
282
By the 18th century
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
and many Western Swiss cantons adopted the French ''écu'' or ''laubthaler'' of 26.7 g fine silver as its most widely-used thaler, valued at 4 ''livres (francs)'' or 40 ''
batzen
The batzen is an historical Swiss, south German and Austrian coin. It was first produced in Berne, Switzerland, from 1492 and continued in use there until the mid-19th century.
Name
Bernese chronicler Valerius Anshelm explained the word fr ...
'' of Bern. In 1798 this system was adopted by the
Helvetic Confederation
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
with the first Swiss franc equal to th an écu.
Eventual transition to this first new Swiss franc stalled in the 19th century while public preference shifted to the South German Kronenthaler of 25.71 g fine silver, valued at 3.9 francs or 39 batzen. In 1850 Switzerland established the modern-day
Swiss franc
The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...
at par with the
French franc
The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
, with 40 Swiss francs exchanged for 7 kronenthaler. The five-franc coin of 25.0 g, 90% fine silver became the coin with the closest value to the different historical thalers.
Scandinavia
The name thaler was introduced to Scandinavia as ''daler''. The first Swedish ''daler'' coins were minted in 1534. The Norwegian ''speciedaler'' was minted from 1560. Later Scandinavian ''daler'' coins included the
Swedish riksdaler
The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler ...
(1604) and the
Danish rigsdaler
The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were ofte ...
(1625). In the early 19th century, these countries introduced their modern currency based on the ''daler'' unit. In Norway, ''
speciedaler
The rigsdaler specie was a unit of silver currency used in Norway, renamed as the speciedaler in 1816 and used until 1873. Norway used a common reichsthaler currency system shared with Denmark, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until 1873 when the go ...
'' was chosen as the currency name in 1816.
These currencies in Denmark and Sweden were replaced by the
Danish krone and
Swedish krona
The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the official currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it ...
in 1873, the new currencies introduced by the
Scandinavian Monetary Union __NOTOC__
The Scandinavian Monetary Union was a monetary union formed by Denmark and Sweden on 5 May 1873, with Norway joining in 1875. It established a common currency unit, the krone/krona, based on the gold standard. It was one of the few tan ...
. Norway joined the Monetary Union and introduced the
Norwegian krone
The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 '' ...
in 1876.
19th-century Germany
![Alte Rückseite - Kleiner Adler - Großes Wappen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Alte_R%C3%BCckseite_-_Kleiner_Adler_-_Gro%C3%9Fes_Wappen.jpg)
At the beginning of the 19th century the South German states valued the
Conventionsthaler
The ''Conventionstaler'' or ''Konventionstaler'' ("Convention ''thaler''"), was a standard silver coin in the Austrian Empire and the southern German states of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous exam ...
at 2.4
South German gulden
The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
, or 9.744 grams fine silver per gulden. Afterwards, however, they began to mint the
Kronenthaler
The Kronenthaler was a silver coin first issued in 1755 in the Austrian Netherlands (see Austrian Netherlands Kronenthaler) and which became a popular trade coin in early 19th century Europe. Most examples show the bust of the Austrian ruler on th ...
valued at 2.7 gulden - hence a reduced fine silver content for the gulden at 9.52 g. In 1837, the
Prussian thaler was fixed at 1
South German gulden
The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
- hence 9.545 g fine silver per gulden.
The
North German thaler
The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire, then by the German Confederation. Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until t ...
, valued at a
Conventionsthaler
The ''Conventionstaler'' or ''Konventionstaler'' ("Convention ''thaler''"), was a standard silver coin in the Austrian Empire and the southern German states of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous exam ...
or 13 to a
Cologne Mark fine silver at the start of the 19th century, was revalued in the 1840s at par with the
Prussian thaler, at 14 to a Mark, though with varying subdivisions. In 1857, the
Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler (, ''union thaler'') was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification.
The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the various versions of the North Ger ...
worth 1
North German thaler
The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire, then by the German Confederation. Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until t ...
or 1
South German gulden
The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
was adopted as the standard coin by most German states as well as in the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. Vereinsthalers were issued until 1871 in Germany and 1867 in Austria.
Within the new German Empire, silver vereinsthaler coins remained unlimited legal tender at a value of 3
German gold mark
The German mark (german: Goldmark ; sign: ℳ) was the currency of the German Empire, which spanned from 1871 to 1918. The mark was paired with the minor unit of the pfennig (₰); 100 pfennigs were equivalent to 1 mark. The mark was on the g ...
s until 1908 when they were withdrawn and demonetized. Some old countermarked thalers circulated as emergency coinage in Germany during the inflationary period following its defeat in the First World War.
The
Maria Theresa thaler, the most famous example of the
Conventionsthaler
The ''Conventionstaler'' or ''Konventionstaler'' ("Convention ''thaler''"), was a standard silver coin in the Austrian Empire and the southern German states of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous exam ...
minted from 1751, enjoyed a special role as trade currency and continued to be minted long after the death of Maria Theresa in 1780, with coins minted after her death always showing the year 1780.
Francis Joseph of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
declared it an official trade coinage in 1857 just before it lost legal tender status in Austria following issue of the
Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler (, ''union thaler'') was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification.
The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the various versions of the North Ger ...
. The Maria Theresa taler became the de facto currency of the
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...
in the late 18th century, with the
Ethiopian birr
The birr ( am, ብር) is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. It is subdivided into 100 ''santim''.
In 1931, Emperor Haile Selassie I formally requested that the international community use the name ''Ethiopia'' (as it had already been known inte ...
introduced at par with this taler, and it continued to be in use into the 20th century in the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
,
Eastern Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historica ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and throughout much of the Arabian Peninsula.
Legacy
![Solothurn1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Solothurn1.jpg)
Though various silver thaler coins were minted in most of Europe until the 1870s, these coins were more often counted in non-thaler currency units like Dutch or Austrian guilders, French francs, Spanish reales, etc. By the mid-19th century the thaler (or reichsthaler, rigsdaler) was still the currency unit used in the North German Confederation and Scandinavia. By 1875 the thaler itself disappeared as currency unit in Europe upon adoption of the gold standard.
Nonetheless, use of the thaler as currency continued outside Europe in the form of the
U.S. dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
and the
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar ( symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style ...
, the
Mexican peso and the various pesos of
Spanish America
Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th century, 15th ...
, and the
Ethiopian birr
The birr ( am, ብር) is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. It is subdivided into 100 ''santim''.
In 1931, Emperor Haile Selassie I formally requested that the international community use the name ''Ethiopia'' (as it had already been known inte ...
. The thaler (and its linguistic variants) would also survive as the informal name of coins identical to the historical coin like the German 3-mark coin, the Dutch 2-gulden coin, the 5-franc coins of the Latin Monetary Union (among them France, Belgium, Switzerland), and the Greek 5-drachma coin (τάληρο, taliro).
Thaler-sized coins minted to late-19th century standards would be minted until 1914 in Mexico and in most of Europe, until 1928 in Switzerland, and until 1934 in the United States. Henceforth thaler-sized silver coins would be minted as bullion or numismatic pieces, among them:
* The
Maria Theresa thaler trade coin
* Modern silver commemorative ''Talers'' minted in German-speaking Europe; e.g. the Swiss ''
Schützentaler
A shooting thaler ( ; german: Schützentaler; french: Écu de tir) is a silver coin in thaler size minted to commemorate a Schützenfest (French: ''Fête de tir'') or free shooting (German: ''Freischiessen'', French: ''Tir libre'') in Switzerland ...
'', the Swiss ''Helvetia-Taler'', and the Austrian ''Haller-Taler''.
* The American Silver Eagle, which at 1 troy ounce (31.1 g) fine silver is actually heavier than the original silver dollar.
Unrelated to specific coins, the name of the ''thaler'' survives in various modern currency names, in the form ''dollar'' in twenty-three currencies used in countries including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United States of America, and also in the Samoan tālā and the Slovenian tolar (before adoption of the euro).
Chronology of thaler development
![Franz Joseph Vereinsthaler 1855 - 621257](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Franz_Joseph_Vereinsthaler_1855_-_621257.jpg)
* 1486: Sigismund of Austria, Sigismund of Tirol issues his 31.93 g
Guldengroschen
The ''Guldengroschen'' or ''Guldiner'' was a large silver coin originally minted in Tirol in 1486, but which was introduced into the Duchy of Saxony in 1500.
The name "''Guldengroschen''" came from the fact that it has an equivalent denominati ...
of 60 Kreuzers and .9375 fineness.
* 1493: Switzerland issues its first Guldengroschen at
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
* 1499: Hungary issues the first Guldiner/Guldengroschen. It is the earliest year of issue with Arabic numerals on the coins in Hungary.
* 1500: The first German
Guldengroschen
The ''Guldengroschen'' or ''Guldiner'' was a large silver coin originally minted in Tirol in 1486, but which was introduced into the Duchy of Saxony in 1500.
The name "''Guldengroschen''" came from the fact that it has an equivalent denominati ...
is issued from Coinage of Saxony, Saxony weighing 29.232 grams, or eight to a
Cologne Mark.
* 1518: The first coin actually called a "Thaler" is minted in Jáchymov, Joachimsthal, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire, also weighing 29.232 g.
* 1524: The money ordinance Reichsmünzordnung issued at Esslingen am Neckar, Esslingen is the first attempt at a standard currency system for the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. It fixed the weight of the guldengroschen weight at 29.232 g (or 1/8th a
Cologne Mark, or 233.856 g), its fineness at 0.9375, and proposed it be divided into 21 groschen or 60 kreuzer.
[MAIN reference]
German monetary system
'. p. 360–393.
* 1534: Duchy of Saxony, Saxony and Bohemia alter the fineness of their guldiners (or 1-guilder coin) down from .9375 purity to .903 while maintaining the same coin weight, thus lowering the actual amount of pure silver in the coin. This made the imperial Guldengroschen worth more than the locally-issued guldiner.
* 1551: A new money ordinance is decreed in
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
that lowered the guldengroschen's fineness to 0.882 but raised its weight to 31.18 g. Many German states begin to accept this standard guldengroschen, but valued higher at 24 groschen or 72 kreuzer, further reinforcing its separation from the accounting gulden defined as only 60 kreuzer. A huge variety of other accounting subdivisions of the coin prevailed throughout the Empire.
* 1559: After the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, yet another money ordinance is decreed at Augsburg, which discontinued the 72-kreuzer guldengroschen (minted at 8.533 to a Cologne Mark of fine silver) in favor of a 60-kreuzer "guldiner" or 1-gulden coin minted at 10.24 to a Mark.
* 1566: Protestations over the disappearance of the ''guldengroschen'' resulted in the issuance of the ''
Reichsthaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...
'' (known later as the ''Speciesthaler''), of weight 29.232 g and fineness 0.889 (hence, 9 Specie Reichsthalers issued to a
Cologne Mark of fine silver). While modestly lighter than the guldengroschen, its public acceptance at the same price of 24 groschen or 72 kreuzer (or 10.8 guilders to a Mark) doomed the now-underpriced guldiner.
* 1618: The Reichsthaler was valued at 24 groschen, or 90 kreuzer, or 1 gulden on the eve of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
of 1618–1648 and the Kipper und Wipper financial crisis which destroyed Germany's various monetary systems.
* 1667: An Treaty of Zinna, agreement made at the Zinna Abbey, Abbey of Zinna between Saxony, Brandenburg, and Brunswick-Lüneburg to help make the minting of small coins more economical than could be done under the old Augsburg ordinances led to the creation of a lower-valued Thaler, still worth 1 gulden or 90 kreuzer, but equal to of the original Speciethaler (or 10 Zinnaische thalers to a Cologne Mark of fine silver). Northern European states like Denmark, Hamburg and Lübeck acceded to this convention.
* 1690: The Leipzig Money Convention met to deal with the poor quality of coinage in Saxony, Brandenburg, and Brunswick, as well as the limited acceptance of the 1667 Zinnaische standard. The agreement reached was to reduce the
North German thaler
The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire, then by the German Confederation. Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until t ...
further to the Speciethaler, or 12 Leipzig thalers minted from a Cologne Mark of fine silver. The Leipzig standard eventually prevailed all over the Empire, with a variety of subdivisions still used by the different states for this thaler: 1 gulden, 90 kreuzer, 24 gutegroschen, 36 mariengroschen, etc.
* 1750: This year saw yet another reduction in weight in the areas controlled by Prussia, Hesse, and
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel down to just 22.272 g and a .750 fineness. 14
Prussian thalers were minted from a Cologne mark of fine silver.
* 1754: The monetary agreement between Austria and Bavaria in 1753 replaced the original Speciethaler by a new
Conventionsthaler
The ''Conventionstaler'' or ''Konventionstaler'' ("Convention ''thaler''"), was a standard silver coin in the Austrian Empire and the southern German states of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous exam ...
, with ten to a Cologne Mark of fine silver (or 23.3856 g). Its weight was 28.06 g with a fineness of .833. This Conventionsthaler was worth 1
North German thaler
The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire, then by the German Confederation. Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until t ...
s, or 1.4
Prussian thalers, or 2 Austro-Hungarian florins, or 2.4
South German gulden
The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
. Over time this coin would spread into a large portion of central and southern Germany but not in Scandinavia.
* From 1820: The Kronenthaler (a thaler with 3 or 4 crowns between the Burgundy cross), a coin first issued in 1754 by the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
for use in the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
(present-day Belgium), became widely adopted by various Southern German that the rate of to 2.7
South German gulden
The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
. The kronenthaler had a weight of 29.45 g and a fineness of .873.
* From 1837: the Prussia-led Zollverein customs union led to a more vigorous transition into the Prussian currency standard, with North German thalers being replaced by lower-valued Prussian thalers worth 14 to a Cologne Mark of fine silver (or 16.704 g), and with each thaler now divided into 30 silbergroschen. The Prussian thaler was also fixed at 1
South German gulden
The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
.
* 1857: The Vienna monetary contract finally eliminates the Cologne Mark as a standard against which the silver coinage of Austria and Germany are reckoned, replacing it with a simple tariff of 500 g fine silver. 30
Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler (, ''union thaler'') was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification.
The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the various versions of the North Ger ...
s are set to be minted from this 500 g standard (hence 16.67 g fine silver, or weight 18.52 g .900 fine). The Vereinsthaler was made equal to 1 Austro-Hungarian florins, 1
South German gulden
The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was divided into 60 kreuzer, with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig o ...
, 30 silbergroschen, and other subdivisions.
* 1873: The gold standard was adopted by the newly-unified German Empire, with the silver Vereinsthaler remaining unlimited legal tender at three gold marks despite its bullion value dropping below 3 gold marks over the next several years.
* 1908: The Vereinsthaler was officially demonetised in Germany and made worth only bullion value.
See also
* Ausbeutetaler
References
Books
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Thaler,
Coins of the Holy Roman Empire
Currencies of Germany
Denominations (currency)
Modern obsolete currencies