The Vereinsthaler (, ''union thaler'') was a standard

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

used in most German states and 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, ...

in the years before

German unification The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

. The Vereinsthaler was introduced in 1857 to replace the various versions of 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 ...

, many of which were already set at par with the Prussian thaler. While the earlier Prussian Thaler was slightly heavier at th a Cologne mark of fine silver (16.704

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...

s), the Vereinsthaler contained grams of silver, which was indicated on the coins as one thirtieth of a metric pound (Pfund, equal to 500 grams).

Distribution

The Vereinsthaler was used as the base for several different currencies. In

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and several other northern German states, the Vereinsthaler was the standard unit of account, divided into 30

Silbergroschen The ''Silbergroschen'' was a coin used in Prussia and several other German Confederation states in northern Germany during the 19th century, worth one thirtieth of a Thaler.Friedrich von Schrötter: ''Wörterbuch der Münzkunde.'' 2nd edn. 1970, p ...

, each of 12

Pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, ...

. See

Prussian Vereinsthaler The ''Vereinsthaler'' was the currency of Prussia between 1857 and 1873. It replaced the ''Thaler'' at par and was replaced by the Mark at a rate of 1 ''Vereinsthaler'' = 3 ''Mark''. The ''Vereinsthaler'' was subdivided into 30 ''Silbergroschen'', ...

. In

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, the

Neugroschen The ''Neugroschen'' ("new ''groschen''", abbreviation ''Ngr.'') was a Saxon '' Scheidemünze'' coin minted from 1841 to 1873 which had the inscription ''Neugroschen''. This ''groschen'', made of billon, was equivalent to the Prussian ''grosche ...

was equal to the Prussian Silbergroschen but was divided into 10 Pfennig. See

Saxon Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler was the currency of the Kingdom of Saxony between 1857 and 1873. It replaced the Thaler at par and was replaced by the Mark at a rate of 1 Vereinsthaler = 3 Mark. The Vereinsthaler was subdivided into 30 Neugroschen, each of 10 ...

. Some other north German states, such as

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, used the name

Groschen Groschen (; from la, grossus "thick", via Old Czech ') a (sometimes colloquial) name for various coins, especially a silver coin used in various states of the Holy Roman Empire and other parts of Europe. The word is borrowed from the late L ...

rather than Silbergroschen for a coin of 12 Pfennig (see Hanoverian Vereinsthaler), while the

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

states and

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

(or Hesse-Cassel) used entirely distinct subdivisions; see

Mecklenburg Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler was the currency of the two Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz between 1857 and 1873. It replaced the Mecklenburg Thaler at par and was replaced by the Mark at a rate of 1 Vereinsthaler = 3 Mark. The ...

and

Hesse-Kassel Vereinsthaler The Vereinsthaler was the currency of the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) between 1858 and 1873. It replaced the Thaler at par and was replaced by the German Mark at a rate of 1 Vereinsthaler = 3 Mark. The Vereinsthaler was subdivide ...

. In southern Germany, states including

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

used the

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 ...

as the standard unit of account, with Gulden = 1 Vereinsthaler. The Gulden was divided into 60

Kreuzer The Kreuzer (), in English usually kreutzer ( ), was a coin and unit of currency in the southern German states prior to the introduction of the German gold mark in 1871/73, and in Austria and Switzerland. After 1760 it was made of copper. In s ...

, each of 4 Pfennig or 8 Heller. These states issued ''Vereinsmünze'' (union coinage) worth 1 and 2 Vereinsthaler, or 1 and 3 gulden. See

Bavarian Gulden Bavaria used the South German gulden (also called ' Florin') as its currency until 1873. Between 1754 and 1837 it was a unit of account, worth of a Conventionsthaler, used to denominate banknotes but not issued as a coin. The Gulden was worth 50 ...

, Baden Gulden,

Württemberg Gulden Württemberg used the South German gulden as its currency until 1873. Until 1824, the Gulden was a unit of account and was used to denominate banknotes but was not issued as a coin. It was worth of a Conventionsthaler and was subdivided into 50 '' ...

. In the Austrian Empire (and later the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

), a different

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

(known as the ''Gulden'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

or ''forint'' in Hungarian) was the unit of account, with florins = 1 Vereinsthaler. The florin was divided into 100 kreutzers.

Withdrawal

Following

in 1871, the Goldmark was introduced in 1873 at a rate of 3 mark = 1 Vereinsthaler. Consequently, the new 10 pfennig coins were equivalent to the old Groschen of northern Germany and this became a nickname for the denomination. Unlike subsidiary silver coins of the goldmark with a legal tender limit of 20 marks, all silver 3-mark Vereinsthalers issued before 1871 enjoyed unlimited legal tender status even after the switchover to the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...

. This ended with the demonetization of the Vereinsthaler in 1908 and the minting of new, smaller subsidiary 3-mark coins. The name Thaler for 3 marks persisted until the 1930s. Austria-Hungary stopped issuing Vereinsthaler coins in 1867, following the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

References

* {{Thaler, state=collapsed Currencies of Austria Currencies of Germany Modern obsolete currencies