An ''Ausbeutemünze'' (pron. "ows-boy-ter-moonzer") lit. "salvage coin"), also often called an ''Ausbeutethaler'' because it was so common, is an historical European

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, 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 to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

minted from

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

extracted from the

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

of a particular mine. By far the most common of such coins were made of

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

. These coins were normal

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...

, but differed from the usual

circulation coin A circulation issue
at coins-of-the-uk.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2022. or circulation coin,_ (1988). ''The Americ ...

s because they had special images stamped on them and were often circulated at certain anniversaries. They were made by mines, for example, in the

Harz Mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, 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 nam ...

.''Harzer Münzen''
at schatzsucher.de. Retrieved 22 May 2022.

Variants

Not only were ''

Thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

s'' made in this fashion, but also part-''Thalers'', ''

Ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s'' ''Lösers'' and other coins.

References

External links

Illustration of the last Saxon yield thaler from 1871
* www.schatzsucher.de
Harz yield coins
* www.moneymuseum.ch

* www.germanycash.de

Silver coins Coins of the Holy Roman Empire Harz Ore Mountains History of mining {{coin-stub