The Vereinsthaler (, ''union

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 ...

'') was a standard

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. ...

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 ...

used in most

German states The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

and the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

in the years before

German unification The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). It commenced ...

. 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 The Prussian Thaler (sometimes Prussian Reichsthaler) was the currency of Prussia until 1857. In 1750, Johann Philipp Graumann implemented the ''Graumannscher Fuß'' with 14 thalers issued to a Cologne Mark of fine silver, or 16.704 g per thaler ...

. While the earlier

Prussian Thaler The Prussian Thaler (sometimes Prussian Reichsthaler) was the currency of Prussia until 1857. In 1750, Johann Philipp Graumann implemented the ''Graumannscher Fuß'' with 14 thalers issued to a Cologne Mark of fine silver, or 16.704 g per thaler ...

was slightly heavier at th a

Cologne mark The Cologne mark is an obsolete unit of weight (or mass) equivalent to 233.856 grams (about 3,609 grains). The Cologne mark was in use from the 11th century onward. It came to be used as the base unit for a number of currency standards, including ...

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 thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...

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: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and several other northern German states, the Vereinsthaler was the standard unit of account, divided into 30 Silbergroschen, each of 12

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

. 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 Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel ...

. In

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, 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 ''groschen ...

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 ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, used the name

Groschen Groschen (; from "thick", via Old Czech ') is the (sometimes colloquial) name for various coins, especially a silver coin used in parts of Europe including Kingdom of France, France, some of the Italian states, and various states of the Holy R ...

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

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) 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, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

states and

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

(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 V ...

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 The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" ...

. In southern Germany, states including

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

used the

South German gulden The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of Southern 18th century history of Germany, Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Free City of Frankfurt, Frankfurt and Hohenzollern. It was di ...

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

Kreuzer The Kreuzer (), in English also spelled kreutzer ( ), was a coin and unit of currency in the southern German states prior to the introduction of the German gold mark in 1871–1873, and in Austria and Switzerland. After 1760 it was made of cop ...

, 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 C ...

Baden Gulden Baden used the South German gulden as its currency from 1754 until 1873. Until 1821, the Gulden was a unit of account, worth of a Conventionsthaler, used to denominate banknotes but not issued as a coin. It was subdivided into 50 ''Conventionskr ...

Württemberg Gulden Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

. In the Austrian Empire (and later the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

), a different

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

(known as the ''Gulden'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also 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 backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, 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 ...

. 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 (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

References

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