These fellows want to see your Maria Theresa Thaler....the original world currency.
Coinstartled
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https://youtu.be/u52neaBSlVYThe Maria Theresa thaler (MTT) is a silver bullion coin that has been used in world trade continuously since it was first minted in 1741. It is named after Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia from 1740 to 1780 and is depicted on the coin.
In 1741 they used the Reichsthaler standard of 9 thalers to the Vienna mark (a weight approximating half a pound of fine silver). In 1750 the thaler was debased to 10 thalers to the Vienna mark. The following year the new standard was effectively adopted across the German-speaking world when it was accepted formally in the Bavarian monetary convention. Because of the date of the Bavarian Monetary convention, many writers erroneously state that the Maria Theresa Thaler was first struck in 1751.
Since the death of Maria Theresa in 1780, the coin has always been dated 1780. On 19 September 1857, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria declared the Maria Theresa thaler to be an official trade coinage. A little over a year later, on 31 October 1858, it lost its status as currency in Austria.
The MTT could also be found throughout the Arab world, especially in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Muscat and Oman, in Africa, especially in Ethiopia, and in India. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World War II, enough people preferred it to the money issued by the occupying forces that the American Office of Strategic Services created counterfeit MTTs for use by resistance forces.[1]
Comments
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(NGC PF 67 Cameo)
WHOOOOAAAA!!!
Sweet !!!
An original comes up for sale every now and then, but will command a hefty price in comparison with restrikes (which typically have PL surfaces). The Vienna Mint (and later others too) began making restrikes early in the nineteenth century, largely because these coins were quite popular in the Middle East.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
In the film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" a boy finds a Maria Theresa thaler and uses it to pay for a "Golden Ticket".
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
You might be serious about MTT when you accumulate a little stuff like this:
I don't believe that there is any song that reminds me of coins whatsoever, except for one Merle Haggard song.
Rome and Byzantium also provided much much earlier "world currencies".
That is really cool. Any idea when those MTT were minted?
Here are a couple from my collection. Sorry they are damaged...
For as many millions of these MTT as were made, and as one of the prominent trade coins for what...half a century (?), it's very surprising to me that there aren't more with chopmarks. They are indeed quite scarce with Chinese marks.
@tyler267
For minting and for crafting, I don't think you can get any closer/any more precise than the time frame 1875 to 1950, crafted in Ethiopia of course. 1950 might be very late.
Hoard the keys.
I was stationed in Eritrea, then a part of Ethiopia, in 1971. MT Thalers were no longer in everyday use, at least in the major cities like Asmara where I was, but could be easily obtained from shops and street sellers that catered to the tourist trade. The Thalers that were available had obviously seen actual use.
@291fifth Just a few years ago, some lady diplomat did a decent-sized book on the MTT. She tried to do history and a lot what I would call "social history". She was still finding a few MTT in Saudi Arabia and Dubai jewelry shops, mostly waiting to go into the melting pots.
The recent book mentioned, copyright and first published in UK (2005).
Happily, I may have purchased this one at Blackwell's on Broad Street in Oxford.
Here's my Maria Theresa Half-Thaler.
I got it on a whim in Vienna in a coin shop on the Ring Road in 2003. The reverse Madonna indicates it was minted in Hungary. The mintmark is the KB on the reverse, which is for the Kremnitz (Kormoczbanya) mint, about 150 miles north of Budapest.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
I just ordered a copy on Amazon.
I love both the history and look of this coin. I have a few retrikes (Bullion) but would love to get some older MTT, But I know very little about these. I think this book will be a good start. Thanks.
@dpoole No mention of Austria on either side of that coin, just Hungary (and on the obverse, Bohemia).
@tyler267 It's a good book, but after touching on certain aspects of technical "numismatics", it veers into both history and modern social history.
I dream (very occasionally) of owning a MTT struck in gold.
@BillDugan1959 said "I dream (very occasionally) of owning a MTT struck in gold."
Do these exist?
Yes. Not seen very often,but these Gold examples do exist.
Here's the one and only I have today after having owned a couple of hundred 1780 restrikes at one time.....
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
Here’s a restrike I used to own. Nicest I’ve seen. PCGS MS66
Well, now I need to add one of these to my 'Geo-Historical' collection (Isn't that a cool name? I just thought of it
). Maybe I can find one in the antique shops here... Cheers, RickO
That is NOT what I mean. That is (apparently) a gold 2 ducat.
I mean MTT struck in gold.
There are all kinds of Maria Theresa portrait coinage in gold, both 18h Century and more modern. I am talking MTT in gold.
The lady with the book certainly feels that Gold MTT exist: