Coins in Movies - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

WillieBoyd2 · April 16, 2013 10:39AM

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is a 1971 film about Charlie,
a boy who wins a trip to a magical candy factory

My post with pictures is on my website under "Coins in Movies".

TwoKopeiki · April 16, 2013 10:53AM

That's a lotta silver for a candy bar!

lordmarcovan · April 16, 2013 10:56AM

Ahh, but what a candy bar he got, eh?

PS- the VW bus really dates the scene in the first screenshot.

Weiss · April 16, 2013 12:35PM

AWESOME!!!!!!

Aethelred · April 16, 2013 12:56PM

<< That's a lotta silver for a candy bar! >>

Umpa Lumpas do not work for free you know!!!!

Fountainhead · April 17, 2013 12:41PM

Wow, I had no idea they bothered using a real coin in the movie.

illini420 · April 17, 2013 12:42PM

Sapyx · April 17, 2013 4:14PM

<< Wow, I had no idea they bothered using a real coin in the movie. >>

Yes, but why use a "real coin" that nobody in the western world would find in circulation, or actually be able to spend at a shop? As far as I know, the movie was not set in Somalia.

WillieBoyd2 · April 17, 2013 10:06PM

Charlie didn't find the coin in circulation.

He found it in a gutter.

lordmarcovan · April 18, 2013 12:11AM

<< 

<< Wow, I had no idea they bothered using a real coin in the movie. >>

Yes, but why use a "real coin" that nobody in the western world would find in circulation, or actually be able to spend at a shop? As far as I know, the movie was not set in Somalia.

>>

You're thinking WAAAY too logically on this one. I mean, considering the context of the rest of the story, with Oompa-Loompas and the fantastical elements found in the Chocolate Factory itself, Charlie's finding a Maria Theresa thaler in a gutter and being able to spend it in a shop for a candy bar doesn't seem quite so farfetched, does it?

PS- I once "pranked" a noncollecting detecting buddy with a Maria Theresa thaler. It was fun.

(Anytime I pull a stunt like that, though, I always 'fess up afterwards and let 'em keep the coin.)

rec78 · April 18, 2013 3:04AM

Ah-the Maria Theresia thaler. Most people get the name wrong--The correct name is Maria Theresia. (notice the I). These are all basically restrikes and are just bullion coins that were struck for over 200 years with the same date of 1780. There have been over 1 Billion(Yep--Billion) Maria Theresia thalers struck in over 200 years I believe. I do not know if there is any way to determine the year in which any particular coin was struck. A nice bullion coin.

Bob

lordmarcovan · April 18, 2013 4:20AM

<< Ah-the Maria Theresia thaler. Most people get the name wrong--The correct name is Maria Theresia. (notice the I). These are all basically restrikes and are just bullion coins that were struck for over 200 years with the same date of 1780. There have been over 1 Billion(Yep--Billion) Maria Theresia thalers struck in over 200 years I believe. I do not know if there is any way to determine the year in which any particular coin was struck. A nice bullion coin.

Bob >>

I think the "Theresa-versus-Theresia variation depends on whether one is an English speaker or a German speaker? I believe both are acceptable. Yes, it is spelled with the "I" on the coin, but I think the sans-I spelling is more prevalent in English speaking countries. Sort of like the "thaler" versus "taler" variation, I guess. As to reference on dating the restrikes, here's a web page. (Speaking of variant spelling, it would seem that was compiled by someone who was not a native English speaker.)

Zohar · April 18, 2013 6:35AM

WillieBoyd2 · April 19, 2013 10:38AM

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" was remade by Tim Burton in 2005 as
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka.

In this version, Charlie again gets a silver coin, not the same one as in
"Willy Wonka", buys a Wonka candy bar which turns out to be an ordinary one.

He later finds a currency note, buys another candy bar, which has the Golden Ticket.

I am working on identifying the coin in this film.

lordmarcovan · April 19, 2013 8:01PM

I think I caught that last one on DVR, and seem to recall rewinding and slo-mo-ing that scene with the Peace dollar in it to ID the coin.

RobP · April 19, 2013 8:56PM

The script will determine whether a specific coin or just a coin will be used. There is some sort of coding (red/underlined?), which if scripted requires the props dept to find an example of that exact item. This came to light when a dealer friend said that someone approached him wanting to hire an 1820 sovereign. Apart from the obvious question of why you would want to hire one of these, determining a daily rate was conjecture but in the end quite lucrative being a %age of value.

Weiss · April 20, 2013 7:33AM

Actually the Maria Theresa thaler makes perfect sense--the movie was designed to have a northern European feel (it was about chocolate after all).

According to Wikipedia: The primary shooting location was Munich, Bavaria, West Germany, because it was significantly cheaper than filming in the U.S. and the setting was conducive to Wonka's factory; Stuart [the director] also liked the ambiguity and unfamiliarity of the location. External shots of the factory were filmed at the Munich Gaswerks (Emmy-Noether-Straße 10); the entrance and side buildings still exist. The closing sequence when the Wonkavator is flying above the factory is footage of Nördlingen in Bavaria.

Thanks, WillieBoyd2. I've been dying to find out for YEARS what coin it was. I suspected it was a MT thaler. But it's great to see that still!

Coins in Movies - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

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