Maria Theresa Thaler
Maria Theresa Thaler
Maria Theresa Thaler (MTT) is silver bullion coin that was minted for the first time in 1741. This was done using the Reichsthaler 9 Thales to the Vienna Mark standard. Later in 1750 the MTT lost some ground and was valued at 10 Thales to the Vienna Mark. In 1751 this standard was adopted across all of the German territory and it had formal acceptance during the Bavarian monetary convention.
This is why most writers quote the year of its minting as 1751. This coin was named after Empress Maria Theresa who was the ruler of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary in the period between 1740 and 1780.
Since 1780 the date on the coins has always been 1780. In September of 1857 the then ruler of Austria Emperor Francis Joseph declared the MTT as an official trade coin. However one year later it lost its currency relevance in Austria.
Over the years the Maria Theresa Thaler has been minted in various mints across Europe. About 389 million units of MTT have been minted in the period from 1751 to 2000. The mints made slight differences on the coins they issued for distinction. Mussolini of Italy obtained in 1935 a quarter century concession over MTT’s production. With this concession non-Italian banks were not allowed to have access to the Maria Theresa.
Therefore Britain, Belgium and France began their own production of the coin so that they could be able to support their trade on the east African coast, Persian Gulf and Red sea. The concession given to the Italians came to an end in 1961 and Austria diplomatically requested other governments to cease the production of the MTT. Most of the governments agreed to this request with England being the last in 1962.
As trade grew in various parts of the world the MTT became the medium of exchange in many parts of the world. It was commonly found in North Africa, along the East coast of Africa from Somalia down to Mozambique. In the Red Sea region the currency was so popular that traders did not accept any other currency.
The Italians attempted to replace the Maria Theresa Thaler by printing similar coins but their quest was not accepted as they expected. In Asia the MTT could be found in Arab countries as well as India. When Japan occupied Indonesia it was preferred over what was introduced by the occupying forces.
In German speaking nations ‘Thaler’ is spelt ‘Taler’ after a spelling reform in 1901 that was effected two years later. The MTT is 38.5 – 41mm across the diameter and weighs 28.0668g. It contains 0.752 troy ounces (23.3890) of fine silver. It contains 83.3% silver and 16.7% copper. The MTT produced in Rome is heavier than the others as it is produced in 835 instead of the usual 833 silver standard.
The Maria Theresa was very commonly used in Ethiopia since the time of Emperor Eyasu II’s reign of 1730 to 1755. According to traveler James Bruce the Maria Theresa Thaler was the dominant currency in many of the places he visited in 1768.
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