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Maria Theresa thaler. Mint of Rome.

The Maria Theresa thaler (MTT) is a silver bullion coin that has been used in world trade continuously since it was first minted as a thaler in 1741. It was named after Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia from 1740 to 1780. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Standard atomic weight 107. ... A precious metal is a rare metallic element of high, durable economic value. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Examples of German and Austrian Thalers compared to a US quarter piece (bottom center) The Thaler (or Taler) was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. ... // Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius... The worlds most famous coin, a silver thaler of Maria Theresa, dated 1780. ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Since 1780, the coin has always been dated 1780 and has been struck by the following mints: Birmingham, Bombay, Brussels, London, Paris, Rome and Utrecht, in addition to the Habsburg mints in Hall, Günzburg, Kremnica, Karlsburg, Milan, Prague and Vienna. Between 1751 and 2000, some 389 million were minted. These different mints distinguished their printings by slight alterations to the saltire, or "flower" symbol, which looks like an "X" at the top left of the reverse side of the coin. Since 1946, when the Vienna Mint rescinded the rights of foreign governments to issue such copies, over 49 million have been produced. 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A mint is a facility which manufactures coins for currency. ... Façade on Icknield Street The Birmingham Mint in Birmingham, England started producing tokens and coins in 1850 as a private enterprise, separate from, but in cooperation with the Royal Mint. ... The India Government Mint, Mumbai is one of the five mints in India situated in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). ... Nickname: Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: , Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 979 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989 Government  - Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area  - Region 162 km²  (62. ... The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. ... The Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) or, more administratively speaking, the Direction of Coins and Medals, is an administration of the French government charged with issuing coins, as well as producing medals and other similar items. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Utrecht ( (help· info)) is a municipality and the capital city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... A hallway at the Royal York Hotel Look up Hall, hall in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Günzburg is capital of the district of Günzburg in Swabia, Bavaria. ... Kremnica (German: , Hungarian: ) is a town in central Slovakia. ... Alba Iulia (Hungarian: Gyulafehérvár, German: Karlsburg) is a city in Alba county, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,369, located on the Mureş river. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... Nickname: Motto: Praga Caput Rei publicae Location within the Czech Republic Coordinates: , Country Czech Republic Region Capital City of Prague Founded 9th century Government  - Mayor Pavel Bém Area  - City 496 km²  (191. ... “Wien” redirects here. ... Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 25 - For the last time, New Years Day is legally on March 25 in England and Wales. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The arms of St Albans: Azure, a saltire Or (a gold saltire on a blue field) For The Saltire (proper noun) see Flag of Scotland. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It was one of the first coins used in the United States and probably contributed (along with the Spanish eight-bit dollar and the Straits dollar) to the choice of a dollar as the main unit of currency for the United States. The Spanish dollar or peso (literally, weight) is a silver coin that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. ... The Straits dollar was the currency used in the British colonies and protectorates in Malaya and Borneo, including the Straits Settlements. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ...

Details

The thaler is 39.5 mm in diameter and 2.5mm thick, weighs 28.0668 grams and contains 23.3890 grams (0.752 troy ounces) of fine silver. It has a millesimal fineness of .833. Troy weight is a system of units of mass customarily used for precious metals, black powder, and gemstones. ... Millesimal fineness is a system of denoting the purity of platinum, gold and silver alloys by parts per thousand of pure metal in the alloy. ...

In German-speaking countries, following a spelling reform dated 1901 which took effect two years later, "Thaler" is written "Taler" (although the spelling of "Theresia" was not affected). Hence 20th-century references to this coin in German and Austrian sources are found under "Maria-Theresien-Taler". The spelling in English-speaking countries was not affected. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The inscription on the obverse of this coin is in Latin: "M. THERESIA D. G. R. IMP. HU. BO. REG." The Reverse reads "ARCHID. AVST. DUX BURG. CO. TYR. 1780 X". It is an abbreviation of "Maria Theresia, Dei Gratia Romanorum Imperatrix, Hungariae Bohemiaeque Regina, Archidux Austriae, Dux Burgundiae, Comes Tyrolis. 1780 X", which means, "Maria Theresa, by the grace of God, Empress of the Romans, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Countess of Tyrol, died 1780". The "X" is actually a saltire, and indicates that the coin was minted after 1753. Around the rim of the coin is the motto of her reign: "Iustitia et Clementia", meaning "Justice and Clemency". The arms of St Albans: Azure, a saltire Or (a gold saltire on a blue field) For The Saltire (proper noun) see Flag of Scotland. ...

In Ethiopia

From the reign of Emperor Iyasu II of Ethiopia, the MTT is first recorded as circulated in Ethiopia.^[1] According to traveller James Bruce the coin, not debased as other currencies, dominated the areas he visited in 1768. Joseph Kalmer and Ludwig Hyun in the book Abessinien^[2] estimate that over 20% of 245 million coins minted until 1931 ended up in Abyssinia. In 1890 the Italians invented the Tallero Eritreo, styled after the M.T.T., and introduced it in their new colony Eritrea, also hoping to impose it on the commerce with Ethiopia. They remained, however, largely unsuccessful. At the early 1900s Menelik II unsuccessfully attempted to mint the new Menilek thalers, with his effigy, but styled following the model of the M.T.T., locally and force their use. The newly established Bank of Abyssinia also issued banknotes denominated in thalers. Starting in 1935 Italians minted the thaler on their own. Iyasus II or Jesus II was negus negust (throne name Adyam Sagadwas) (19 September 1730 - 26 June 1755) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. ... James Bruce (December 14, 1730 – April 27, 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) where he traced the Blue Nile. ... Joseph Kalmer (August 17, 1898, Nehrybce (Nahrybka, today Poland) - July 9, 1959, Vienna) was Austrian writer, poet and translator. ... Emperor Menelik II (Geez ምኒልክ) baptized as Sahle Maryam (August 17, 1844 – December 12, 1913), was of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death. ... The National Bank of Ethiopia is the central bank of the African country Ethiopia. ... A £20 Ulster Bank banknote. ...

The Maria Theresa thaler was also formerly the currency of Muscat and Oman. The coin remains popular in North Africa and the Middle East to this day in its original form: silver coin with a portrait of the buxom Empress on the front and the Habsburg Double Eagle on the back. It is said that the low-cut gown she wears has added to the popularity of the coin. Muscat and Oman (Arabic:مسقط وعمان) was a country that encompassed the present day Sultanate of Oman and parts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Notes

Milena Jesenská (August 10, 1896, Prague – May 17, 1944, Ravensbrück, Germany) was a Czech journalist, writer and translator. ...

Further reading

• Clare Semple - A Silver Legend: The Story of the Maria Theresa Thaler (Barzan Publishing, 2006) ISBN 0-9549701-0-1

External links

• The Maria Theresia Taler 1780 - Provides information including history, description of variants, strike dates, valuation list, medals, and forgeries.
• Overview of thaler variants