Originally struck in Austria from 1740 to 1780, the Thaler was the currency of the Austrian Empire. It was very important for trade with the Levant (parts of Turkey, Lebanon, Syria). Over time, the Maria Theresa Thaler became the best known and most popular silver coin in the Arabian world. After the death of Empress Maria Theresa in 1780, Joseph II permitted the Austrian mint to continue striking the coin with the 1780 dies in order to meet demand from the Middle East. The 1780 taler was the only silver coin that the Arabs trusted and would accept. Since then, the Maria Theresa Thaler has been restruck for trade purposes at Vienna, Austria with the 1780 date frozen in time. The taler became the unofficial currency in some areas of Africa and Asia, and may still be in use today as a "trade silver dollar" in some Arabian bazaars.
Particularly on older strikes earlier than about 1850, almost each individual coin shows minor differences. Such differences help specialists to determine the origin and strike date of individual specimen. A close examination of more than 20 coins struck in Venice between 1817 and 1833 showed that nearly all coins were struck from different dies. Major characteristics of common variants are described in the List of variants.
Various articles claim that the Maria Theresa Thaler was re-struck with an unchanged appearance since 1780. However, this is only really true for restrikes made after about 1850. Earlier strikes are usually relatively easy to identify and classify. Unfortunately, the statement may cause collectors - and sometimes dealers - to believe that their coins might be original coins struck in 1780 or shortly thereafter. Sometimes such coins will actually be sold as "original strike". In reality, most of those "originals" will be post-1850 strikes.
In Original and Restrike we compare two coins struck in 1780 (Vienna mint) and a coin struck around 1781 (Guenzburg mint) with a modern restrike. This may help to identify the differences.
The Talers provides a list of major variants. This list is not complete and is being extended on an ongoing basis. There are somewhere between 100 and 150 major variants, and an uncountable number of strikes with minor differences.
Maria Theresia Taler Variants
To describe Maria Theresia Taler variants, we follow the classification and numbering scheme introduced by Dr. Franz Leypold in his book Der Maria Theresia Taler 1780 .
Maria Theresia Talers have a number of distinct features which can be used to determine the mint and strike date of an individual specimen. The following table summarizes the major variants and approximate strike dates for Maria Theresia Talers struck with date 1780.
- Obverse types
- Reverse types
- Signatures
- Saltires
- Rarity: C=very common, 1-7: somewhat rare to extremely rare, with 6:up to 10 specimen known to exist; 7:less than 5 specimen known to exist.
- There may always be deviations from the generic description. For example, a common characteristic of reverse type C is that the eagle has 1-3-1 tail feathers; however, variants with 1-2-1 tail feathers are known as well.
Original and Restrike
Various articles claim that the Maria Theresia Taler was re-struck with an unchanged appearance since 1780. However, this is only really true for restrikes made after about 1850. Earlier strikes are typically relatively easy to identify. Unfortunately, the statement may cause collectors - and sometimes dealers - to believe that their coins might be original coins struck in 1780 or shortly thereafter. Sometimes such coins will actually be sold as "original strike".
This statement is incorrect, even if considering strikes dated earlier than 1858 (i.e., while the Taler was an official currency) to be originals. Most of the so called "originals" have in reality been struck after 1858.
Below you will find two coins struck in 1780 (Vienna mint), a coin struck around 1781 (Guenzburg mint), and a current restrike. This may help to identify basic differences between earlier strikes and more recent restrikes.
| Strike | ||
Vienna Mint, 1780
First (older) Variant
Approximately 7-9 specimen known worldwide.
|  |  |
Vienna Mint, 1780
Second (newer) Variant
Approximately 5 specimen known worldwide.
|  |  |
Guenzburg Mint, around 1781
Only a single specimen known worldwide.
Assumption for the 1780 Guenzburg strike is that the letter A should be pointed instead of flat as in this specimen. Signature may be S.F. or S:F:.
|  |  |
Modern RestrikeStruck more than 300.000.000 times worldwide. |  |  |
Key identification characteristics for the 1780 strikes are in particular the form of the brooche in the veil on the obverse (no pearls, except for the later Vienna mint strike), the form of the letter 'U' in the reverse (AUST.DUX instead of AVST.DUX), the form of the cross next to the the year on the obverse, and the form of the ' 7 ' in the year. Older Vienna mint strikes (earlier than 1850) are signed I.C.-F.A. instead of S.F.
List of Maria Theresia Talers 1780
This is a list of known variants of Maria Theresia Talers. This list is by its very nature incomplete (with new variants still being discovered) and is being extended on an ongoing basis. There are between 100 and 150 major variants, and an uncountable number of strikes with minor differences.
The talers are ordered using the numbering scheme introduced in "Lexicon of the Maria Theresien Taler 1780" by Walter Hafner. The following viewing options are available.
- Complete list of all talers including pictures
- Short list for an overview without pictures
- Guenzburg strikes
- Vienna strikes
- Hall strikes
- Karlsburg strikes
- Kremnitz strikes
- Prague strikes
- Milan strikes
- Venice strikes
- Counterstrikes
- Catalog creates a printable catalog (letter size).
Source:http://www.theresia.name
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