Maria Theresa silver thaler

The Maria Theresa Taler - A silver coin with a long history

The Maria Theresa Thaler (MTT) is closely associated with Austrian history and was used as currency for a long time. Coins with the portrait of Empress Maria Theresa were minted as early as 1741. However, it is only from 1750 - since the coinage reform - that the Maria Theresa Taler is referred to.

The silver coin was used as a means of payment in the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and was replaced by the guilder in 1858. Nevertheless, the coin was used in other regions and continued to be minted, with around 389 million MTT being produced between 1751 and 2000. However, the thaler was originally minted not only in Vienna, but also in other mints of the Holy Roman Empire: in Brussels, Milan, Prague, Hall, Günzburg, Kremnitz, Utrecht and Karlsburg. Outside the borders of the Roman Empire, the "MTT" was later also produced in Birmingham, London, Paris, Rome and Venice.

Maria Theresa silver thaler - A widely circulated silver coin

The remarkable thing about the silver coin is that it was not only minted and used as a means of payment in the Habsburg Monarchy, but also by numerous other countries around the world. Thus one can actually speak of an "Austrian world currency". One of the reasons for its widespread use was the stable weight of the coin and the fact that the edge lettering made it difficult to counterfeit. Although it was replaced in Austria as early as 1858, the Maria Theresa thaler remained a recognized means of payment in Africa and Asia until well into the 20th century.

The coin was particularly widespread in the Arab world, where it is still known today as the Abu Kush ("father of the bird" - because of the double-headed eagle motif). In the west and south of the Arabian Peninsula, for example in Yemen, the silver coin was still the sole means of payment in the 19th century.
In Abyssinia, the coin was even the official national currency for more than 100 years. After Mussolini occupied what is now Ethiopia in 1935, Italy secured the minting rights for the MTT from Austria. As a result, other countries also regarded Austria's monopoly as abolished and now minted the Mariatheresientahler themselves.
In 1935, Great Britain - the English call the coin the "fat lady" - began to mint the silver coin in order to put it into circulation in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan and maintain its position of power there. At the beginning of the 1940s, Bombay was the production site for 19 million copies of the Maria Theresa thaler, which Great Britain had produced there for reasons of simpler logistics.

The coin motif

The MTT was named after Empress Maria Theresa, who is also depicted on the obverse. However, the image on the coin was repeatedly changed until the empress's death. Since 1780, the bust of Maria Theresa with the widow's veil has been depicted on the coin. If you find a Maria Theresa thaler with the date 1780, it is a restrike. The reverse shows the double-headed eagle with the imperial crown. The edge of the coin bears the motto of the regent "Justitia et Clementia" ("Justice and Clemency").

The coin has been in circulation since 1946, since when the Austrian Mint has struck almost 50 million of the silver Maria Theresa Taler. The Günzburg die with the mint master mark SF (after the mint masters Schöbl and Faby) is still used today.

Forgeries of the silver Maria Theresa Taler

There are many forgeries of the Maria Theresa thaler. A distinction can be made between circulation forgeries and collectors' forgeries. Counterfeits in circulation, i.e. illegal copies of a legal tender, are less common, while collector's counterfeits are more frequent.

Even experts have difficulty recognizing such collector forgeries (or coin forgeries) as fakes. Here, either rare variants are copied or larger quantities of a common coinage are produced in a poorer material. A different material may be added to the silver. Caution: The MTT has a purity of 83.3% silver. This means that the taler is not made of pure silver. If a base material is added, you will recognize this by a deviation in weight with the same coin dimensions. The regular weight of the coin is 28 grams.

Just because a coin has not been authorized by the Austrian government does not necessarily mean that it is counterfeit.

The silver Maria Theresa Taler: Choose silver coins as an investment too!

Not only gold is a sensible investment, you should also consider buying silver coins. The silver Mariatheresientaler is an excellent silver investment, as it is known and accepted practically worldwide.

For investors, however, only the purchase of restrikes makes sense - the coin is available in brilliant uncirculated and proof quality. The value of these silver bullion coins is close to the general silver price.