The Reichstaler ( German: Reichstaler , literally translated “imperial thaler”) is a large silver coin and a monetary unit of the states of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th-19th centuries. As a real coin, it was often called a “ specialty ” or a “ specialsreichstaler ”.
In 1566, according to the Augsburg coin charter , a new Reichstaler currency unit was introduced, equal to 1 ⁄ 9 of the Cologne mark of pure silver [1] . This corresponded to 29.23 g of silver 889 samples, or 25.98 g of pure silver [2] .
Initially, the Reichstaller was equated to 68 Kreutzer, but as it ( Kreutzer ) spoiled it was 72, and in 1580 - 90 Kreutzer [1] [2] . Coins began to be minted by many states. In the middle of the XVI century, the Reichstaller became widespread and became a full-fledged trading coin [1] .
In the states of northern Germany, the Reichstaller was divided into 24 pennies or 32 shillings [1] .
In 1750, during the reign of Frederick II , the so-called Grauman reform was carried out in Prussia. According to her, 14 thalers began to be produced from the Cologne brand of silver. Accordingly, the weight of the coin decreased to 22.27 g of silver 750 (16.704 g of pure silver). Moreover, these coins contained the inscription "reichsthaler" [3] .
Such a change in the weight characteristics of the Reichstaller by one of the most powerful states in Germany led to the refusal of others to use this currency. In 1753, as a result of the signing of the coin convention by Austria and Bavaria, a convention thaler (1/10 of the Cologne brand of silver) appeared, and soon a cronalenter (29.44 g of silver of the 873th test or 25.9 g of pure silver) [4] .
In 1816, the last thaler was issued in Prussia with the corresponding denomination “reichsthaler”.
In 1837 and 1838, the Munich and Dresden coin conventions were signed. Initially, they were called upon to ensure the unification of the monetary systems of the parties to the agreement, but in reality led to the creation of two currency zones on the territory of the German Customs Union with a predominance of thaler in the countries of northern Germany and the guilder - southern. A clear exchange rate was established between them - 2 thalers amounted to the equivalent of 3 1/2 guilders. Although the content of pure silver in the thaler after 1838 remained the same (1/14 of the Cologne mark), its weight characteristics differed from the Reichstaller, since it was minted from silver of the 900th test.
In 1857, the Vienna Coin Convention was signed between most German states and Austria. According to the Vienna Coin Convention, the main weight unit for the countries participating in the convention instead of the Cologne mark was “customs pound” ( German Zollpfund ) equal to 500 grams [5] . For countries of the Dresden Coin Convention, a monetary stop of 30 thalers from one customs pound was set, for the South German Monetary Union - 52.5 guilders, for Austria - 45 guilders. The new thaler received the name "Union" ( German: Vereinstaler ) and lasted until 1871.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 CH, 1993 , Reichstaler .
- ↑ 1 2 Reichstaler (German) . Large vocabulary of coins mute. Das große Münzen-Lexikon . Date of treatment January 4, 2018.
- ↑ Makhun S.G., Pyadyshev D.A. Thaler: from Sigismund of Tyrol to the era of the Napoleonic Wars // Coin Thaler. History, style, legends, art of engravers, portraits of the great .... - K .: Ukrainian Academy of Heraldry, Trademark and Logos, 2014. - P. 36. - 407 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-966-8153-84-6 .
- ↑ Makhun S.G., Pyadyshev D.A. Thaler: from Sigismund of Tyrol to the era of the Napoleonic Wars // Coin Thaler. History, style, legends, art of engravers, portraits of the great .... - K .: Ukrainian Academy of Heraldry, Trademark and Logos, 2014. - P. 37. - 407 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-966-8153-84-6 .
- ↑ Wiener Münzvertrag (German) . Large vocabulary of coins mute. Das große Münzen-Lexikon . Date of treatment May 11, 2013. Archived May 13, 2013.
Literature
- Makhun S.G., Pyadyshev D.A. Thaler: from Sigismund of Tyrol to the era of the Napoleonic Wars // Coin Thaler. History, style, legends, the art of engravers, portraits of the great .... - K .: Ukrainian Academy of Heraldry, Trademark and Logos, 2014. - 407 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-966-8153-84-6 .
- Numismatic Dictionary / [Author: Zvarich VV ]. - 4th ed .. - Lviv: Higher school, 1980.
- Dictionary of numismatists / [Authors: Fengler H., Girow G., Unger V.] / Per. with him. M. G. Arsenyeva / Resp. ed. V.M. Potin. - 2nd ed., Revised. and additional .. - M .: Radio and communications, 1993. - ISBN 5-256-00317-8 .
- Cuhaj GS Standard Catalog of German Coins 1501 — present / compiled by N. Douglas Nicol. - 3rd. - Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011 .-- 1,488 p. - ISBN 978-1-4402-1402-8 .
- Faβbender D. Grosser Deutscher Münzkatalog von 1800 bis heute. - 23. Verlag. - Battenberg: Battenberg Verlag, 2008 .-- 656 p. - ISBN 97-3-86646-019-5.