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Vienna Coin Convention

The Vienna Coin Convention ( German: Wiener Münzvertrag ) or the German Coin Convention was signed on January 24, 1857 in Vienna between the German Customs Union and Austria in order to unify their monetary systems. The main monetary unit of the monetary union was the union thaler ( German: Vereinsthaler ).

Content

Signing Prerequisites

After the revolution of 1848-1849 in Prussia, its influence on the states of the German Union was significantly weakened. Against this background, Austria began to demand full participation in the German customs union , which would further weaken the degree of influence of Prussia. In 1854, a compromise agreement was agreed, according to which the creation of a common monetary system between Austria and the German Customs Union was supposed. During the negotiations, representatives of Austria insisted on the introduction of a gold standard . This proposal was categorically rejected by most German states, as it weakened their local currency. For Prussia, whose thaler was the main monetary unit of the customs union, the introduction of the gold standard was extremely unprofitable [1] . As a result, in 1857, the Vienna Coin Convention was signed, which unified the currencies of the countries of the South German Monetary Union , the countries participating in the Dresden Convention and Austria [1] .

One of the main initiators of the signing of the agreement and the unification of monetary systems was the Minister of Finance of Austria .

Key provisions of the convention

The states that were part of the Dresden Coin Convention (the most significant among them were Prussia , Saxony , Hanover and Hesse ) used double thaler as the main monetary unit. From one Cologne brand (233.855 g) pure silver was minted 7 double thalers [2] . In the states of the South German Monetary Union ( Bavaria , Württemberg , Nassau , Baden , Hesse , Frankfurt , etc.) 24.5 guilders were issued from the Cologne brand [3] . A clear exchange rate was established between the thaler and the guilder: 2 thalers were equated to 3.5 guilders [4] .

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 signing of this agreement meant a slight depreciation of two German currency units (by 0.22%) while maintaining the exchange rate - 2 thalers = 3.5 guilders. At the same time, the Austrian guilder depreciated by 5.22%. At the same time, Austria switched to the decimal monetary system , 1 guilder became equal to 100 cruisers .

As a result of the signing of the Vienna Coin Convention, the Union’s thaler ( German Vereinsthaler ) became the main monetary unit of the union with the following fixed ratios: 1 union thaler = 1.5 Austrian guilders = 1 3/4 of the South German guilders [6] .

In addition, the convention provided for the issuance of gold coins - union crowns and half-crowns (50 and 100 from one customs pound). A mandatory exchange rate for the exchange of kroons for thalers and guilders has not been introduced. It depended on market ratios of gold and silver prices. As a result, gold coins were not widely used in the states party to the Vienna Coin Convention, and their circulations were insignificant [5] .

The influence of the convention on the development of German states and Austria

The signing of the Vienna Convention caused a number of economic consequences. Most trading settlements, both in southern Germany and in Austria, began to be made in union thalers. The Prussian thalers , minted before 1857, essentially corresponded to the new union thalers and together with them became the main monetary unit for all German states [6] . This led to the fact that the South German states began to mint more than 90% of allied thalers and less than 10% of local guilders, while until 1857 the ratio was the opposite. In essence, this meant a transition from one monetary union to another. Even Austria issued along with the guilders a significant circulation of thalers [6] . Thus, the Vienna Coin Convention strengthened the influence of Prussia and reduced Austria.

After the defeat in the Austro-Prussian war in 1866, Austria withdrew from the Vienna Convention and joined the Latin Coin Union [7] . After the victory in the Franco-Prussian war and the unification of German states into a single German empire, the Vienna Coin Convention lost its significance. In 1871, the united Germany adopted the gold standard and introduced a new monetary unit - the mark .

German monetary systems after signing the convention

State / TerritoryStatusMonetary system by 1871
Systems based on the taller of the Vienna Coin Convention of 1857
  PrussiaKingdom1 thaler = 30 pennies (Zilbergroshenov) = 360 Pfennigs [8]
  SaxonyKingdom1 thaler = 30 pennies (neurogroshen) = 300 pfennigs [9]
  Mecklenburg-StrelitzGrand Duchy1 thaler = 30 pennies =? [t 1] [10]
  OldenburgGrand Duchy1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennig (schwaren) [11]
  Saxe-Weimar-EisenachGrand Duchy1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [12]
  AnhaltDuchy1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [13]
  BraunschweigDuchy1 thaler = 30 pennies = 300 pfennigs [14]
  Saxe-AltenburgDuchy1 thaler = 30 pennies = 300 pfennigs [15]
  Saxe-Lauenburg [t 2]Duchy1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [8]
  WaldeckThe Principality1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [16]
  LippeThe Principality1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [17]
  Reuss Young LineThe Principality1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [18]
  Reuss High LineThe Principality1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [19]
  Schaumburg-LippeThe Principality1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [20]
  Schwarzburg-SondershausenThe Principality1 thaler = 30 pennies = 360 pfennigs [21]
Systems based on the guilder of the South German Monetary Union of 1837
  BavariaKingdom1 guilder = 60 cruisers [3]
  WürttembergKingdom1 guilder = 60 cruisers [3]
  BadenGrand Duchy1 guilder = 60 cruisers [22]
Mixed systems (1 thaler = 1 3 ⁄ 4 guilders )
  HesseGrand Duchy1 thaler = 105 cruisers [23]
  Mecklenburg-SchwerinGrand Duchy1 thaler = 48 shillings = 576 pfennigs [24]
  Saxe-Coburg-GothaDuchy1 thaler = 1 3 ⁄ 4 guilders = 105 cruisers [25]
  Saxe-MeiningenDuchy1 thaler = 1 3 ⁄ 4 guilders = 105 cruisers [26]
  Schwarzburg-RudolstadtThe Principality1 thaler = 105 cruisers [27]
Other systems
  HamburgFree city1 Hamburg mark = 16 shillings = 192 pfennig [28]
  LubeckFree city1 Lubeck mark = 16 shillings = 192 pfennig [t 3] [29]
  BremenFree city1 Bremen thaler =? [t 4] [30]
  Alsace lorraineImperial land1 French franc = 100 centimes
Notes
  1. ↑ Since 1848 after joining the Dresden Coin Convention, and since 1857 - to the Vienna; until 1848 1 thaler = 24 pennies = 48 shillings (1 shilling = 4 wittenams = 12 pfennigs)
  2. ↑ In 1865-1876 in union with Prussia, from 1876 part of Prussia
  3. ↑ At the time of entry into the empire for more than 50 years, coins were not minted
  4. ↑ Corresponds to 1 thaler 3 + 3 ⁄ 14 pennies of the North German states or 1 guilder 56 + 1 ⁄ 4 South German cruisers

Notes

  1. ↑ 1 2 Holtferich, 1990 , p. 222-223.
  2. ↑ Dresdner Münzvertrag (German) . Large vocabulary of coins mute. Das große Münzen-Lexikon . Date of treatment May 11, 2013. Archived May 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ 1 2 3 Münchener Münzvertrag (German) . Large vocabulary of coins mute. Das große Münzen-Lexikon . Date of treatment May 11, 2013. Archived May 13, 2013.
  4. ↑ Bayern // Grosser Deutscher Munzkatalog von 1800 bis heute / Faβbender D. - 23. - Battenberg Verlag, 2008 .-- S. 43. - 656 p. - ISBN 978-3-86646-019-5 .
  5. ↑ 1 2 Wiener Münzvertrag (German) . Large vocabulary of coins mute. Das große Münzen-Lexikon . Date of treatment August 18, 2018. Archived on May 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ 1 2 3 Holtferich, 1990 , p. 223-224.
  7. ↑ Scheiber T. Austro-Hungarian Empire (English) // The Experience of Exchange Rate Regimes in Southeastern Europe in a Historical and Comparative Perspective. Second Conference of the South-Eastern European Monetary History Network (SEEMHN). - 2008. - No. 13 . - P. 412-418 . (inaccessible link)
  8. ↑ 1 2 Faβbender, 2008 , p. 268-270.
  9. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 354.
  10. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 239.
  11. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 260.
  12. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 368.
  13. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 1-2.
  14. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 88-89.
  15. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 377.
  16. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 441.
  17. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 219.
  18. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 311.
  19. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 309.
  20. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 418.
  21. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 437.
  22. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 12.
  23. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 184-186.
  24. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 227.
  25. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 382-383.
  26. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 404-405.
  27. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 430.
  28. ↑ Hamburg . www.medievalcoinage.com. Date of treatment June 2, 2013. Archived June 10, 2013.
  29. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 224.
  30. ↑ Faβbender, 2008 , p. 106.

Literature

  • Original text of the Vienna Coin Convention
  • Holtferich C.-L. The monetary unification process in nineteenth-century Germany: relevance and lessons for Europe today // A European Central Bank? Perspectives on monetary unification after ten years of the EMS / edited by Marcello de Secco and Alberto Giovanni. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. - P. 222-223. - ISBN 0-521-37171-6 .
  • Faβbender D. Grosser Deutscher Münzkatalog von 1800 bis heute. - 23. Verlag. - Battenberg: Battenberg Verlag, 2008 .-- 656 p. - ISBN 97-3-86646-019-5.
Source - https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Vienna_Monet_Convention&oldid = 97170754


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