Thalers Are Hot


Long before I fell in love with any other types of coins, I loved thalers. Thalers are those huge silver coins first minted in 1484 in the Tyrol, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the Archduke of Austria who was also the Holy Roman Emperor. These thalers or gulden, as they were also called, were the first coins to be dated with arabic numerals. They often featured knights on horseback in full armor (Ill. 1).

These large silver coins appeared as Europe's middle class was on the rise. There were a number of reasons for this. The Black Death had greatly depopulated Europe. It is thought that more than a third of the continent's population had been wiped out, making room for men of vision to rise materially.

With the massive death of serfs, as a result of the Bubonic Plague of the 1300s, feudalism all but came to an end in Central and Western Europe. Labor was in short supply, and as economist David Ricardo would later note, "When labor is in short supply, higher wages can be commanded by workers."

Trade, in the modern sense, had developed in the Renaissance in Italy in Florence, Genoa, Pisa, Venice, and other self-governing free cities. The German Hanseatic cities also developed huge trade and founded a league to defend their shipping against pirates in this period.

Up to this time, the most common coin in use was the silver penny (Ill. 2). Two hundred and forty of these could be struck from a pound of fine silver. The pound became the unit of currency in the British world, and the penny was the major coin of the Middle Ages in Europe. But with the growth of trade and wealth in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was time for a serious coin of trade like the thaler.

The thaler was large, a sort of numismatic billboard, on which to display the fame, power, and prestige of a ruler or state.

I have owned hundreds of thalers, but my pal Fetchen has had thousands. He has allowed me to photograph some of them to share with you. The third of these shows Leopold of Austria, who was the prime supported by the Catholic League in the Thirty Years War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648 (Ill. 3). This Christian show-down between Europe's Catholic and Protestant leaders for domination of the continent is known as the Thirty Year's War. This thaler shows Leopold in armor, with his sword and scepter, wearing his crown and trying hard to look imperial.

Wedding thalers were also minted as medalic coins to commemorate the powerful dynastic and aristocratic of the period. I heard a rumor that a contemporary coin dealer once did that, then sold them! The one from Fetchen's collection pictured here is from Hamburg and has an intrinsic value of one-and-a-half thalers. It was designed by Christoph Feustel (Ill. 4).

The next medalic piece features a portrait of the leader of the Protestant League, Sweden's King Gustavus Adolphus, who died at the Battle of Lutzen in 1632 (Ill. 5). The one-and-a-half thaler of Westphalia celebrates the ending of the Thirty Years War with the Treaty of Wesphalia in 1648 (Ill. 6). It is an impressive and huge coin.

Cities were featured on "City View Thalers" of Ragensburg (1754) and Nuremburg (1736) by their respective rulers (Ill. 7, 8). The greatness of these centers of civilization and pride could be celebrated on these huge trade coins.

This next thaler of Leopold as King of Hungary in 1692 was the first thaler I ever bought for my own collection more than 40 years ago. I was fascinated by the portrait of this Holy Roman Emperor of the great empire founded by Charlemagne in 800 C.E. He was a member of the mighty Hapsburg dynasty and had a huge jutting lower jaw. This physical feature earned him the nickname "Leopold the Hog Mouth" (Ill. 9). I am reasonably sure that nobody ever called him that. I believe that he may have collected ancient Greek and Roman coinage and medals. Charles Patin dedicated his 1671 work Imperial Roman Numismatics to Leopold (Ill. 10).

Klippes, or square cut thalers, were at first emergency or siege money, but they were also minted as commemorative coins. Fetchen has a klippe minted by Johann Georg IV in 1693 in honor of is being made a knight of the Order of the Garter by William III of England (Ill. 11). This is Britain's highest order of knighthood established by Edward III in the 14th century. It was coveted even by monarchs like Johann Georg IV, King of Saxony.

Thalers were also minted to mark the passing of popes and bishops with the words "Sede Vacante" (The Seat or Throne is Empty) on them. Here is a very rare and uncirculated example of such a thaler showing the empty episcopal throne of a Bishop of Wilibaldsburg (Ill. 12).

In 1795, Bishop Christopher Franz Frieher Von Buseck of Bamberg had his own personal silver service melted down to be struck as thalers (Ill. 13). These coins featured the bishop's coat of arms on the obverse (front). My guess is that the bishop just didn't like tea.

Some thalers feature coats of arms. This 1713 example of Brunswick and Wolfenbuttel shows a wonderful shield divided into 11 sections, each with its own heraldic device. The shield is surmounted with five royal and princely helmets (Ill. 14).

I have always had a special fondness for the thalers of the Cantons or states of Switzerland. Bern has a great device on its thalers in the person of a bear or "Bear of Bern" (Ill. 15). This 1721 thaler shows a friendly member of the bear tribe marching along minding his own business, which really is a pretty good idea when you stop to think of it.

Saxon thalers seem to be prolific in numbers of interesting designs. Johann Georg II minted a wonderful thaler in 1678 showing St. George (his namesake) slaying a dragon (Ill. 16). The occasion for its being struck was the election of the Saxon king to membership in the "Order of the Garter" by Charles II, King of England. As I mentioned before, this great honor was given to monarchs friendly to England.

The Zeeland (Netherland's Province) thaler shows an armored knight found on much Dutch coinage (Ill. 17). This design has been used on Dutch coinage for hundreds of years. Even today it is still used on gold trade ducats of the Netherlands.

Any collection of thalers or crowns must have at least one Piller Dollar or Piece of Eight minted in Spanish American colonies. This coin is featured in all sorts of pirate tales, including Robert Lewis Stephenson's classic Treasure Island (Ill. 18). Long John Silver's parrot, Captain Flint, keeps screaming, "Pieces of Eight! Pieces of Eight!" throughout the book. This coin is actually the basis of our own dollar. The word dollar itself is a corruption of the word dahler, which in turn, is a corruption of the word "Thaler." Now "Thaler" comes from "Jaochimsthaler" which was minted in Jaochim's Valley. So there you are.

Allow me to introduce you to the great American Thaler, the U.S. Dollar minted from 1794 to 1804 (Ill. 19). Those minted in 1804, reputed to be 19,570 in number, were most likely dated 1803. All dollars dated 1804 are restrikes minted in the mid-1830s.

This beautiful American Thaler is a 1799 dollar of the "Draped Bust" type. This gem has gone up six times what I paid for it in value. As a matter of fact, almost all thalers and crowns have greatly increased in value over the last four years. They have never been more popular with world and U.S. collectors alike. Thus international markets have greatly affected value. Big old silver coins are hot.

If you want to catch up with me in January, I'll be at Ernie Botte's Westford Coin Show on January 22. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The show is held at the Westford Regency Inn and Conference Center on Rt. 110 in Westford, Mass. just off Exit 32 from Rt. 495. I'll see you there. Email me at jamescj508@aol.com.

Remember, in this market, thalers and crowns will go through the roof in value in years to come. Your dollar is heading south.

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