The Coin of Coins

First impression? A hefty piece of silver bearing the date 1780 and a Latin edge inscription – a familiar sight in countless collections around the world.

This is the Maria Theresa Thaler, first minted in Austria between 1740 and 1780. It became the trusted silver currency of the Holy Roman Empire and its dominions, eventually rising to global trade coin status.

After Maria Theresa’s death in 1780, the date on the coin froze in time – and yet production never stopped. It’s estimated that by 2000, over 389 million pieces had been struck. That number’s still climbing today, with the Vienna Mint still producing them.

And it’s not just Austria. Sixteen different mints across Europe have churned them out over the centuries – including Birmingham (around1850) and even London’s Royal Mint, which produced them right up to 1975.
What’s less well known is how far the Thaler travelled. For over a century, it was the preferred trade currency across large parts of Africa and the Middle East. In Ethiopia, it was accepted as legal tender well into the 20th century, and in the Arabian Peninsula, it was prized not just for its silver but for its consistent weight and trusted purity. Local jewellery was even crafted from hoarded Thalers – a coin worn as much as it was spent.

With such volume, a standard 1780-dated coin holds bullion value – that’s about £20 in today’s silver. Even mint examples rarely exceed £30. But if you stumble across a pre-1780 original? That’s a different matter – potentially worth around £700.

You might need to sort through a few hundred million to find one… or just ask your friendly dealer at Charing Cross Market.