The Value of a 1780 Maria Theresa Thaler
The value of your Maria Theresa (Theresia) Thaler is contingent on the year of issue. Determining the year of issue can be very difficult, since the Thaler has been issued with a 1780 date since 1780.
To further complicate ascertaining the value of your coin, there were at least 320,000,000 Thalers struck bearing the 1780 date in its first 200 years of issue. Some sources estimate the number of minted Maria Theresa Thalers to be close to 800,000,000. It has been re-struck in Paris, London, Rome, Brussels, Mumbai (Bombay), and other mints around the globe. It is still struck in the Vienna mint today.
A 1780 Maria Theresa Thaler is worth between $30 to $500. Thalers minted in recent years can fetch $30 for an MS-60 specimen and older Thalers are worth $500 or more. If you suspect that your Thaler falls into the second category, it may be worth getting it graded by PCGS or NGC. It is worth keeping in mind that these grading costs could exceed the value of your coin.
Who is Maria Theresa?
The House of Habsburg only had one female ruler. Maria Theresa (Also spelled Theresia) was born in 1717 and became the Archduchess of Austria as well as the Queen of Hungary and Bohemia at the age of 23. Reforms in many avenues of life, including education, finance, justice, agriculture, and medicine marked her reign.
Maria was said to be as beautiful as she was powerful. She was painted often, and her profile adorns the Maria Theresa Thaler.
What is a Thaler?
Thalers are Silver coins of various weights issued by German and Germanic states from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The first known use of the word Thaler was in 1727.
A Maria Theresa thaler (MTT) is a Silver bullion coin and type of Conventionsthaler, or 10-Thaler. It was first minted in 1741 and was struck until she died in 1780. Her son and heir, Joseph II, allowed the Austrian mint to continue issuing the coin with the 1780 dies.
Initially, there were some easily identified differences in issues of the MTT, but due to improvements in minting technology, the appearance has remained unchanged since 1850. For this reason, it is difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate among Maria Theresa Thaler dates today.
The Enduring Legacy of the Maria Theresa Thaler
The MTT is one of the most well-known coins worldwide and helped build trade relationships with the Levant. It was used from North Africa to Somalia, Ethiopia, and Tanzania as currency until after World War II. It was even in use in parts of Asia and India! Joseph Kalmer Ludwig Hyun speculated that more than 20% of the 245 million MTTs issued in 1931 ended up in Ethiopia.
