I know this really doesn't belong here but I wanted to share anyways. When I got back into collecting in 2008 I remember seeing this type of coin posted by @Zohar444 on the PCGS boards and hoped one day I would eventually acquire one. Over the years I settled on the lower denominations of old "Hogmouth". But recently I had a 3 figure ebay bucks coupon burning a hole through my computer screen & decided to finally get the denomination I wanted, a Thaler. This particular one was a price well below the usual amount & now I can scratch it off my list. This was a top 3 coin I have wanted for over 11 years. This is also my very first "Thaler". Even though it's "machine" made, I still find the coin pretty darn amazing. This particular one is a 1-year type, though common, it was minted Hungary, not Austria. Hungary in 1692 had been freshly reconquered by the Austrians from the Turks but was not part of the Empire. Leopold I, "Hogmouth" (1657 - 1705 A.D.) AR Thaler O: LEOPOLDVS D G RO I S A GER HV BO REX; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: ARCHIDVX AVS DVX BVR MAR MOR CO TY; 1692 Crowned imperial double-headed eagle, holding sword and sceptre; crowned arms on breast within Order of the Golden Fleece; K-B flanking tail. Kremnitz (Hungary) Mint 47mm 28.55g Davenport 3262; KM 214.3; Huszar 1373
You can't beat inbreeding for the production of handsome aristocrats! Nice coin though, Mat. Congrats, J.T.
Congrats, @Mat ! Very nice looking coin with an ugly dude! I grew up farming... I dunno... I think the hog looks better than Leopold...
Great coin. I grew up staring at Thalers in the coin books I saw as a kid. I gravitated towards ancients, but it would be great to finally get one. Congrats.
I believe, but am not sure, that these thalers were loosely inspired on the Dutch ‘daalders’: DUTCH REPUBLIC, Anonymous. Denomination: Half lion dollar, or Leeuwendaalder, minted: West Frisia (the Netherlands); 1633 Obv: MO NO ARG PRO CONFOE BELG WESTF Rev: CONFIDENS DNO NON MOVETUR Weight: 13.38g; Ø:3.3mm. Catalogue: CNM 2.46.25. Provenance: Ex private collection; acq.: 05-2019" "DUTCH REPUBLIC, Anonymous. Denomination: Lion dollar, or Leeuwendaalder, minted: Utrecht (the Netherlands); 1598 Obv: MO NO OR TRA AD VA ORD HOL Rev: CONFIDENS DNO NON MOVETVR Weight: 26.84g; Ø:4.1mm. Catalogue: CNM 2.43.58. Provenance: Ex private collection; acq.: 05-2019"
Just like @ancient coin hunter , I grew up staring at the Thalers... what the US Dollar was probably based upon (or at least the NAME Dollar). I DID buy one JUST to satisfy that need when I was in my 30's. Never photo'd it, as I put it away with a lot of my other Trade Dollars from around the world. Here is a pic from the net (not mine), of the version I have: 1780 Austria... got it for the Double-Eagle that @panzerman always likes...
Great addition Mat, Leopold I coins are really nice looking. The Western part of Hungary where the Kremnitz Mint was situated was always part of the HRE/ however in 1683 after the second Battle of Vienna ended in a Turkish defeat, the Ottomans eventually lost more territory. Finally in 1690 Michel Apafi/ Prince of Transylvania (A Ottoman vassal state) abdicated. He presented Leopold with a massive AV 100 Dukaten presentation piece/ in order to keep his head. Here is a AV 1/12 Dukat 1711 from Breslau Mint/ 3 known from HRE Josef I
Congratulations, Mat. One of the more impressive manifestations of Habsburg inbreeding, and a great coin! It's the other way round: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaler, explaining that the word "is shortened from Joachimsthaler, the original thaler coin minted in Joachimstal, Bohemia, from 1518." Although I've never considered myself a collector of German coins in general or thalers in particular, I couldn't resist buying some old 17th and 18th century thalers from German-speaking lands myself, back in the 1980s and 1990s. I posted photos of them a couple of weeks ago in the World Coins forum here, in the following two posts: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/germany-coin-thread-only-the-best.222933/page-36#post-4305303 https://www.cointalk.com/threads/germany-coin-thread-only-the-best.222933/page-36#post-4305334 My favorites might be my two "city view thalers," one from Regensburg (1754) and one from Nuremberg (1779).
Do you have any idea when or where yours was minted? It isn't so easy to figure that out, since they all bear the 1780 date. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_thaler: "The MTT quickly became a standard trade coin and several nations began striking Maria Theresa thalers. The following mints have struck MTTs: Birmingham, Bombay, Brussels, London, Paris, Rome and Utrecht, in addition to the Habsburg mints in Günzburg, Hall, Karlsburg, Kremnica, Milan, Prague, and Vienna. Between 1751 and 2000, some 389 million were minted. These various mints distinguished their issues by slight differences in the design, with some of these evolving over time." See http://www.theresia.name/en/ for links to some tables of variations. I have one myself somewhere -- I'm not sure where I put it! -- and have always assumed that it's a modern restrike.
I am in the same boat as you. I bought it several years ago, then put it away with several other Trade Dollars from different countries. They are locked up in one of my bank boxes, and I have not looked at it in years. Did not take a pic of it, as I had several others that I had been collecting, but not really recording. Right now, it is 1,000 miles from my fingertips. When all of this sequestering is over with, I would like to get to it, and satisfy both yours and my curiosity! Thank you very much for the links.
Great thread - I really like those big Austrian thalers. I have a 1698 "Hogmouth" but I've never photographed it. From time to time I lurk around on eBay looking for early Maria Theresa thalers that are undescribed as such. I've only ever lucked into one - and I am not 100% sure of my attribution. Note the eye and other differences on the bust compared to the one Alegandron posted (his is a more modern strike). The lettering is different too (especially the 1780 date): Italy - Milan Maria Theresa Thaler c. 1815-1828 Round Brooch Dot either side of saltire 4 pearls in rev. crown Ribbons touch under rev. crown Hafner 36a Leypold T2
