Are there any good resources for determining the purchasing power of a German Thaler at different points in history? I found some information that covers the 1880's but I am more interested in the 1600's and 1700's. For the 1880's here is what I found an individual could purchase with a Thaler: 12 kg rye bread 6 kg wheat flour 42 kg potatoes 17.5 liters of milk 4 kg butter 60 eggs Additional info: Weekly wages of a wool weaver - 2.1 Thalers Weekly living expenses for a family of 5 - 3.5 Thalers (that wool weaver better be single) To keep it legal here is a 1745 Thaler from Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel
You may find some interesting information in "Money and Coinage in the Middle Ages" by Rory Naismith. You can download the pdf for free at https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/24386/1005729.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y It is also available at JSTOR but I think you have to register first: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctv2gjww65
It is also worth bearing in mind that your 1880s data probably refers to a Vereinsthaler, rather than the more popular (and heavy) Reichsthalers or Conventionsthalers of the pre-1857 HRE.
It would depend on the type of Thaler and it's relevance to other currency. By looking at the conversion to other currency it might open up some more info. For example, a Saxony Conventionsthaler of 1763 I have is equal to Type Standard circulation coin Year 1763 Value 4/3 Saxon thaler = 1 Conventionsthaler = 1/10 Cologne Mark (4/3) Currency Thaler (1493-1805) Composition Silver (.833)
My European history is a bit rusty, but my recollection was that a significant amount of a family's income would be from household production (spinning, making clothes, raising animals and crops, gathering wood etc.). Some would be used in barter or sold for money, and some would be for personal use. The amount of one's effective spending power which came from wages would have been a lot smaller than in modern times. Coins are great for collecting taxes, paying soldiers, and trade, but the rest of the economy was not fully monetized yet. When the Industrial Revolution started and a greater fraction of income had to be paid in cash it caused huge coin shortages (and widespread use of tokens).
This is an interesting thread. The only thing I can say with certainty is my personal purchasing power has taken repeated hits in recent years pursuing these lovely talers.
AR Reichstaler from the Kingdom of Prussia, 1751, struck under Frederick II 'The Great', king of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786 21.87 g, 38 mm mint B = Breslau (Today Wroclaw, Poland) Olding 28 b; v. Schrötter 182 b, Davenport 2583; KM 256 Ob.: FRIDERICVS BORVSSORUM REX, Laureate portrait right Rev.: EIN REICHSTALER 17 {B} 51 Crowned eagle flying (open wings), looking to the left above; right two and left three banner points
I can't think of a finer way of spending money. "Why did the silver taler become the universal means of payment in early modern Europe, when the most important powers of the 2nd half of the 16th century (Spain, France, Enland) chose different metrological parameters and completely different names for their heavier silver coins (peso, paistra, ecu, crown)?" from-- The function of the Taler in Determining the Exchange Rates of European Currencies in the 2nd Half of the 16th Century. Peter Vorel Polish Numismatic News X, 2022, pp 283-304. I'll try to digitize the article and upload the pdf w/ credits to the author. I'm also very interested in old Talers but only have managed to get about 8-10 specimens over the years, most of them Polish, albeit in high grades. The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.
This is for Pounds however is one of the coolest tools for historic valuation of currency. The Thaler wasn't that far off from a Crown so pick a year enter 5 Shillings and explore https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/
