Today, the almighty Thaler. The Honors College at the University of Houston presents this program about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.
Recently I was clearing out my parents' apartment and found a cache of coins from their days in Nigeria. These were mostly huge British pennies, specially minted with a hole in the center so African traders could string them together. But two bright silver coins grabbed my attention. They were the size of silver dollars, faced with the portrait of a woman and backed with a double-headed eagle. Their date really shocked me: 1780.
My own MTT. Note the hole drilled for stringing. These coins were often used as jewelry as well as currency, a credit to Maria Theresa's attention to aesthetic design. Photograph by Richard Armstrong.
After some investigation, I found I was holding one of the most circulated currencies the world has ever known: the Maria Theresa Thaler. Maria Theresa ruled over the Habsburg Empire in the eighteenth century for forty years. Her matronly portrait graces the coin, along with her abbreviated Latin titles. The reverse depicts the double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire.
Reverse side of my Thaler. Photograph by Richard Armstrong.
This coin was originally minted during her reign, and she demanded that it meet the highest standards for both silver content and aesthetic design. The name Thaler derives from the Joachimsthal, or Valley of St. Joachim, in Habsburg Bohemia. Rich silver deposits in that region supported the minting of high quality silver coins, known as Joachimsthaler, or thaler for short. That's where we get our word dollar.
Maria Theresa had her first thaler minted in 1741, and took great pains to secure its value. She signed one of the first international coinage conventions in 1753, which defined its silver content and set exchange rates. This ensured it would become a stable currency for international trade. In fact, it enjoyed a success she could hardly have imagined when she died in 1780. By then, the Habsburg mints had struck over 30 million thalers.
The thaler traveled from European ports to trade centers of the Middle East and Africa, where it became a standard for international exchange, particularly in areas that lacked coinage. The Empress's original coin was so loved and trusted that Arab traders wouldn't accept anything other than Maria Theresa's 1780 final edition. So the mints of Austria restruck the same coin year after year, always with the date 1780. Its inscribed edge meant it could not be shaved or clipped to glean bits of silver, unlike the Ottoman medjidiye. As the Ottoman Empire weakened, the thaler helped to secure trade, buy smuggled weapons, and bribe officials throughout the Middle East.
Thalers bought coffee and silk in Mocha and slaves in Zanzibar; they supplied British soldiers in Ethiopia, covered costs for Muslim pilgrims to Mecca, and paid ransoms and dowries from Morocco to Kano to Oman. In 1935, Mussolini demanded the dies from Austria to mint coins for his war in Abyssinia. He refused to share his thalers with Britain, so the British minted 14 million of their own Maria Theresa Thalers in London, and another 19 million in Bombay.
Most likely my thalers are from the British period. So while I don't really have coins from 1780, I do have a bit of stable currency on hand. You have to admit, this old lady really gets around.
I'm Richard Armstrong, at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work.
A pristine Maria Theresa Thaler. A Wikipedia Commons photograph from author Carlomorino.
1. Harrigan, Peter. 2003. 'Tales of a Thaler.' Saudi Aramco World. January/February 2003: 14-23. See online version.
2. Semple, Clare. 2007. A Silver Legend: The Story of the Maria Theresa Thaler. Barzan Publishing.
3. Tschoegl, Adrian. 2001. 'Maria Theresa's Thaler: A Case of International Money.' Eastern Economic Journal 27.4 (2001): 443-462.
4. http://www.theresia.name/en/ (A very comprehensive website dedicated to the thaler, with numerous images.)
This episode was first aired on June 6, 2012
Leo, Thaler mwenye nguvu zote. Chuo Kikuu cha Houston kinaonyesha programu hii kuhusu mashine ambazo hufanya ustaarabu wetu uendane, na watu ambao ubunifu wao uliwaumba. Nilipokuwa nikisafisha nyumba ya wazazi wangu, nilipata sarafu nyingi za wakati wao huko Nigeria. Hizi zilikuwa sarafu kubwa za Uingereza, zilizotengenezwa kwa njia ya pekee zikiwa na shimo katikati ili wafanyabiashara Waafrika waweze kuziunganisha. Lakini sarafu mbili zenye kung'aa za fedha zilivuta fikira zangu. Zilikuwa na ukubwa wa dola za fedha, zikiwa na picha ya mwanamke mbele na tai mwenye vichwa viwili nyuma. Tarehe ya kuandikwa ilikuwa ya kushangaza sana, ilikuwa ni mwaka 1780. MTT yangu mwenyewe. Ona shimo lililochimbwa kwa ajili ya kufunga kamba. Mara nyingi sarafu hizo zilitumiwa kama vito na pia kama sarafu, jambo ambalo lilitokana na jinsi Maria Theresa alivyopendezwa na ufundi wa kuchora. Picha iliyochorwa na Richard Armstrong. "Kama nilivyoeleza hapo juu, ni moja ya sarafu za kawaida zaidi duniani, ""Maria Theresa Thaler.""" Maria Theresa alitawala Milki ya Habsburg katika karne ya kumi na nane kwa miaka arobaini. Picha yake ya mwanamke mwenye umri mkubwa inashangaza sarafu hiyo, pamoja na vyeo vyake vilivyofupishwa vya Kilatini. Upande wa nyuma unaonyesha tai mwenye vichwa viwili wa Milki Takatifu ya Roma. Upande wa nyuma wa Thaler yangu. Picha iliyochorwa na Richard Armstrong. Sarafu hiyo ilitengenezwa wakati wa utawala wake, na alidai kwamba itimize viwango vya juu zaidi vya fedha na muundo wa urembo. Jina Thaler linatokana na Joachimsthal, au Bonde la Mtakatifu Joachim, katika Bohemia ya Habsburg. "Kuna madini mengi ya fedha katika eneo hilo, na hivyo watu walianza kutengeneza sarafu za fedha za hali ya juu, ambazo ziliitwa ""joachimsthaler"" (thaler)." "Hiyo ndiyo sababu tunaitwa ""dola.""" Maria Theresa alitoa taler yake ya kwanza mnamo 1741 na akafanya kazi kwa bidii ili kupata thamani yake. Mwaka 1753 mkataba wa kimataifa wa kutengeneza sarafu ulifungwa na Marekani, na mkataba huo ulionyesha kwamba sarafu hizo zilikuwa na fedha na kwamba zilikuwa na thamani ya fedha. Hilo lilihakikisha kwamba lingekuwa sarafu thabiti kwa ajili ya biashara ya kimataifa. Kwa kweli, ilifanikiwa sana hivi kwamba hakuweza hata kuwazia wakati alipokufa mwaka wa 1780. Wakati huo, nyumba za kutengeneza sarafu za Habsburg zilikuwa zimetengeneza zaidi ya dola milioni 30 za Thaler. Thaler ilisafiri kutoka bandari za Ulaya hadi vituo vya biashara vya Mashariki ya Kati na Afrika, ambako ikawa kiwango cha kubadilishana kimataifa, hasa katika maeneo ambayo hayakuwa na sarafu. Sarafu ya kwanza ya Malkia Maria Theresa ilitumiwa na wafanyabiashara wa Kiarabu kwa miaka mingi, na kwa hivyo ilionekana kuwa ya thamani sana. Kwa hiyo, kampuni ya kutengeneza sarafu ya Austria ilitengeneza sarafu hiyo hiyo mwaka baada ya mwaka, na kila mara ilitia alama ya mwaka 1780. Mviringo wake uliokuwa na maandishi ulimaanisha kwamba haungeweza kunyoolewa au kukatwa ili kukusanya vipande vya fedha, tofauti na medjidiye ya Ottoman. Milki ya Ottoman ilipodhoofika, thaler ilisaidia kulinda biashara, kununua silaha za magendo, na kuwadanganya maofisa kotekote katika Mashariki ya Kati. Thaler walinunua kahawa na hariri huko Mocha na watumwa huko Zanzibar; waliwapa askari wa Uingereza huko Ethiopia, walifunika gharama za wasafiri wa Kiislamu kwenda Mecca, na walilipa fidia na mahari kutoka Morocco hadi Kano hadi Oman. Mwaka 1935 Mussolini aliomba Austria imfanyie sarafu za vita katika Abyssinia. "Mfalme wa Uingereza alikataa kugawana sarafu zake za Thaler na Uingereza, kwa hiyo Uingereza ilichapa sarafu milioni 14 za ""Maria Theresa Thaler"" huko London na milioni 19 nyingine huko Bombay." Yaelekea thalers zangu ni za enzi ya Waingereza. Kwa hiyo, ingawa mimi si kweli kuwa na sarafu kutoka 1780, Mimi kufanya kuwa na kidogo ya fedha imara juu ya mkono. Lazima kukubali, mwanamke huyu mzee kweli anapata karibu. Richard Armstrong, Mtaalamu wa Uvumbuzi wa Uvumbuzi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Houston, anasema kuwa utafiti wa ubunifu unaonyesha kwamba ubunifu ni muhimu kwa ubunifu. Maria Theresa Thaler asiye na kasoro. Picha ya Wikipedia Commons kutoka kwa mwandishi Carlomorino. 1. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Harrigan, Peter. Mwaka 2003 'Hadithi za Thaler.' Saudi Aramco World Januari 2003 - Februari 2003: 14-23 Tazama toleo la mtandaoni. 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Semple, Clare. Mwaka wa 2007. Hadithi ya Fedha: Hadithi ya Maria Theresa Thaler. Uchapishaji wa Barzan. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Tschoegl, Adrian. 2001 - Mwaka wa Uhamiaji 'Maria Theresa's Thaler: Kesi ya Fedha ya Kimataifa.' Mashariki ya Kiuchumi Journal 27.4 (2001), 443-462. "Hii ni kwa sababu ya ""Theresia"" (Theresia) ni tovuti ya kimataifa ya fedha ya Thaler, ambayo ina picha nyingi." Kipindi hiki kilitangazwa kwa mara ya kwanza mnamo Juni 6, 2012.